The Heroines of the French Resistance with Historian Lynne Olson.
The Bill Press Pod
BP Pods
4.7 • 601 Ratings
🗓️ 28 November 2025
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this special episode of the Bill Press Pod, Bill interviews historian and author Lynne Olson at The Hill Center in Washington DC. Olson discusses her latest book, 'The Sisterhood of Ravensbruck,' which tells the incredible story of French women in the Resistance who were imprisoned in the Nazis' only all-female concentration camp, Ravensbruck. The conversation highlights the women's bravery, resilience, and defiance under horrific conditions. Olson also shares insights about post-war recognition and controversies surrounding these women's contributions. Additionally, she touches on her book 'Empress of the Nile,' detailing the efforts of Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt to save ancient Egyptian temples. We hope you enjoy this captivating discussion that shines a light on these underrecognized heroines of history.
The two books mentioned in detail are:
The Sisterhood of Ravensbrück: How an Intrepid Band of Frenchwomen Resisted the Nazis in Hitler's All-Female Concentration Camp. You can buy here.
Empress of the Nile: The Daredevil Archaeologist Who Saved Egypt's Ancient Temples from Destruction
You can buy here.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, good friends. Welcome back to the Bill Press Pod after what I hope was a wonderful |
| 0:11.9 | Thanksgiving spent with your friends and family. I'm still enjoying this long Thanksgiving weekend, |
| 0:18.0 | as are all of our regular guests on our reporters' roundtable. |
| 0:22.1 | So this week, instead of a roundtable, we have a very special treat for you, a conversation with |
| 0:28.0 | noted historian and author Lynn Olson. Lynn's written 10 books, most of them centered on |
| 0:34.8 | key figures in World War II. Those who led efforts to get the United States to join France and England in the war against Nazi Germany, |
| 0:43.9 | and those who organized the civilian resistance to Nazi occupation, especially in France. |
| 0:51.5 | Lynn's latest book tells the incredible story of a group of French women members of |
| 0:57.2 | the resistance who were rounded up and sent to Ravensbrook, the Nazis only all-female concentration |
| 1:04.3 | camp. There, under the worst conditions possible, they defied their Nazi guards, drove them crazy, and survived to be released |
| 1:14.9 | and tell their story. Their stories told in this new book, newly released, The Sisterhood of |
| 1:21.8 | Robinsbrook by Lynn Olson. A few weeks ago, I had the honor of interviewing Lynn Olson at the Hill Center |
| 1:29.4 | on Capitol Hill. You know that I read a lot of books, right? And I want to tell you, honestly, |
| 1:35.8 | I think citizens of London, Empress of the Nile, and the sisterhood of Robbinsbrook. |
| 1:48.3 | I learned tonight, by the way, that's the pronunciation. |
| 1:50.3 | Robbinsbrook are three of the best books I've ever read in my life. |
| 1:55.8 | Every one of them, Lynn, is just incredible. |
| 1:58.4 | The way you can find someone or some place or some event in the past |
| 2:06.0 | and bring it to life for all of us is just incredible. A great historian and your writing is so |
| 2:14.3 | beautiful and it's really very important. Thank you so much. Wow. |
| 2:20.8 | So let me start with Robbinsbrook. |
| 2:25.5 | I must say, I never heard of it before this book. |
... |
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