André Trocmé is famous for his role in saving thousands of Jews from the Nazis as pastor of the village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, France, a story celebrated in literature and film. But who was the man behind the legend, and the how did he become an international hero and uncompromising advocate of nonviolent resistance? Appearing in English for the first time, his private memoirs give a colorful and honest account of a person determined to stay true to his faith and convictions, who despite his quirks was ready to stand his ground when world history came knocking.

Written for his children in the 1950s and first published in French in 2020, these memoirs trace André Trocmé’s extraordinary life: a bourgeois childhood; teenage years as a World War I refugee; studies abroad in New York City, where he met his future wife, Magda, and tutored the Rockefeller children; military service in Algeria, which cemented his pacifist stance; postings as a pastor in depressed areas of France; resisting fascism and hiding Jews in Le Chambon; a brief imprisonment and a stint underground; and globetrotting leadership in the International Fellowship of Reconciliation. Trocmé also reveals the impact of personal tragedies: the untimely death of his mother in a car accident for which his father was responsible and, years later, his teenage son’s suicide.

This detailed first-person account from an eyewitness to pivotal moments in history will be of interest not just to scholars of the Holocaust, World War II, and domestic resistance to fascism, but also to all people who seek to follow their conscience and the teachings of their faith in trying times.

People who enjoyed Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed, A Good Place to Hide, We Only Know Men, and the documentary, Weapons of the Spirit, will appreciate reading the story in Trocme’s own words.

- A behind-the-scenes account of nonviolent resistance activity at Le Chambon.
- A candid recounting of Trocmé’s life and what led him to save Jews, for which he was named Righteous Among the Nations.
- Cultural historians will appreciate this primary-source description of the Belle Époque, civilian experience during WWI, the French Protestant scene, and life with the Rockefeller family.
- 2025 release coincides with the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII.
- People who enjoyed Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed, A Good Place to Hide and Village of Secrets will appreciate reading the story in Trocmé's own words.
- WWII and Vichy France recent bestsellers include The Winemaker's Wife; Adolfo Kaminsky: A Forger's Life; I Am André: German Jew, French Resistance Fighter, British Spy; and The Art of Resistance: My Four Years in the French Underground.
- Contemporary religious pacifists and dissidents include Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Niemoller, and Sophie Scholl.