Independence and the Island Spirit

 —By Tiffany Amber Stockton

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And now, on with this month's post.

When I think about Independence Day, I think about flags and fireworks and parades. But the deeper I dig into the history of these coastal communities, the more I realize these barrier islands didn't treat independence as a holiday. It was a way of life, and sometimes it was a choice that cost something.

Cut Off From the Rest of the World

For most of their history, the barrier islands of Virginia's Eastern Shore were genuinely isolated. They were part of a small sliver at the very bottom of the Delmarva Peninsula. Before the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel opened in 1964, getting to or from the mainland was a long ferry ride at best. The island communities that built up here — Chincoteague especially — developed a satisfying self-reliance simply because they had no other choice. Geography shaped the character the same way it always does when people are left to solve their own problems without much outside help.

You can still see it. These communities were defined by fishing, oystering, boat-building, and the practical ingenuity that comes from living at the edge of things. They knew how to read the weather, manage the tides, and handle whatever the season brought without waiting for someone else to fix it.

The July Fourth That Meant Something

In July of 1861, the country was coming apart. Virginia had just voted to secede from the Union, which put the island communities of the Eastern Shore in an extremely uncomfortable position. Their whole economy depended on selling seafood to markets in Philadelphia and New York. Siding with the Confederacy would have cut off everything.

On July 4th of that year (the 85th anniversary of American independence), 418 men from the barrier islands of Maryland and Virginia gathered on Chincoteague and signed a document pledging their loyalty to the United States. A War of 1812 veteran named Captain Edward Whaley stood up and declared he would defend the old flag to his last drop of blood. Not long after, Chincoteague voted to remain in the Union by 138 votes to 2, becoming the only part of Virginia to do so.

John A.M. Whealton, a merchant and oyster entrepreneur, was the man who organized that loyalty and made sure Washington knew about it. He later explained the decision plainly: "We sold nearly all the oysters we raised in Philadelphia. It would have meant starvation to us to have seceded." When Confederate sympathizers on the mainland tried to force the issue, Whealton's men took to flatboats and turned them back without losing a single islander.

Practical men, making a principled stand. That is the very essence of the Eastern Shore. And it's often found in smaller communities anywhere you go.

The Island Spirit

Interesting that these men chose to celebrate Independence Day in 1861 by signing a loyalty pledge. With the country fracturing around them, they gathered on their island and recommitted to the idea that freedom was worth defending. That some things don't bend.

That instinct runs all the way through the history of these communities. The barrier islands shaped people who were stubbornly self-reliant but also fiercely tied to one another. Islands by their nature draw people together. You take care of your neighbor because your neighbor is the only neighbor you have.

What happened on Chincoteague that Fourth of July didn't make the history books the way bigger battles did. Confederate Virginia barely noticed. As one account put it, Richmond simply didn't care about a small island choosing to go its own way. But Chincoteague didn't need Richmond to notice. They knew what they'd decided and why, and they went back to catching oysters.

This is just one of the many quiet decisions, made by ordinary people in ordinary places, that don't get monuments or headlines but shape everything that follows. I've been writing historical fiction long enough to know that the best stories are usually hiding in the footnotes. Chincoteague's July Fourth of 1861 was one of those footnotes. But it carried a lot of what independence actually means.

Anna Essinger: Understanding the Times in Nazi Germany

by Martha Hutchens

Image from Deposit Photos, @everett225

Fundamentally, Anna Essinger was a teacher.

But the time and place of her birth gave her the opportunity to make history.

Anna was born to a secular Jewish family in Germany in 1879. At the age of 20, she traveled to the United States, where she lived with her aunt in Nashville, Tennessee. During her years in America, she came under the influence of the Quakers, whose educational philosophy would shape the rest of her life. She later earned a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin.

Anna returned to Germany in 1919. Around 1925, she founded a boarding school, which originally grew out of the children’s home that her sister established in 1912. The school was fundamentally different from most schools in Germany at the time. Discipline was less rigid, and students learned basic life skills, as well as academics.

Anna read Hitler’s Mein Kampf before he came to power and she found it deeply concerning. While her school was non-denominational, she did have many Jewish students. When Hitler came to power in early 1933, she remembered what she read. She watched to see what would happen.

In the spring of 1933, public buildings, including schools, were required to fly the swastika alongside Germany's traditional flag. Anna chose to comply with the order, but she also arranged an extended field trip for all of her students, so that the flag flew over an empty school.

Perhaps it was this event that drew more official attention to her school, or perhaps it was simply the fact that she was Jewish. However, oversight became more strict. And then, in May of 1933, Anna learned that her students would not be allowed to sit for the exam that gave them the opportunity to attend university. At this point, she knew that her students had no educational future in Germany. I doubt she foresaw the extent of what would happen, but she saw enough.

When it became clear that the students from Anna’s school would not be allowed higher education, many of the non-Jewish parents withdrew their children. Some families may have withdrawn due to increasing pressure on Germans to distance themselves from Jewish-owned businesses and institutions.

Image from Deposit Photos, @Quasarphotos

Anna was certainly concerned before the news in May. Throughout the spring of 1933, she was looking for a place to move her school. She considered Switzerland, Sweden, and Norway, before she settled on a run-down estate in England called Bunce Court.

She was also spending time talking to the parents of the children in her school. It surprises me how many of the parents agreed to let her take their children out of the country, considering how early this was in the Nazi rule. Not all agreed, but the majority did. Over 60 of her students, mostly Jewish, would be leaving.

The 13 oldest, who had been refused the opportunity to enter university left first in the summer of 1933. Given only a few weeks to prepare for the equivalent exam in England, nine of the 13 passed.

Image from Deposit Photos, @Mnapoli

But it was the event in October 1933 that read like a spy novel. The remaining students were assigned to three groups and taken into three different train stations. The parents were ordered that there should be no emotional goodbyes. Nothing that would draw the attention of the Nazi officials and soldiers who were already everywhere by this time. Each of the three groups crossed the German border safely, and they met up to cross the English Channel together. Anna escorted them to Bunce Court.

In Bunce Court, their lives would change. The financial support Anna had received for the school in Germany was no longer available. The students learned to grow vegetables and tend to chickens as well as typical academics. English officials were suspicious of the school, thinking that no substantial education could happen with such limited resources. But within two years, they were convinced that the Bunce Court school was doing everything it needed to do.

Anna left Germany two years before the Nuremberg Laws (which greatly restricted what Jewish people could do) were instituted. She left five years before Kristallnacht. She recognized the direction Germany was heading long before most of her fellow Germans.

After Kristallnacht, England agreed to accept 10,000 refugee children. This came to be known as the Kindertransport. Anna helped to administer these children’s welcome, and at least 50 joined her at Bunce Court. And after the war, she also took in children who had survived the Holocaust, some by hiding, and some who had survived the camps. It is estimated that 800 children passed through the school at Bunce Court.

If you'd like to hear what life at Bunce Court was really like, I share the memories of two former students here.

When I read Anna’s story, there is one Bible verse that comes to mind. First Chronicles 12:32 reads in part, “From Issachar, men who understood the times and understood what Israel should do.” I can’t think of any description that fits Anna better.

P. S. While preparing this story, I became interested in the bit about Anna taking the children on a field trip while the swastika flew over their school. I have not been able to make the timeline make sense. Some resources date the order to fly the flag as early as March 1933 and indicate that it remained flying after that. Most stories of Anna make a point of her leaving the flag up for one day while the school was empty. For now, it is one of history’s little mysteries.

Best-selling author Martha Hutchens is a history nerd who loves nothing more than finding a new place and time to explore. She won the 2019 Golden Heart for Romance with Religious and Spiritual Elements. A former analytical chemist and retired homeschool mom, Martha occasionally finds time for knitting when writing projects allow.

Martha’s debut novel, A Steadfast Heart, is now available. You can learn more about her books and historical research at marthahutchens.com.

When his family legacy is on the line, rancher Drew McGraw becomes desperate for someone to tame and tutor his three children. Desperate enough to seek a mail-order bride. But when the wrong woman arrives on his doorstep, Drew balks.

Heiress Kaitlyn Montgomery runs straight from the scandal chasing her toward a fresh start on a secluded ranch. She strikes a bargain with Drew—a marriage convenient for both of them.

But the more Kaitlyn adapts to ranch life and forms a bond with Drew’s children and their enigmatic father, she realizes that this ranch is where she is meant to be. And then her past catches up with her…

From Knotted Lace to Tatting

by Izzy James

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatting#/media/File:2021-03-21_DSG0835_butterfly-shaped_handiwork_in_tatting_technique_(high_resolution).jpg

 From what I can gather, tatting, like most textiles, has no definite beginnings. It appears to have evolved from the techniques of knotted lace. Although one could argue that anyone who did cut work, embroidery, and even darning could have made the leap to creating fabric from knotted thread. Knotted lace and tatting are different from knitting and crochet in that those techniques create fabric by looping  yarn. Knotted lace and tatting create a lace fabric by joining rings out of knots and chains. Like knitting and crochet, tatting is still in wide practice today. YouTube has tons of videos should you like to give it a try.  
 

Knotted lace is worked by winding thread onto a shuttle, then a series of knots are formed in a line like a string of beads. Knotting was very popular in the eighteenth century becoming a favorite in the English court. Both Queen Mary, and Queen Charlotte were said to be avid knotters. Below is an image of Anne, 2nd Countess of Albemarle, and her shuttle and thread.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_van_Keppel,_Countess_of_Albemarle#/media/File:Anne,_2nd_Countess_of_Albemarle_by_Sir_Joshua_Reynolds.jpg

 

This website has some good, copyrighted, pictures of knotted lace. https://rookandraven.weebly.com/knotted.html

Knotting was portable, and doable with a very small number of tools. All that’s needed is a shuttle, thread, scissors, and a needle to sew sections together and to attach the lace to whatever it was intended for. 
 

Shuttles were made from all kinds of exotic and plain materials. Ivory, tortoiseshell, precious metals, not so precious metals, and wood. They could be decorated with jewels, enameled, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, or not decorated at all. 
 

Threads also varied from linen and cotton to gold and silver. 
 

It is simple to see how creating knots in that way would lead some industrious fiber artist to create rings. It is thought that this person was in Italy. Knots were used to create rings. The rings were separated by lengths of thread usually. It is astounding what can be made by making knotted rings and sewing them together in creative ways. 

Tatting is defined in Webster's dictionary as “a delicate handmade lace formed usually by looping and knotting with a single cotton thread and a small shuttle”. 

 

Tatting came into its own in the mid-to-late nineteenth century and was popular well into the twentieth. Mlle Riego, as she liked to be known, published eleven pattern books between 1850-1868. Innovation abounded as more and more women were tatting. Soon picos, small decorative loops, were used to join tatted rings which meant they didn’t have to be joined by sewing. Soon after the chain was invented. These are all the modern techniques used in tatting today. Rings, picos, joins, and chains. Once a person masters them she can create tons of designs. Lace edgings on clothes were popular in the eighteenth century along with three dimensional flowers and other accents. Tatting tools are still simple: a shuttle, thread, scissors, a needle, and a tiny crochet hook. 

https://tattingcollector.weebly.com/tatting-shuttles.html

Tatting shuttles are a good two inches smaller than knotting shuttles and they are closed at the end to allow better control of the thread. Good quality threads are easy to find and they come in many colors and useful sizes. A tiny hook is also easy to find and makes joining easier. 
 

In my book, The Road Home, Beti’s friend Agatha is a dressmaker. One of her favorite things is tatting lace for her creations. I am currently working on Agatha’s story. It will be out later this year.

 

A Cinderella story about a pirate's daughter on the Wilderness Road to Kentucky.

Beti Boatman, pirate's daughter, long dreamed of traveling to a place where no one knew her name. When looters showed up on the day she buried her father her choice was made. Leave her home or allow the only two people in the world she loves to live in constant danger.

When Zeke and what's left of his regiment organized a wagon train west, they did not expect to encounter a woman traveling alone. Beti insists she doesn't need his help, but Zeke knows better and the strong need to protect her runs deep. Things get complicated when looters track Beti down. And emissaries from her mother’s country claim Beti is a real princess. Now Beti must choose: the hardships in Kentucky or a throne.

 Izzy James lives in the traces of history in coastal Virginia with her fabulous husband in a house brimming with books. Born with a traveling bone and an itch to knit. Izzy travels to every location where her books take place, from Williamsburg to Wyoming, popping in yarn stores along the way. 

 

Connect with Izzy through her website at izzyjamesauthor.com and sign up for her monthly newsletter. 

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Website: https://izzyjamesauthor.com
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Izzy-James/author/B08DRW4JY3
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Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9815799.Izzy_James
 

References:

https://www.ringoftatters.org.uk/19ctatting.html

The Complete Book of Tatting: Everything You Wanted to Know but Couldn’t Find Out About Shuttle Lace by Rebecca Jones, Lacis Publications, USA

https://daffodilandleek.com/a-brief-history-of-tatting

https://www.britannica.com/art/tatting
 

Women of Resistance Andree de Jongh

 

Born under the German occupation of Belgium during World War I, perhaps it is not surprising that two decades later, Andrée de Jongh would create the Comet Line and personally lead downed airmen to safety when her beloved country was once again occupied by German troops. She may have been further inspired by stories of Edith Cavell, a Red Cross nurse who’d been executed the year before Andrée was born for helping soldiers flee the Netherlands.

In 1940, Andrée began working as a volunteer nurse with the Red Cross in Brussels where she cared for captured Allied servicemen. She eventually decided to help them escape and arranged for a series of “safe houses” in which the men could wait until being escorted out of the country. She also provided civilian clothing and false identification papers. Much of the success of the Comet Line, as it became known, was the result of using unconventional hiding places such as farms, convents, and private homes. Ultimately the largest of several escape lines in occupied Europe, the Comet Line was comprised of sixty-five to seventy-five percent women.

The first group to escape had eleven men who traveled on foot through France and into Spain where

they were immediately arrested. Only two of the escapees made it to England. Unhappy with the results, Andrée, with the code name Dédée, decided to lead the next group herself. The mission was a success with the entire group arriving at the British consulate in Bilbao where they were given safe harbor. She requested financial help, but the British were hesitant to back a young woman in charge of a brand-new line. After a period of time during which Andrée and others led several successful missions, the British offered logistical and financial support, however, she was not interested in outside control, so she only accepted money.

Before her arrest in January 1943, Andrée personally led two dozen round trips escorting almost 120 airmen to safety. She would take them by train to Bayonne or cities close to the Spanish border, then hike with them across the Pyrenees Mountains into Spain. Her arrest followed that of a large number of Comet Line workers, one of whom was her father. She later indicated that she was probably betrayed by a farm worker at one of the safe houses.

After her arrest, she was interrogated nineteen times by the Abwehr and twice by the Gestapo, but by all reports told them very little other than to say she was in charge of the Comet Line. Skeptical that such a petite young woman could possibly be telling the truth, authorities sent her to Ravensbrük.

Andrée survived the war and was liberated in April 1945 when the Red Army arrived. Thin and undernourished, she would suffer health problems for the rest of her life, however that didn’t keep her from serving others less fortunate. She attained her nursing degree then worked in African leprosariums (communities for those afflicted with leprosy) during her entire career.

Recognized for her brave work, she received the United States Medal of Freedom with golden palms,
the British George Medal, the Belgian Croix de Guerre with palm, became a Chevalier of the French Légion d’honneur and a Chevalier of the Belgian Order of Leopold, and was granted the honorary rank of lieutenant colonel in the Belgian Army. In 1985, King Baudouin of Belgium made her a countess in the Belgian nobility. She passed away in Brussels in 2007 at the age of 91.

___________________

Linda Shenton Matchett writes happily-ever-after historical Christian fiction about second chances

and women who overcome life’s challenges to be better versions of themselves. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, she was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry (of Star-Spangled Banner fame) and has lived in historical places all her life. She is a volunteer docent and archivist at the Wright Museum of WWII. She now lives in central New Hampshire where she explores the history of this great state, immerses herself in the imaginary worlds created by other authors, and drinks copious amounts of tea.

Dutch Dawn

Will they survive the 500-mile journey to freedom?

Isak Westgard is only six missions short to be rotated stateside. Then the unthinkable happens, and he crashes in the occupied Netherlands where the chances of him making it back to England are slim to none. The beautiful and tough-as-nails resistance courier begs to differ and claims she hasn’t lost anyone yet. The problem is the longer they’re together, the less he wants to escape.

Annaliese Claasen has escorted her fair share of refugees and downed Allied pilots to safety - too numerous to remember. Until now. There’s something different about the Norwegian-American lieutenant, and it’s more than his good looks. Can she get him out of the country before losing her heart?

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/u/bMjoxV

Photo Credits:
Andree in 1941 By Unknown author - Public Domain

Map of Escape Line: Museum of the Air Force
Andree behind desk: The Boston Globe

Sources:
https://www.lowellmilkencenter.org/programs/projects/view/andree-de-jongh-faster-than-a-comet/hero
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwEVhyDzpfQ
https://www.discoveringbelgium.com/andree-de-jongh/
https://www.liberationroute.com/en/stories/474/andree-de-jongh
https://www.andreecollective.org/who-is-andre

Marthe Cohn - An Unlikely WWII Allied Spy

By Mary Dodge Allen

Who would have believed it? She was a French-born Jewish refugee, age 25, under five feet in height - and yet she worked as a spy behind German lines. 

But Marthe had courage, a quick mind, and she spoke fluent German and French. She also had a fierce determination to do anything she could to help the Allies defeat the Nazis.

Marthe Hoffnung, circa 1945 (Public Domain)

Early Life:

Marthe was born in Metz, France on April 13, 1920 to Regine and Fischel Hoffnung. They were an Orthodox Jewish family, and her grandfather was a prominent rabbi. Marthe had six siblings, but she was the only one who resembled their mother - fair skin, blonde hair and blue eyes.

Metz, France is located in the area of Alsace-Lorraine, only a few miles from the German border. Germany annexed this area in 1870 and held it nearly fifty years, until it was returned to France after WWI. While under German control, the residents of Alsace-Lorraine were only allowed to speak German.

By the time Marthe was born, Alsace-Lorraine was once again part of France, and French could be freely spoken, as well as German. As a result, she grew up bilingual, speaking German to her parents and French with friends and in school.

Kristallnacht - The Night of Broken Glass:

During November 9-10, 1938, the Nazi government staged a barrage of violence against German and Austrian Jews, arresting and beating them, while destroying their property.

In one German city, a Jewish teenager was brutally thrown out of a three-story window. He broke both legs as he landed on the broken and burning household furniture belonging to his family and others.

Jewish Synagogue destroyed during Kristallnacht (Public Domain)

Marthe's family and others in their Jewish community resolved to help the Jewish families who were fleeing Germany by crossing into France. They provided shelter, food and money so they could travel on to reach relatives in safer areas.

WWII Begins:

France declared war on Nazi Germany in September 1939, after the invasion of Poland. Marthe's oldest brother Fred enlisted in the French Army and was sent to the Maginot Line. Metz city officials advised Jewish families to move further into France, away from the German border.

Marthe and her siblings. Front row, L-R: Arthur, Stephanie, Fred

Back row, L-R: Rosy, Marthe, Helene (not pictured: Celine)

Marthe's large family packed as much as they could in suitcases and left behind their home and business to resettle in the town of Poitiers, southwest of Paris, where Marthe's Uncle Benoit lived.

The Nazis Occupy France:

During May - June 1940, the German military conducted a 'Blitzkreig' (lightning war), conquering France and its neighboring countries. The Maginot Line fell quickly. Marthe's brother Fred was taken prisoner, but he escaped and briefly rejoined the family in Poitiers. Then he left to join the Resistance movement.

Marthe Hoffnung after arriving in Poitiers, circa 1940 (Public Domain)

In the summer of 1940, Marthe, age 20, got a job to help support her family. She was hired to work as a French/German interpreter at Poitiers town hall. Her blonde hair, blue eyes and German surname 'Hoffnung' convinced Nazi officials she was 'Aryan.' Working as a Jew under the supervision of the enemy wasn't easy, but she learned to handle the pressure.

Beginning in the autumn of 1940, the Nazis ordered Jewish residents to receive new identity papers with JUIV or JUIVE in bold red letters. More edicts followed, banning Jews from many occupations, taking over businesses, enacting strict curfews, and confiscating radios, telephones and typewriters.

In April 1941, Marthe hosted a small party to celebrate her twenty-first birthday. Of all her siblings, Marthe was closest to her sister Stephanie, who was studying to become a doctor. Stephanie came to the party with some of her fellow medical students. One of them, Jacques Delaunay, soon became engaged to Marthe.

Persecution Intensifies:

In August 1941, Nazi officials discovered Marthe was Jewish, and she was fired from her job at the town hall. Three months later, she began nursing training at a Red Cross nursing college. It was run by a kind French woman, who defied Nazi rules by allowing Marthe to enroll, knowing she was Jewish. The woman declared, "There's no prejudice here."

Marthe Hoffnung, Nursing School photo, 1941 (Public Domain)

Weeks later, Marthe was approached in the street by a French clerk she had worked with at the town hall. He offered to make forged identity papers for her and her family (without the red JUIV stamp). The clerk refused payment, even though he risked being arrested and killed if Nazi officials caught him.

Marthe was overwhelmed at his kindness and asked why he would take this risk. He said: 

"If I can help one family escape from the Germans, then I will. I can't just stand by and watch what is happening."

She hid these forged papers in a safe place, waiting for the right time for her family to escape from Nazi-occupied France to the relative freedom of the '"unoccupied zone" (the area of southern France controlled by the puppet 'Vichy' government.)

The Noose Tightens:

During 1942, the Nazis began requiring Jews to wear a garish yellow cloth star on their clothing, and the random arrest and imprisonment of Jews became more commonplace. Marthe's family helped Jewish families to escape, by enlisting the help of patriotic French farmers whose land bordered the unoccupied zone.

One day, her sister Stephanie forgot to use an alias and signed her real name on a coded letter to one of the farmers. The Gestapo intercepted the letter, saw it was suspicious and arrested her. They ruthlessly interrogated her, but Stephanie refused to reveal any names. Every week, on visiting day, Marthe brought Stephanie food and clothing, and they prayed together for her release from jail.

After Stephanie's arrest, the Gestapo kept a close watch on Marthe's family. Every night they pounded on the door at curfew, to make sure all members were present. 

Marthe and fiance Jacques Delaunay (family photo)

Marthe's fiance Jacques - who wasn't Jewish - knew the time would soon come for them to part. He said, "I'll write every day, and when the war's over, we'll be together all the time."

The Escape:

One night after curfew, one of Marthe's nursing classmates came to their door and warned them there was going to be a 'rafle' (police roundup of Jews) later that night. She urged them to spend the night at her house. Marthe protested that her friend was putting her life in danger. But her friend insisted.

Marthe had already begun preparations for a quick getaway, sewing several thousand francs inside the lining of her clothes. Her large family took what they could carry and made their way through the dark streets to her friend's house.

They left her house at first light, splitting into small groups to avoid attracting attention. They traveled by different routes to the border, where they hoped to walk across, aided by their forged documents. 

Marthe's group was the last to attempt the crossing. It was dusk when she and her mother walked on the rural road beside her squeaking bike, while steadying her frail grandmother, who was riding on the handlebars.

Nazi officials had plastered posters everywhere near the border, offering 25,000 francs (a year's income) to farmers who prevented Jews from crossing. As the small group walked past rural farmhouses on their way to the border, people stared at them. Marthe whispered a prayer, "Dear God, protect us now."

Then a farmer bowed his head and dropped to one knee. His wife kneeled next to him and made the sign of the cross. One by one, others bowed their heads and clasped their hands in prayer as they passed. Tears ran down Marthe's cheeks as she nodded a silent thanks to them. They crossed the border safely.

After reaching the unoccupied zone, Marthe's family still faced the danger of arrest. They reunited with her brother Fred, who was now active in the Resistance. He moved the older family members to a safer place in a remote mountainous area of southern France.

Shattered Hopes:

Marthe settled in Marseille and enrolled in nursing school to finish her degree. A year later, in October 1943, she completed her nursing exams. At this time, she also received terrible news. Her fiance Jacques had been executed by the Gestapo for his acts of sabotage with the Resistance. Marthe was devastated.

Weeks earlier, she'd heard that Stephanie had been moved out of Poitiers jail. Marthe feared that her sister had been sent to a concentration camp. Her anger burned against the Nazis, for taking away those she loved.

Heartbroken, Marthe moved to Paris to live with her older sister Celine, and she soon got a job as a private nurse for a wealthy Catholic woman.

New Role as an Allied Spy:

Paris was liberated by the Allies in August 1944. but fighting still raged, as the Allies pushed on toward Germany. More than ever, Marthe wanted to do her part to defeat the Nazis.

After several attempts, Marthe was finally accepted into the French Army, and was assigned to the 151st Infantry Regiment, a former Resistance unit. Many officers dismissed her as a weak, petite girl. She had volunteered to work as a nurse, and instead was given an unimportant social worker position.

Marthe in French Army uniform, circa 1945 (Public Domain)

One day, she was sent to answer phones for a high ranking officer. As soon as he found out she could speak fluent French and German, he asked her if she was willing to work for the French Army's Intelligence Service. She said yes!

Marthe endured rigorous training in handling weapons, reading maps, signaling in Morse code and recognizing Nazi uniform insignia. She was the only woman in the training, and she excelled. Her trainers gave her the nickname: 'Chichinette' which means 'fussy girl' because of her stubbornness.

Marthe with her French Army Infantry Regiment (Public Domain)

Her 'Aryan' appearance made her a perfect spy. Under the cover name, "Marthe Ulrich," she would enter enemy territory and pose as a German nurse looking for her missing fiance - a German soldier. This 'search' cover story would help her to approach German officers and gather information on troop placements.

With her photographic memory, Marthe gathered key details of troop movements and sent coded messages back to headquarters. She even warned them of an entire German Infantry Division hiding in the Black Forest, waiting to ambush Allied troops.

After the War:

Marthe in Poitiers, circa 1950 (family photo)

Marthe resumed work as a nurse, eventually moving to Switzerland. She searched through detailed records of concentration camp inmates and discovered that her sister Stephanie had been killed at Auschwitz. 

Marthe and Major Cohn on their wedding day, 1958 (family photo)

In 1956, Marthe met an American medical student named Major Cohn. By 1958, they were married and living in New York City. They had two sons, Stephan Jacques (named for Stephanie) and Remi Benjamin.

Marthe Cohn holding baby Remi, with Stephan riding the carousel horse (family photo)

For her courageous wartime service, Marthe received several medals, including the French Croix de Guerre in 1945 and France's highest honor, the Medaille Militaire in 1999.

Later Life:

Marthe never forgot her wartime experiences and often suffered from bad dreams. She didn't share her story - not even with her sons - until the mid-1990s, when she began traveling around the world, giving talks promoting peace and equality.

In 2002, with the help of another writer, Marthe wrote about her life and experiences, in a book called, Behind Enemy Lines. 

Marthe Cohn in later life. (Public Domain)

Her wartime experiences were harrowing and tragic, but in her talks Marthe spoke with wit and optimism, captivating her audiences. She once said, "Why wouldn't I be an optimist when so many people risked their lives to save me?"

Marthe continued traveling and sharing her story until her death on May 20, 2025, at the age of 105. I wish I had known her.

_________________

Mary Dodge Allen is currently finishing her sequel to Hunt for a Hometown Killer. She's won a Christian Indie Award, an Angel Book Award, and two Royal Palm Literary Awards (Florida Writer's Association). She and her husband live in Central Florida. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Faith Hope and Love Christian Writers. 

Website: www.marydodgeallen.com

Recent release, anthology devotional: El Jireh, The God Who Provides

Mary's story, entitled: A Mother's Desperate Prayer, describes her struggle with guilt and despair after her young son is badly burned in a kitchen accident. When we are at the end of all we have, El Jireh provides what we need. 

Click the link below to purchase on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/El-Jireh-God-Who-Provides/dp/1963611608

Mary's novel: Hunt for a Hometown Killer won the 2022 Christian Indie Award, First Place - Mystery/Suspense; and the 2022 Angel Book Award - Mystery/Suspense.

Click the link below to buy Hunt for a Hometown Killer at Amazon.com:

Hunt For A Hometown Killer: A Novel: Allen, Mary Dodge: 9781952369704: Amazon.com: Books

Link to Mary's Spotlight Interview:   Mary Dodge Allen Author Spotlight EA Book

Why It's Important to Celebrate Our Freedoms and Remember Our Fallen Dead

By Donna Wichelman

Today is Independence Day in the United States of America, marking the 250th anniversary of the formal adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.

Declaration of Independence and Flag with Thirteen Stars: iStock

While many colonists in the original thirteen colonies would have preferred to remain British subjects, the Founding Fathers believed the British government had violated their rights by imposing taxes and trade controls without their consent after the French and Indian War. Students of colonial history will remember the Stamp Act, the Townshend Acts, and the Tea Act, which colonists considered intolerable. Perhaps if King George III had granted them representative seats in Parliament, we’d still be subjects of Britain today.

Continental Congress Signing of the Declaration of Independence: Wikiimages

Unfortunately, the king refused to grant any concessions to the colonists. So, believing the British government had become too tyrannical, they chose the only path they believed open to them to secure their freedoms and independence: war. Thus, the Founding Fathers boldly moved to create a new and independent nation they called the United States of America.

But there was a time when Britain and the United States worked together to defeat a common enemy, a more fearsome tyrant whose ideology and ultimate goal was to reshape Europe into a German-dominated, racially-oriented empire. Adolf Hitler wanted supreme power, ruling over conquered nations that supplied him with food and other resources, and exterminating those whom he considered undesirables. These people were not just the Jews, though they were the most visibly targeted group and resulted in the Holocaust. He also wanted to destroy the weak, the sick, the Gypsies, and the homosexuals, among others.

Nazi Flag on Town hall of Libourne, France During the Occupation in June 1940: Care of the Libourne City Archives

Jewish Man Made to Wear a Fabric Star in France

Actual Star of David owned by Josette Melinon, a Jewish Survivor 

from World War Two

Long before the United States entered the war, Britain had already declared war on Germany in September 1939. But badly in need of ships, weapons, fuel, and money by 1940, Winston Churchill approached President Franklin D. Roosevelt for aid. Though originally neutral, Roosevelt created the Lend-Lease Act of March 1941, enabling the United States to send Britain military supplies.

In August 1941, President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill met aboard a naval vessel in Placentia Bay, off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, to create a joint statement—a set of principles they envisioned for the postwar world. They laid out eight shared goals and summarized them in a statement on August 14, 1941.

“. . . After final destruction of the Nazi tyranny, [we] hope to see established a peace which will afford to all nations the means of dwelling in safety within their own boundaries, and which will afford assurance that all men in all lands may live out their lives in freedom from fear and want. . . . [S]uch a peace should enable all men to traverse the high seas and oceans without hindrance.” See more on the Atlantic Charter.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States and Britain cooperated militarily. It became a coordinated strategy through the Combined Chiefs of Staff, which gave a priority to defeating Nazi Germany. Several major campaigns emerged from the combined forces, the most well-known being Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944.

American General Dwight D. Eisenhower served as Supreme Allied Commander. British, American, Canadian, and other Allied forces landed in Normandy, and the liberation of France and the rest of Europe began.

Map of the Combined Allied Invasion--British, American, Canadian, and 

French of Normandy, France, June 6 1944

Picture of French Citizens Celebrating the Liberation of France in Normandy

During the war, the British and Americans cooperated in numerous ways.
· Strategic bombing efforts;
· Intelligence gathering, particularly breaking German codes, i.e., Enigma, which enabled the Allies to track German vessels and military strategies;

Actual Enigma Machine, Normandy Museum: Donna's Gallery, May 2026

· Technology and weapons development, such as radar, sonar, code breaking machines, aircraft technology, and atomic research.

While US and British leaders didn’t always agree, and tensions sometimes ran high (e.g., over the timing of D-Day), ultimately, cooperation between the two nations enabled the Allies to win the war and defeat the tyranny Hitler sought to impose on the world.

I happened to be in Libourne, France on VE-Day this past May 8, 2026, eighty-two years after the Liberation of France. All over France, they still celebrate the day, remembering the great cost paid for their freedoms against a tyrannical maniac and giving honor to those who fell in action. On D-Day itself, all totaled, 10,300 British, American, and Canadian forces perished, sacrificing their lives, so that France and all of Europe might live in freedom without fear.

VE-Day, Libourne, France: May 2026, Donna's Gallery

What is the cost for our freedoms in the United States? That's a question we all must ask ourselves. No, we haven't always done it right, and it's appropriate for us to have those discussions. But in a world where there are still despots and dictators, what sacrifice are we willing to make to ensure our freedoms still survive for all time?

"When in the course of human events ..."

Donna is an Angel Book Award-winning author of Historical Romance for A Song of Deliverance. Book Two in the Silver Singing Mine series, Rhythms of the Heart, was released in November 2025. She is currently working on a World War II slip-time novel, Power of the Thorn.

Weaving history and faith into stories of intrigue and redemption grew out of Donna's love of travel, history, and literature as a young adult while attending an international college in Wales, U.K. She enjoys developing plots that show how God's love abounds even in the profoundly difficult circumstances of our lives. Her stories reflect the hunger in all of us for love, belonging, and forgiveness.

Donna was a communications professional before becoming a full-time writer. Her short stories and articles have appeared in inspirational publications. She has two indie-published romantic suspense novels, Light Out of Darkness and Undaunted Valor, in her Waldensian Series. 

Donna and her husband of forty-one years participate in ministry at their local church in Colorado. They love spending time with their grandchildren and bike, kayak, and travel whenever possible.

Sarah Winnemucca - Advocate and Author by Nancy J. Farrier

Sarah Winnemucca, daughter of Chief Winnemucca, granddaughter of Chief Truckee (Chief of the whole Piute Nation), spent her adult life making people aware of the plight of her people. During her life, she worked as an educator, military scout and interpreter, and advocate of Native American Rights. Her book, Life Among the Piutes, by Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins, published in 1883, details the treatment of her people at the hands of the government. (For research, I started reading her book and couldn't put it down.)

Born sometime in 1844, Sarah was given the name, Thocmetony, which means shell flower. In her early years in Northern Nevada, the Paiutes and Washos were the only people inhabiting the area. Sarah talks in her book about the spring Festival of the Flowers where all the girls who had flower names would search to see if their flower was in bloom. They would gather the flowers and make wreaths, crowns or scarves to wear as they danced. As they walked, or danced, they would sing to themselves. The young men would often dance alongside them, especially if they were a sweetheart.

Shell Flower

Here is what Sarah would sing: “I, Sarah Winnemucca, am a shell-flower, such as I wear on my dress. My name is Thocmetony. I am so beautiful! Who will come and dance with me while I am so beautiful? Oh, come and be happy with me! I shall be beautiful while the earth lasts. Somebody will always admire me; and who will come and be happy with me in the Spirit-land? I shall be beautiful forever there. Yes, I shall be more beautiful than my shell-flower, my Thocmetony! Then, come, oh come, and dance and be happy with me!” (Life Among the Piutes, pg. 43)
. 

She recalls the time when her grandfather, Chief Truckee, first saw white people entering their land. His excitement can be seen in his recorded words, “My white brothers, — my long-looked for white brothers have come at last!” Chief Truckee’s gestures of peace were ignored and despite trying many times to extend friendship to the white people, he finally gave up, hoping the next party to come through would be friendlier. His hope came true in following years when Captain Fremont and his troops accepted his friendship. Chief Truckee and his men helped fight in the Bear War to defeat the Mexican army and win California for the United States of America.

When Sarah first accompanied her grandfather to California at age six, she was frightened of the new things she encountered: beds, chairs, unusual food, bright-colored dishes. Her grandfather insisted that Sarah and her sister become members of Major Ormsby’s household when Sarah turned thirteen. By fourteen, Sarah had acquired five languages. At sixteen, Sarah and her sister, Elma, attended a convent school in San Jose, CA—a request her grandfather made on his deathbed. The sisters weren’t allowed into the school officially, but Sarah continued to learn. 

Lewis Hopkins, Sarah's Husband

In 1872, Sarah went to Washington D.C. to speak out on behalf of her people, who were suffering injustices at the hand of Indian Agents on the reservation. In 1880, she again pleaded their cause before the Secretary of the Interior and President Rutherford B. Hayes. She gave more than 400 speeches on behalf of her people. 

In her book, Sarah says the following of her grandfather, “I can imagine his feelings, for I have drank deeply from the same cup. When I think of my past life, and the bitter trials I have endured, I can scarcely believe I live, and yet I do ; and, with the help of Him who notes the sparrow's fall, I mean to fight for my down-trodden race while life lasts.” She lived out this desire to the best of her ability.

I am amazed that such a young girl learned languages so quickly and had such determination. How about you? Do you speak more than one language? Have you ever given a speech or spoken for a cause you felt strongly about?

Nancy J Farrier is an award-winning, New York Times best-selling author who lives in Southern Arizona in the Sonoran Desert. She loves the Southwest with its interesting historical past. When Nancy isn’t writing, she loves to read, do needlecraft, play with her cats and dog, and spend time with her family. You can read more about Nancy and her books on her website: nancyjfarrier.com.