OpinionJournal - Going Home to Say Merci

There is a joke that after World War II it was suddenly discovered that all the survivors in France were leaders of the Resistance. Apparently, many people claimed heroics who had no right to do so. (Probably every war has its Walter Mitty types and turncoats who claim to have been on the winning side all along - but the French population after World War II acquired a reputation, rightly or wrongly, for having more than its share of such folks.)

But. If you look past the sham heroes and take a look at the rest of that generation, it's clear that there were, in fact, some extraordinary acts of kindness, selflessness, and daring done behind the backs - and sometimes under the very noses - of the Nazis while they were on French soil.

Paul M. Barrett, a news editor at the Wall Street Journal, provides a dose of the real stuff. He recently accompanied his mother as she returned to France to see the small town where she and other Jews were quietly and successfully protected during World War II. He reflects on the visit here.