#wwll

It's just that I fell in love with a war Nobody told me it ended And it left a pearl in my head And I roll it around every night Just to watch it glow Every night, baby, that's where I go

This is a link to a full episode of a NatGeo series called 'Naming the Dead'. It's about a collection of genealogists working to identify unidentified corpses and finding their loved ones.

I want to highlight THIS episode because yet again, I have learned something about Black American history FROM FUCKING TELEVISION but at least it wasn't scripted.

In this episode, we learn about the 'Brown Babies Project', wherein the biracial children of white women in Germany and Black American soldiers stationed there were adopted by Black families America so that they wouldn't face discrimination in Germany after WWll.

Something similar did happen with indigenous children in Canada in the 60s, but unlike those adoptions that were forced, this really was a genuine effort to help ensure these children had better futures. Fascinating.

i wonder if the nights before she knew it’d get bad, if she stayed up for hours reading her favorite books, reciting her favorite poetry, trying on her entire wardrobe, listen to her favorite music, trying to find light in a otherwise pressing and dreadful experience.

i wonder if she lied awake, scared for what’s to come, knowing she tried her hardest to warn everyone, feeling guilty for something she has no control of.

i wonder if she was bashed for being “too sensitive” or “too compassionate” for just wanting equal rights and opportunities, for peace, and for quiet.

i wonder if she undermined the situation entirely, if she thought deep down it’s just her anxiety, that everything will be okay, that our government wouldn’t hurt us, that we’d be safe because that’s what they do, that’s their job right? to keep us safe? if not to keep us safe why be the land of the free? if not to be free why be brave? but that’s just my anxiety, it’ll be okay. right?

i wonder if she wished for another chance, would she have spoken out more? spoken out less and just accepted the fact it’d happen? would she have left and moved while she could? what does someone do when the end of the world is in front of them but they just can’t help but stare, to watch it unfold, to watch it rise and to fall. do you listen to your favorite music? recite your favorite vines and tiktoks? do you wish for a different time? or do you find the light in an otherwise pressing and dreadful experience? do we wish we spoke out? do i still have time to speak out? my life has just begun and now its ending.

i wonder if she had a dream, a dream of getting out and making a life for herself, maybe an actress or musician? maybe even a playwright or novelist. maybe she was perfectly content staying in her boring unhappy town, she would bring love and light to her otherwise dreary and pessimistic town. maybe all she truly dreamt of was love, love for all even, because who knows, and who cares. who cares, other than those who love.

Simone Segouin, mostly known by her codename, Nicole Minet, was only 18-years-old when the Germans invaded. Her first act of rebellion was to steal a bicycle from a German military administration, and to slice the tires of all of the other bikes and motorcycles so they couldn't pursue her. She found a pocket of the Resistance and joined the fight, using the stolen bike to deliver messages between Resistance groups.

She was an extremely fast learner and quickly became an expert at tactics and explosives. She led teams of Resistance fighters to capture German troops, set traps, and sabotage German equipment. As the war dragged on, her deeds escalated to derailing German trains, blocking roads, blowing up bridges and helping to create a German-free path to help the Allied forces retake France from the inside. She was never caught.

Segouin was present at the liberation of Chartres on August 23, 1944, and then the liberation of Paris two days later. She was promoted to lieutenant and awarded several medals, including the Croix de Guerre. After the war, she studied medicine and became a pediatric nurse. She passed away a few months ago at the age of 98. May her memory be for a blessing.