resisting a fascist state

[Doug Millison]

"[...] The lives of the Arnold family were made
difficult even before the war in the conservative town
of Mulhouse due to their religious beliefs. They were
ostracized by their neighbors and even by some members
of their family. With the German occupation, however,
their lives were soon in danger. Jehovah's Witnesses
were formally banned by the Nazis in 1938 and denied
the right to free speech and assembly. The Arnold
family remained involved in their church after the
Nazi occupation, participating in underground meetings
and smuggling literature across the Swiss border. As
pressure increased, Simone's father Adolphe lost his
job and the family bank account was closed by the
Gestapo. Finally, in the fall of 1941, Adolphe was
arrested and sent to Dachau concentration camp.
Meanwhile, Simone felt the pressure to conform to the
newly Nazified school system. Her refusal to give the
"Heil Hitler" salute or to join the Bund Deutscher
Madchen (BDM), the Nazi youth group for girls,
resulted in her being sent to the Wessenberg
Reformatory for Girls in Germany. Shortly after, in
September 1943, Simone's mother was sent to Shirmeck
concentration camp. Simone's life at the reformatory
consisted of soul destroying hard labour,
semi-starvation, and unpredictable punishment, all
designed to break her spirit and lead her to renounce
her religious beliefs. Facing the Lion is particularly
important as a study in the character of a person of
conscience. Simone and the entire Arnold family were
set apart from their society even before the war.
Their commitment to God above state power, their
pacifism and their willingness to question the
standards of the time separated them from other
members of their social group. Alsatian society is
depicted as conformist and authoritarian, with little
tolerance for difference of opinion or belief. Simone
was raised in an open, intellectual environment where
she was encouraged to question and to think for
herself. She was also raised in an atmosphere free of
racial prejudice. The authorities at Wessenberg sought
to undo this training and instill in her the values of
passivity, obedience and silence. [...] "

http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=122241001963594

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