Behind Enemy Lines

Marthe Cohn was a 20 year old French Jewish girl when the Nazis invaded France in 1940. Her life then took a turn so extraordinary that it could have been pulled straight from a Hollywood movie script.

While the rest of her family fled south Marthe decided to fight back. After graduating from nursing school she joined the French resistance and, on account of her perfect German accent and Aryan appearance, was recruited to be a spy. Carrying forged identification papers, she infiltrated German territory in the guise of a German nurse desperately searching for a fictional fiancé (by this time her real-life fiancé had been executed by the Nazis).

During the next year she mingled freely with Nazi troops, on many occasions caring for injured Nazi soldiers in order to maintain her cover. She gathered invaluable information on troop positions which she secretly relayed to Allied commanders. Her intelligence gathering was instrumental in allowing the Allies to break through the Seigfried line and enter German territory 1945, leading to the end of the war.

When, at the age of 80, Cohn was awarded France’s highest military honor, the Médaille Militaire, not even her children knew to what extent this modest woman had faced death daily while helping defeat the Nazi empire. At its heart, this remarkable story is the tale of an ordinary human being who, under extraordinary circumstances, became the hero her country needed her to be.

Marthe Cohn will be sharing her story at the Osher Marin JCC at 200 N San Pedro Rd San Rafael on Sunday, Jan 10th 2016 at 7:00 PM. “As the number of holocaust survivors dwindles, we feel it our duty to bring these individuals and their stories to life for our community – especially for our youth. It’s literally touching such an important a piece of history”, says Rabbi Menachem Landa, director of Chabad Jewish Center of Novato coordinating her appearance in Marin.

For more information and to RSVP please visit www.jewishnovato.com/lecture or 415-878-6770.

Bio: Marthe Cohn, was born in Metz, France in 1920. She was a devoutly religious Jewish woman living just across the German border in France when Hitler rose to power. As the Nazi occupation escalated, Marthe’s sister was sent to Auschwitz while her family fled to the South of France.

Marthe, though, chose to fight back and joined the intelligence service of the First French Army. Utilizing her perfect German accent and Aryan appearance, Marthe posed as a German nurse desperately trying to obtain word of a fictional fiance. She traveled the countryside and approached troops sympathetic to her ‘plight’ thereby obtaining critical information for the Allied commanders.

When, at age 80, Cohn was awarded France’s highest military honor, the Medaille Militaire, not even her children knew to what extent this modest woman faced death daily to defeat the Nazi Empire. At its heart this remarkable story is the tale of an ordinary human being who, under extraordinary circumstances, became the hero her country needed her to be.

In 2002 Marthe penned her memoir “Behind Enemy Lines: The True Story of a French Jewish Spy in Nazi Germany”. She lives together with her husband in Palos Verdes, CA and travels internationally sharing her remarkable story.

.

6.cli’1.5