The Gunny Sack
If you’re looking for something to read in these days of sheltering-at-home, I recommend reading the book, Madame Fourcade's Secret War by Lynne Olson.
The book tells about Marie-Madeline Fourcade’s life as a leader of Alliance, a resistance network in France during the second world war. It’s a riveting account of her war years, and there are many moments which are both uplifting and heartbreaking.
While there are many stories, one that I’d like to share because I found it so amazing:
Earlier in the war, the Vichy government was rounding up Alliance members and Marie-Madeline needed to escape. Getting out of France was incredibly difficult. The plan she and her aides developed was for her to be in a mailbag, which was going to be placed in the backseat of a car, that was going to be put on a flatbed for a short train ride through the snowy (it was December) Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain.
Wearing nothing but her underwear, she curled her 5’6” body into a ball that would fit into a 2’ x 4’ gunny sack. This position was extraordinarily uncomfortable. Her chin dug into her chest and her displaced hip began hurting after just a few minutes of being in the mail bag. Unfortunately, what was supposed to be a two-hour train ride, turned into nine hours when the train had scheduling conflicts.
After what seemed an eternity the train finally arrived in Spain. Eventually her aides were able to get her out the bag. When the mail sack was open, she remained the fetal position, as she had no feeling in her limbs and was unable to move any of them. As they pulled her from the bag she fainted and they were greatly relieved, when she eventually regained consciousness. They had thought she was dead. It took several days for the feeling to return to her limbs. Amazingly, she returned to France using the same method of transport.
Years later, in 1973 Marie-Madeline wrote about her work during the French Resistance in her memoirs, Noah’s Ark. She lived a full life and died in 1989.
* * * *
In these days of “forced isolation” I get a great deal of comfort in knowing that there were people before me who showed tremendous courage, resilience and character in the face of adversity. If Marie-Madeline could survive a 2’ x 4’ gunny sack… I can certainly survive living comfortably in my own home for the foreseeable future.
The book tells about Marie-Madeline Fourcade’s life as a leader of Alliance, a resistance network in France during the second world war. It’s a riveting account of her war years, and there are many moments which are both uplifting and heartbreaking.
While there are many stories, one that I’d like to share because I found it so amazing:
Earlier in the war, the Vichy government was rounding up Alliance members and Marie-Madeline needed to escape. Getting out of France was incredibly difficult. The plan she and her aides developed was for her to be in a mailbag, which was going to be placed in the backseat of a car, that was going to be put on a flatbed for a short train ride through the snowy (it was December) Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain.
Wearing nothing but her underwear, she curled her 5’6” body into a ball that would fit into a 2’ x 4’ gunny sack. This position was extraordinarily uncomfortable. Her chin dug into her chest and her displaced hip began hurting after just a few minutes of being in the mail bag. Unfortunately, what was supposed to be a two-hour train ride, turned into nine hours when the train had scheduling conflicts.
After what seemed an eternity the train finally arrived in Spain. Eventually her aides were able to get her out the bag. When the mail sack was open, she remained the fetal position, as she had no feeling in her limbs and was unable to move any of them. As they pulled her from the bag she fainted and they were greatly relieved, when she eventually regained consciousness. They had thought she was dead. It took several days for the feeling to return to her limbs. Amazingly, she returned to France using the same method of transport.
Years later, in 1973 Marie-Madeline wrote about her work during the French Resistance in her memoirs, Noah’s Ark. She lived a full life and died in 1989.
* * * *
In these days of “forced isolation” I get a great deal of comfort in knowing that there were people before me who showed tremendous courage, resilience and character in the face of adversity. If Marie-Madeline could survive a 2’ x 4’ gunny sack… I can certainly survive living comfortably in my own home for the foreseeable future.
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