Tag Archives: Helene Pitrou

This week in the War, 5–11 June 1944: D-Day—Allied invasion force lands in Normandy

Posted on June 6, 2016 by secondbysecond

On 6 June 1944, Field Marshal Rommel, the commander of the German forces on the Channel Coast (Army Group B), was at his home in southern Germany. It was his wife’s birthday. He had planned to travel on to Berchtesgaden to … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 17–23 April 1944: Paris suffers heavy bombing

Posted on April 22, 2016 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 21 April 1944, Allied planes bombed north central Paris. The main target was the La Chapelle railway marshalling yards. Their destruction was part of an overall plan to destroy communications in northern France prior … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 3–9 January 1944: From the diary of Helene Pitrou

Posted on January 5, 2016 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, the fictional French schoolgirl, Hélène Pitrou, makes another entry in her journal Dans Paris occupé. The entry is dated 5 janvier 1944. As in her entry of a year earlier, she remarks that everyone is … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 28 Dec 1942–3 Jan 1943: New Year’s Day & the Diary of Helene Pitrou

Posted on December 30, 2014 by secondbysecond

“The New Year is starting well: People are talking about a possible landing by the Allies.” So begins the entry for New Year’s day in Dans Paris occupé: Journal d’Hélène Pitrou—the fictional diary of the fictional French schoolgirl, created by … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 12–18 October 1942: Occupied Paris & the Diary of Helene Pitrou

Posted on October 18, 2014 by secondbysecond

Readers of French children’s literature may be familiar with Dans Paris Occupé: Journal d’Hélène Pitrou, 1940–1945, the fictional and wonderfully vivid diary of a French school girl who reports on the affairs of the day as she lives life in … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 27 Jan–2 Feb 1941: Occupied Paris

Posted on February 1, 2013 by secondbysecond

Hélène Pitrou was a child, growing up in Paris during the dark years, the years of German occupation. [Check the book by historian Julian Jackson, France–The Dark Years 1940-1944]. Hélène kept a diary, un journal, as one says in French. … Continue reading →

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