Just the Facts: Book Discussion Recap from January 23rd

How cold was it last night, Johnny? Plenty cold. In spite of that, fourteen people risked frostbite and hypothermia to attend. Many thanks, as always, for their presence.

Our book last night was Death in the City of Light: the serial killer of Nazi-occupied Paris by David King. It is the true story of Dr. Marcel Petiot, a prominent physician who tortured, murdered and disposed of over sixty people trying to escape Nazi-occupied Paris. At the same time, he stole all their possessions and kept the large fees they paid for his help in their attempt to escape. Was he motivated simply by greed? Was he insane? Did he work with the knowledge of the Gestapo or, as he claimed, was he a member of the resistance? Petiot was eventually tried and executed for the crimes, but the mystery lingers to this day.

The book also presents a portrait of French life during the occupation, from the artistic endeavors of Picasso, Sartre and Camus to the police working under the Gestapo to the common people just trying to survive. The author raises the questions of what is collaboration, what is resistance and how can individual morality exist during the slaughter of war. There are no easy answers.

Our next meeting will be on Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 7:00 pm. The book to be discussed, Wild Bill Donovan: the spymaster who created the OSS and modern American espionage by Douglas C. Waller, is available at the Circulation Desk. All are welcome.