Zone libre
The Second World War broke out in Europe when Poniatowska was a child. The family left Paris when she was nine, going first to the south of the country. When the deprivations of the war became too much and the southern part of France, the Zone libre, was invaded by Germany and Italy in 1942, the family left France entirely for Mexico when she was ten years old. Her father remained in France to fight, participating later in D-Day in Normandy.