34 pages • 1 hour read
Resist: A Story of D-Day
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 1-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of physical abuse and death.
Chapter 1 Summary: “Nazis in the Night”
Samira Zidane is 12 years old and works with her mother as a spy for the French Resistance, relaying messages and aiding in various efforts. Samira stands in the street after curfew, knowing that her black hair and brown skin stand out to the Nazis. Her companion is a white terrier she named Cyrano. Samira sees five Nazi officers come out of a tavern, laughing, and knows she has seconds to hide. She ducks into a nearby doorway, where she finds a boy.
Chapter 2 Summary: “Cabbage Heads”
Startled at first, Samira quickly realizes that, like her, the boy is hiding from the Nazis. His face shows signs of starvation, and Cyrano likes him right away. The boy calls the Nazis “cabbage heads,” criticizing how they act as though they own the world. Samira thinks to herself that, in a sense, they do. The Nazis start heading toward where Samira and the boy are hiding.
Gratz explains that German forces invaded France in 1940, placing northern France under full Nazi control, while southern France was under partial Nazi control. German forces spent those years militarizing the country. Samira and her mother live in Normandy in northern France, which on this very day will be the site of an invasion by Allied forces from the US, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
