“ I was scared, to say the least. It was the first time my training would be tested. I heard my rifle crack as I fired. The weapon’s recoil nudged my shoulder, and he crumpled to the ground. The aroma of gunpowder filled the room. I fired two more rounds into his motionless body, then stared in amazement as his body lay lifeless, his black and red scarf astray. The sun rose across the city’s skyline. I was 19. ”
THOMAS JAMES BRENNAN, in Ending a Life, and a Part of Yourself, for the First Time (NYT)
A plaque on a house in Paris, commemorating Berty Albrecht, who helped found the Mouvement Combat (MLN), and who was executed at Fresnes on May 29, 1943. (Wikipedia)
