Defiant to the end: The true story of a British spy's courage in the face of Nazi torture and the firing squad whose heroics were immortalised in the film Carve Her Name With Pride

[*]Violette Szabo was only 22-years-old when she was parachuted into France 
[*]She was to aid French resistance fighters in sabotaging German operations 
[*]But she was captured after fighting off 40 German soliders with just 90 bullets  
[*]Her last days were spent in Ravensbruck concentration camp before execution
[*]Hero's daughter, Tania Szabo, has now written about her mother's courage  


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5161493/The-true-story-British-spys-courage.html#ixzz50lfmjLwW 
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Her last days were spent in Ravensbruck concentration camp, where each freezing morning the prisoners had to stand to attention for hours during roll-calls.


During one roll-call, she stepped out of line and began singing and dancing to the old music-hall tune The Lambeth Walk. For this she was placed in solitary confinement for a week, listening to the screams of women being beaten or tortured, just as she had been after one of several attempts to escape.



Exhausted from breaking rocks all day on a diet of two cups of ‘soup’ — in reality just water and unwashed potato peelings — many prisoners threw themselves on the camp’s electric fence rather than face another day. But Violette’s spirit remained unbroken.


Even when she went to her death, taken to Ravensbruck’s ‘execution alley’ along with fellow SOE agents Lilian Rolfe and Denise Bloch, she kept her head held high and her expression scornful.
As always, she had been what the citation for her George Cross called ‘a magnificent example of courage and steadfastness’.
Her name may not be familiar to modern generations but her legacy lives on in a poem much heard at funerals, which was written by SOE codemaster Leo Marks following the death of his girlfriend in an aeroplane crash.



This really brings home how weak the privileged among us are these days.    And when you appreciate this kind of bravery, you really can't be arsed with the weak, vacuous vapourings of today's youth.

HoratioTarr wrote:Her last days were spent in Ravensbruck concentration camp, where each freezing morning the prisoners had to stand to attention for hours during roll-calls.


During one roll-call, she stepped out of line and began singing and dancing to the old music-hall tune The Lambeth Walk. For this she was placed in solitary confinement for a week, listening to the screams of women being beaten or tortured, just as she had been after one of several attempts to escape.



Exhausted from breaking rocks all day on a diet of two cups of ‘soup’ — in reality just water and unwashed potato peelings — many prisoners threw themselves on the camp’s electric fence rather than face another day. But Violette’s spirit remained unbroken.


Even when she went to her death, taken to Ravensbruck’s ‘execution alley’ along with fellow SOE agents Lilian Rolfe and Denise Bloch, she kept her head held high and her expression scornful.
As always, she had been what the citation for her George Cross called ‘a magnificent example of courage and steadfastness’.
Her name may not be familiar to modern generations but her legacy lives on in a poem much heard at funerals, which was written by SOE codemaster Leo Marks following the death of his girlfriend in an aeroplane crash.



This really brings home how weak the privileged among us are these days.    And when you appreciate this kind of bravery, you really can't be arsed with the weak, vacuous vapourings of today's youth.

+1

Yes she was a very brave women, so too were many people within the spy network who knew capture meant torture and death.

They don't make them like that anymore.

magica wrote:Yes she was a very brave women, so too were many people within the spy network who knew capture meant torture and death.

They don't make them like  that anymore.

In case you’re interested, there are a few books about her. The Livfe Tgat I Have by Susan Ottawa and one by her daughter Tania called Young Brave and Beautiful.

I also highly recommend this one. Excellent read.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0752487299/ref=pd_aw_sim_14_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=PZEKXHSXJ1M611EVXJGD&dpPl=1&dpID=41qsyIxCu0L

HoratioTarr wrote:Her last days were spent in Ravensbruck concentration camp, where each freezing morning the prisoners had to stand to attention for hours during roll-calls.


During one roll-call, she stepped out of line and began singing and dancing to the old music-hall tune The Lambeth Walk. For this she was placed in solitary confinement for a week, listening to the screams of women being beaten or tortured, just as she had been after one of several attempts to escape.



Exhausted from breaking rocks all day on a diet of two cups of ‘soup’ — in reality just water and unwashed potato peelings — many prisoners threw themselves on the camp’s electric fence rather than face another day. But Violette’s spirit remained unbroken.


Even when she went to her death, taken to Ravensbruck’s ‘execution alley’ along with fellow SOE agents Lilian Rolfe and Denise Bloch, she kept her head held high and her expression scornful.
As always, she had been what the citation for her George Cross called ‘a magnificent example of courage and steadfastness’.
Her name may not be familiar to modern generations but her legacy lives on in a poem much heard at funerals, which was written by SOE codemaster Leo Marks following the death of his girlfriend in an aeroplane crash.



This really brings home how weak the privileged among us are these days.    And when you appreciate this kind of bravery, you really can't be arsed with the weak, vacuous vapourings of today's youth.

What about the young people singing up to join the armed forces, firefighter service, ambulance service, doctors/nurses etc...?

Why are you so down on “youth” recently? Not trying to start an argument, genuinely curious.

Cass wrote:

HoratioTarr wrote:Her last days were spent in Ravensbruck concentration camp, where each freezing morning the prisoners had to stand to attention for hours during roll-calls.


During one roll-call, she stepped out of line and began singing and dancing to the old music-hall tune The Lambeth Walk. For this she was placed in solitary confinement for a week, listening to the screams of women being beaten or tortured, just as she had been after one of several attempts to escape.



Exhausted from breaking rocks all day on a diet of two cups of ‘soup’ — in reality just water and unwashed potato peelings — many prisoners threw themselves on the camp’s electric fence rather than face another day. But Violette’s spirit remained unbroken.


Even when she went to her death, taken to Ravensbruck’s ‘execution alley’ along with fellow SOE agents Lilian Rolfe and Denise Bloch, she kept her head held high and her expression scornful.
As always, she had been what the citation for her George Cross called ‘a magnificent example of courage and steadfastness’.
Her name may not be familiar to modern generations but her legacy lives on in a poem much heard at funerals, which was written by SOE codemaster Leo Marks following the death of his girlfriend in an aeroplane crash.



This really brings home how weak the privileged among us are these days.    And when you appreciate this kind of bravery, you really can't be arsed with the weak, vacuous vapourings of today's youth.

What about the young people singing up to join the armed forces, firefighter service, ambulance service, doctors/nurses etc...?

Why are you so down on “youth” recently? Not trying to start an argument, genuinely curious.

That is an interesting point

I mean i am pro EU, though do not hate people that voted to leave.

Of which a group of these older people fought to provide the freedom we have.

So when the young castigate them, many of these younger people have no comprehension of the threat ffaced by people back then. In fact they have no idea what its like.

Yes many young people serve in the forces and do so to protect other nations and even they are castigated by the left, as we see with some that class them as baby killers.

All these views come from the left

The youth of today have little social skills and even more a complete lack of empathic intelligence.

Cass wrote:

HoratioTarr wrote:Her last days were spent in Ravensbruck concentration camp, where each freezing morning the prisoners had to stand to attention for hours during roll-calls.


During one roll-call, she stepped out of line and began singing and dancing to the old music-hall tune The Lambeth Walk. For this she was placed in solitary confinement for a week, listening to the screams of women being beaten or tortured, just as she had been after one of several attempts to escape.



Exhausted from breaking rocks all day on a diet of two cups of ‘soup’ — in reality just water and unwashed potato peelings — many prisoners threw themselves on the camp’s electric fence rather than face another day. But Violette’s spirit remained unbroken.


Even when she went to her death, taken to Ravensbruck’s ‘execution alley’ along with fellow SOE agents Lilian Rolfe and Denise Bloch, she kept her head held high and her expression scornful.
As always, she had been what the citation for her George Cross called ‘a magnificent example of courage and steadfastness’.
Her name may not be familiar to modern generations but her legacy lives on in a poem much heard at funerals, which was written by SOE codemaster Leo Marks following the death of his girlfriend in an aeroplane crash.



This really brings home how weak the privileged among us are these days.    And when you appreciate this kind of bravery, you really can't be arsed with the weak, vacuous vapourings of today's youth.

What about the young people singing up to join the armed forces, firefighter service, ambulance service, doctors/nurses etc...?

Why are you so down on “youth” recently? Not trying to start an argument, genuinely curious.

Haven't you read my posts?   Repeatedly, I state that my views don't include all young people.   Just those who seem to think the world owes them a fucking living.   I'm not 'down on youth'.   I'm down on the youth who constantly bleat on about how hard done by they are when in reality they have very easy soft lives.

magica wrote:Yes she was a very brave women, so too were many people within the spy network who knew capture meant torture and death.

They don't make them like  that anymore.

I think they do.   I think we all have this kind of bravery in us to a greater or lesser degree.  But our lives are not blighted by war, not on the scale of WW1 and WW2.   If we were, I'm sure you'd see all manner of brave acts from male and female, because when the chips are down this is how human beings react.    What makes me so angry when I see young people pissing on war memorials is that those who died were mostly the same age group, young men and women who had no choice but to put their lives on the line in defence of this country...or any country for that matter, so that future generations might be free of tyranny.    The average age of RAF fighter pilots and bomber command was 19 to 24.  

We've become incredibly insular and vain in our society.   Teenagers and young people have always been self centred to a degree but what we see with bullying and social media cruelty, mental health issues, etc, it's very perturbing.

I detest those who tread and deface our memorials. I have every respect for those who fought and died.

I don't think the young today have the same pride of their country nor the same virtues that made spies the way they were.

HoratioTarr wrote:

Cass wrote:

What about the young people singing up to join the armed forces, firefighter service, ambulance service, doctors/nurses etc...?

Why are you so down on “youth” recently? Not trying to start an argument, genuinely curious.

Haven't you read my posts?   Repeatedly, I state that my views don't include all young people.   Just those who seem to think the world owes them a fucking living.   I'm not 'down on youth'.   I'm down on the youth who constantly bleat on about how hard done by they are when in reality they have very easy soft lives.

I do and find them interesting, but have only seen some in the last couple of days where you were complaining about youth in general. Sometimes I just don’t have the time to back read everything.

Thanks for clarifying.

HoratioTarr wrote:

magica wrote:Yes she was a very brave women, so too were many people within the spy network who knew capture meant torture and death.

They don't make them like  that anymore.

I think they do.   I think we all have this kind of bravery in us to a greater or lesser degree.  But our lives are not blighted by war, not on the scale of WW1 and WW2.   If we were, I'm sure you'd see all manner of brave acts from male and female, because when the chips are down this is how human beings react.    What makes me so angry when I see young people pissing on war memorials is that those who died were mostly the same age group, young men and women who had no choice but to put their lives on the line in defence of this country...or any country for that matter, so that future generations might be free of tyranny.    The average age of RAF fighter pilots and bomber command was 19 to 24.  

We've become incredibly insular and vain in our society.   Teenagers and young people have always been self centred to a degree but what we see with bullying and social media cruelty, mental health issues, etc, it's very perturbing.

Some good points. Desecration of any type of memorial to the dead is just sick.

As to your last point, I think it really does apply to all ages. We’ve seen adults convicted of online harassment and stalking. I know plenty of self-centered adults who complain at the drop of a hat, over everything or are self-centered. Having worked in libraries and courts and general customer service my whole working life you get to see plenty of older adults act like this. Is it because something happened to make them that way or were they born that way?

Cass wrote:

HoratioTarr wrote:Her last days were spent in Ravensbruck concentration camp, where each freezing morning the prisoners had to stand to attention for hours during roll-calls.

During one roll-call, she stepped out of line and began singing and dancing to the old music-hall tune The Lambeth Walk. For this she was placed in solitary confinement for a week, listening to the screams of women being beaten or tortured, just as she had been after one of several attempts to escape.


Exhausted from breaking rocks all day on a diet of two cups of ‘soup’ — in reality just water and unwashed potato peelings — many prisoners threw themselves on the camp’s electric fence rather than face another day. But Violette’s spirit remained unbroken.

Even when she went to her death, taken to Ravensbruck’s ‘execution alley’ along with fellow SOE agents Lilian Rolfe and Denise Bloch, she kept her head held high and her expression scornful.
As always, she had been what the citation for her George Cross called ‘a magnificent example of courage and steadfastness’.
Her name may not be familiar to modern generations but her legacy lives on in a poem much heard at funerals, which was written by SOE codemaster Leo Marks following the death of his girlfriend in an aeroplane crash.

This really brings home how weak the privileged among us are these days.    And when you appreciate this kind of bravery, you really can't be arsed with the weak, vacuous vapourings of today's youth.

What about the young people singing up to join the armed forces, firefighter service, ambulance service, doctors/nurses etc...?

Why are you so down on “youth” recently? Not trying to start an argument, genuinely curious.

I agree wholeheartedly, Cass...

Every generation will produce its heroes, its givers, its saviours..

Horatio is simply showing what a dick she can be when she chooses to put her mind to it.

P.S. I learnt about Violette Szabo way back when I was in primary school..

And, here's another from the same generation :

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Wake

Cass wrote:

HoratioTarr wrote:


I think they do.   I think we all have this kind of bravery in us to a greater or lesser degree.  But our lives are not blighted by war, not on the scale of WW1 and WW2.   If we were, I'm sure you'd see all manner of brave acts from male and female, because when the chips are down this is how human beings react.    What makes me so angry when I see young people pissing on war memorials is that those who died were mostly the same age group, young men and women who had no choice but to put their lives on the line in defence of this country...or any country for that matter, so that future generations might be free of tyranny.    The average age of RAF fighter pilots and bomber command was 19 to 24.  

We've become incredibly insular and vain in our society.   Teenagers and young people have always been self centred to a degree but what we see with bullying and social media cruelty, mental health issues, etc, it's very perturbing.

Some good points. Desecration of any type of memorial to the dead is just sick.

As to your last point, I think it really does apply to all ages. We’ve seen adults convicted of online harassment and stalking. I know plenty of self-centered adults who complain at the drop of a hat, over everything or are self-centered. Having worked in libraries and courts and general customer service my whole working life you get to see plenty of older adults act like this. Is it because something happened to make them that way or were they born that way?

Yes, some adults are particularly vile.  No doubt they've been like that as kids too.   Some people change, others don't.     I also think that people behave this way because they can.    More and more society is breaking down in certain quarters.    

A case in point, recently on the news some guy was on a motorway bridge threatening to jump.   Social media was crammed with 'Fucking get on with it then' comments.   'Hurry up and die'.  'Somebody push him off!' Etc.   Because they all wanted to get moving.   There was no compassion, or even a thought for a fellow human being.    Or the guy who rescued the family of rabbits in the burning bush of LA, slammed for daring to stop and help a life so insignificant.   

Only recently my husband and I were driving over the canal bridge near our home when I saw a pigeon fluttering in the water trying to get out.   Husband wouldn't stop 'It's only a pigeon, blah blah'....so when we got home I drove all the way back and fished the poor little bugger out of the water.   His little eyes were all wild with fear.  How could I leave him to drown?

I do think too that people are more and more callous because of the violent things we see on screen and TV.   You Tube is the place you watch just about anything from animal abuse to beheadings.

WhoseYourWolfie wrote:

Cass wrote:

What about the young people singing up to join the armed forces, firefighter service, ambulance service, doctors/nurses etc...?

Why are you so down on “youth” recently? Not trying to start an argument, genuinely curious.

I agree wholeheartedly, Cass...

Every generation will produce its heroes, its givers, its saviours..

Horatio is simply showing what a dick she can be when she chooses to put her mind to it.

P.S. I learnt about Violette Szabo way back when I was in primary school..

And, here's another from the same generation :

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Wake

Wolf stop with the insults ok? She’s not a dick. I don’t always agree with her nor her me, but we keep it civil and have a laugh. You’re a great poster and have had some outstanding posts lately, especially in the smaller government thread, but you let yourself down when you lob insults like this. Please don’t drag me into it. Thanks x

HoratioTarr wrote:

Cass wrote:

Some good points. Desecration of any type of memorial to the dead is just sick.

As to your last point, I think it really does apply to all ages. We’ve seen adults convicted of online harassment and stalking. I know plenty of self-centered adults who complain at the drop of a hat, over everything or are self-centered. Having worked in libraries and courts and general customer service my whole working life you get to see plenty of older adults act like this. Is it because something happened to make them that way or were they born that way?

Yes, some adults are particularly vile.  No doubt they've been like that as kids too.   Some people change, others don't.     I also think that people behave this way because they can.    More and more society is breaking down in certain quarters.    

A case in point, recently on the news some guy was on a motorway bridge threatening to jump.   Social media was crammed with 'Fucking get on with it then' comments.   'Hurry up and die'.  'Somebody push him off!' Etc.   Because they all wanted to get moving.   There was no compassion, or even a thought for a fellow human being.    Or the guy who rescued the family of rabbits in the burning bush of LA, slammed for daring to stop and help a life so insignificant.   

Only recently my husband and I were driving over the canal bridge near our home when I saw a pigeon fluttering in the water trying to get out.   Husband wouldn't stop 'It's only a pigeon, blah blah'....so when we got home I drove all the way back and fished the poor little bugger out of the water.   His little eyes were all wild with fear.  How could I leave him to drown?

I do think too that people are more and more callous because of the violent things we see on screen and TV.   You Tube is the place you watch just about anything from animal abuse to beheadings.

I agree and have said it for years about social media. There’s no personal responsibility or accountability and very little prosecution. I loathe it but then use it too. But then again, I don’t use it to bully or harass or stalk people. I very much blame reality tv as well. I hate the concept of putting people into deliberately stressful situations and then seeing them go off on one. It’s not entertaining it’s cruelty and bullying.

Thank you for going back to the pigeon. I would have done the same.

Cass wrote:

HoratioTarr wrote:

Yes, some adults are particularly vile.  No doubt they've been like that as kids too.   Some people change, others don't.     I also think that people behave this way because they can.    More and more society is breaking down in certain quarters.    

A case in point, recently on the news some guy was on a motorway bridge threatening to jump.   Social media was crammed with 'Fucking get on with it then' comments.   'Hurry up and die'.  'Somebody push him off!' Etc.   Because they all wanted to get moving.   There was no compassion, or even a thought for a fellow human being.    Or the guy who rescued the family of rabbits in the burning bush of LA, slammed for daring to stop and help a life so insignificant.   

Only recently my husband and I were driving over the canal bridge near our home when I saw a pigeon fluttering in the water trying to get out.   Husband wouldn't stop 'It's only a pigeon, blah blah'....so when we got home I drove all the way back and fished the poor little bugger out of the water.   His little eyes were all wild with fear.  How could I leave him to drown?

I do think too that people are more and more callous because of the violent things we see on screen and TV.   You Tube is the place you watch just about anything from animal abuse to beheadings.

I agree and have said it for years about social media. There’s no personal responsibility or accountability and very little prosecution. I loathe it but then use it too. But then again, I don’t use it to bully or harass or stalk people. I very much blame reality tv as well. I hate the concept of putting people into deliberately stressful situations and then seeing them go off on one. It’s not entertaining it’s cruelty and bullying.

Thank you for going back to the pigeon. I would have done the same.

I'm a sucker for animals!   

I always enjoy your posts, and always respect your opinion, even if we don't always agree.

Reality TV....really can't stand it and too much of it.   I do sometimes watch CBB but that's about it.   I can't bear that Housewives of  series.   Just makes me want to bash their heads together.   If that's something to aspire to you can count me out.