The Art of Resistance

My Four Years in the French Underground: A Memoir

By: Justus Rosenberg

Narrated by: Rob Shapiro

An unforgettable World War II memoir set in Nazi-occupied France and filled with romance and adventure: a former Eastern European Jew remembers his flight from the Holocaust and his extraordinary four years in the French underground. Justus Rosenberg, now 98, has taught literature at Bard College for the past 50 years.

In 1937, as the Nazis gained control and anti-Semitism spread in the Free City of Danzig, a majority German city on the Baltic Sea, 16-year-old Justus Rosenberg was sent to Paris to finish his education in safety. Three years later, France fell to the Germans. Alone and in danger, penniless and cut off from contact with his family in Poland, Justus fled south. A chance meeting led him to Varian Fry, an American journalist in Marseille who was helping thousands of men and women escape the Nazis, among them artists and intellectuals Hannah Arendt, Marc Chagall, Andre Breton, and Max Ernst.

With his German background, understanding of French cultural, and fluency in several languages, including English, Justus became an invaluable member of Fry’s refugee network as a spy and scout. The spry blond who looked even younger than his age flourished in the underground, handling counterfeit documents, secret passwords, and black market currency, surveying escape routes, and dealing with avaricious gangsters. When Fry was eventually forced to leave France, his trusted colleague Justus - Gussie, as he was affectionately known - could not get out. For the next four years, Justus relied on his wits and skills to escape captivity, survive several close calls with death, and continue his fight against the Nazis, working with the French Resistance and eventually the United States Army. At the war’s end, Justus emigrated to America and built a new life.

Justus’ story is a powerful saga of bravery, daring, adventure, and survival with the soul of a spy thriller. Reflecting on his past, Justus sees his life as a confluence of circumstances. As he writes, "I survived the war through a rare combination of good fortune, resourcefulness, optimism, and, most important, the kindness of many good people."

©2020 Justus Rosenberg (P)2020 HarperAudio

Thoughtful, thrilling, true

a fascinating story of courage in wartime France with a surprise connection to University of Dayton in epilogue...The reader can relive the danger with the boy, and ponder his reflections as a wise man.

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity

Thank you Justus Rosenberg for sharing your fantastic story. This is the best French Résistance story I’ve read. He was very lucky, but half or more of luck is being smart enough to seize those lucky opportunities when they present themselves. Three weeks ago, I’d never heard of him. Two weeks ago I read his obit, discovered he’d written a memoir two years ago at 98 years old. He has a great memory and a great skill of writing. What a life!

Amazing Story of Heroism and Perseverence

Incredible story of this remarkable man's life (who should be much better known than he is).
This will be a "can't stop listening" book if you're a WW2 history buff. He illuminates the tragic rise of anti-Semitic fascism in Europe from a very personal angle. And the stories of his time in the Maquis are more riveting than the best thriller novels.
He wraps up with some life wisdom that we can all benefit from.

Superb!

If you liked the postmistress of Paris here is the real story
What an amazing life Rosenberg!

Very moving. Highly recommend.

I liked this work so much I went out and bought the hard copy. Like many of that generation he had an amazing life.

Riveting account of Rosenberg’s life up to and during WWII

A fascinating and exciting account of WWII, as seen from the eyes of Justus Rosenberg. Whether new to history and Jewish history, like me, or otherwise, I highly recommend reading this brilliant book.

Great story horrible storyteller

The reader was terrible but the story remarkable slow to start and had to suck it up and glad I did

A detailed look into life in France during WW2

This memoir is full of little details you won’t get from a history book. It brings a human perspective to an era dominated by extraordinarily inhumane events.

Learn from history

Moral in the epilogue is timely. Great nonfiction, reads quickly. Good addition to resistance lore and history!

Extraordinary story and account of the resistance

Well written and intriguing story of before during and after occupied Europe during WW2.