World War II Database

Full Title: Spirit of Resistance: The Life of SOE Agent Harry Peulevé

When the British Expeditionary Force evacuated from Dunkirk on the French coast in 1940, Harry Peulevé was among those who bore the shame of defeat. "The only way I could wipe out the degradation and humiliation that I felt would be by getting back into a fighting unit where I could prove I was not a coward." He did eventually return to continental Europe to join the fight, but not as a soldier. He became a secret agent for the Special Operations Executive.

The story of Harry Peulevé was largely unknown, partly due to his dislike for contemporary publisher's preference for dramatization and partly due to his death at the relative young age of 47. His story remained unknown until author Nigel Perrin came across many records of high remarks for Peulevé, yet there was little published about him. Perrin set forth on a mission to write a biography of this secret agent, and Spirit of Resistance was his final product.

On his first mission, Peulevé was parachuted into France to set up the SCIENTIST resistance circuit. Upon landing, he broke his leg and decided that he had to be evacuated. He traveled through the Pyrenees, crossing danger at every turn including being imprisoned by Spanish authorities and then making a daring escape, finally returning to Britain in May 1943 after a six-month journey. On his second mission, he returned to France and helped to build resistance fighter cells with strength in the thousands. He was trained to kill, and had killed. However, he loathed the thought of ending the life of another human being. On one occasion, he was approached by a downed British airman who turned out to be a German spy attempting to infiltrate into his network, and he had to make the difficult choice of ordering the execution for the captured spy. After the execution, he thought:

Peulevé, too, was eventually captured by the Germans. He was tortured, interrogated, and sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp, where he remained until near the end of the war. His war time memories left him scarred, but yet his accomplishments and his determination made him a hero, even if his stories were left unknown until Spirit of Resistance was published in 2008.

The rather well-researched Spirit of Resistance reflected the time the author had devoted; interviews with Peulevé's family and having access to his unpublished memoirs meant that a lot of the material found in this book possibly had not been published before. Meanwhile, the narratives were descriptive and extremely enjoyable to read, making it as engaging and exciting as a suspenseful spy novel without the over-dramatization.

This book is recommended for those interested in the resistance efforts in France and for those who looking for a personal story in an impersonal war.