{"product_id":"the-surgeon-and-the-shepherd-two-resistance-heroes-in-vichy-france-paperback","title":"The Surgeon and the Shepherd: Two Resistance Heroes in Vichy France - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eOf the thousands of people who escaped through the Pyrenees during World War II, at least one hundred owe their lives to a daring scheme that Belgian Charles Schepens masterminded in Mendive, a remote Basque village near the French-Spanish border. The story of this near-miraculous resistance effort, an epic undertaking carried out in plain view of the Nazis, is recounted in full for the first time in \u003ci\u003eThe Surgeon and the Shepherd\u003c\/i\u003e, an incredible, true tale of wartime heroism. \u003cbr\u003eIn 1942, in coordination with the Belgian resistance, Schepens stage-managed a highly secret information and evacuation service through the counterfeit operation of a back-country lumbering enterprise. This book traces Schepens's gradual transformation from an apolitical young ophthalmologist into double agent \"Jacques Pérot,\" and his emergence in the postwar period as a modern folk hero to the residents of Mendive. Woven into the account are the stories of a remarkable international cast of characters, most notably the Basque shepherd Jean Sarochar, regarded as a local misfit, with whom Schepens formed his most unlikely partnership and an enduring friendship.\u003cbr\u003ePart biography, part spy tale, part cultural study, \u003ci\u003eThe Surgeon and the Shepherd\u003c\/i\u003e is based on more than ten years of oral history research. The saga of a Belgian \"first resister\" who, by posing as a collaborator, successfully duped both the Germans and the local French Basque population, it offers a powerful and illuminating picture of moral and physical courage.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51366147358943,"sku":"9780803236417","price":20.47,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/X_1IomtnS29780803236417.webp?v=1789084438","url":"https:\/\/blackandbarhe.com\/products\/the-surgeon-and-the-shepherd-two-resistance-heroes-in-vichy-france-paperback","provider":"Black \u0026 Barhe Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}