NONFICTION - March 3, 1996

SISTERS IN THE RESISTANCE by Margaret Collins Weitz (Wiley: $30; 350 pp.). What creates bravery? Why do some have it in abundance while others cringe from any sort of discomfort? Although “Sisters in the Resistance” doesn’t attempt to answer either of those questions, it may leave readers thinking about the nature of heroism. Using a mixture of exposition and first-person interviews, Margaret Collins Weitz has expertly compiled the unique experiences of various women who risked their lives for “the army of the shadows.”

Weitz paints a vivid portrait of life in occupied France--the roundups of the Jews, the constant fear, the intense food shortages that prompted public service announcements warning people not to eat rats. Against this backdrop, the women tell their stories. Perhaps the most striking feature of these heroines is their modesty, since everyone, without exception, spoke as if what they did was not remarkable so much as necessary. There was one case where a woman not only lost her husband, but at 7 1/2 months pregnant, gave birth to a stillborn baby while alone in a prison cell. Five days later, she escaped, walking miles in a weakened state, only to be captured again and taken to Auschwitz. Another woman, Lise Lesevre, saw her husband and son in prison shortly before they were going to be tortured as punishment for Lesevre’s refusal to give information to the Germans. “Remember, mother, I’m ticklish,” her son said, trying to make a joke. He was 16. “Sisters in the Resistance” is incredibly sad. Yet at its heart, this is a hopeful, inspiring book.