Faith, Courage and Survival in a Time of Trouble (Autographed Copy)

Author: France J. Pruitt

This book tells the story of a Jewish-Belgian family that spent more than four years during World War II as refugees in the South of France, in the Cévennes mountainous region, among the traditionally fierce and independent Huguenot people there. The narrator was five years old when the family left Brussels and ten when they returned. At first, the family lived openly on a rented farm, supporting themselves as farmers. But they eventually had to go into hiding and were sheltered by families in the region that risked their lives by doing so. 

In June of 2005, several members of the family returned to the region to dedicate a granite bench in honor of the courageous efforts of its people. Speeches and pictures from the dedication ceremony are presented at the end of the book. This memoir is another story of hope from a dark time. All 11 family members survived but upon their return to Brussels found that 65 of their relatives, including first cousins, had perished in concentration camps.

Paperback

112 pages