Gégé Smith was in the subway in Paris with her younger brother. It was 1942 with the city filled with German soldiers.
She was fourteen years old and small for her age. Her younger brother was about eight years old. A German soldier took the seat next to them. They stiffened since any overt action against the despised soldiers might bring an unpleasant response.
But the subway was crowded, so they didn’t move. He smiled at them and then tried to make conversation in his halting French.
They learned that he had a son the same age as her brother. Then he poured out his story in German and a tear ran down his cheek. For a few minutes they felt sorry for this fellow.