Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed

In English, the group of Protestants who followed Anglo-Irish John Nelson Darby’s teachings on Protestant exceptionalism are called Darbyites. They are also referred to as the Plymouth Brethren or the Exclusive Brethren. Generally, this group considers themselves separate from other Christians, including other Protestants to varying degrees largely related to the practice of worship. There were probably roughly 1,000 Darbyites in Le Chandon between 1940 and 1945, and they were generally more welcoming to Jewish refugees throughout France than other Protestants due to their belief in the truths of the Old Testament, including the Jews being God’s chosen people. One Darbyite, Amélie, figures prominently in the book as the caretaker of the temple who refused to allow anyone to ring the bell and thus defy Trocmé’s instructions.

The branch of philosophy that studies human morality is ethics. One of the major areas of philosophical study, it contains three parts: normative ethics, applied ethics, and meta-ethics. Normative ethics focuses on ethical behavior and what is right or wrong. Applied ethics examines the practical application of ethical standards in the world. Meta-ethics explores the meaning of morality and attempts to define right and wrong as well as distinguish between the two. Hallie was a professor of ethics, and the entire book frames the story of Le Chambon as an exploration of both normative and meta-ethics.

The Huguenots originated in France as followers of John Calvin. During the Religious Wars in France, Catholic rulers persecuted the Huguenots, and a widespread civil war was rooted in religious disagreement. Trocmé was a descendant of the Huguenot church leadership and shared the birthplace of Calvin. A tenet of the Huguenots and Calvinism is the individual relationship with God, as reflected in Trocmé’s dedication to his personal intimacy with his faith.

Night and Fog, or Nacht und Nebel in German, was a decree by Adolf Hitler in December 1941 to target political opponents and those known to be resisting Nazi occupation throughout occupied territories in Europe. The order was to arrest and detain these individuals, keeping their fates obscured from all, especially family and friends. Many of those targeted were executed. Hallie refers to Night and Fog in relation to the general secrecy early in the Nazi occupation of France. Even though Trocmé, like most of Europe, was still unaware of the existence and brutality of the death camps, he would not hand over refugees to the authorities.

The presbytery is the church leader’s house in the community. It can also refer to a ruling body of elders in the church or the area within a given church’s jurisdiction. In Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed, the presbytery is where the Trocmés live, and it serves as the central location that receives refugees when they first arrive in Le Chambon. The presbytery therefore symbolizes how Trocmé’s religious authority influences the community to accept and shelter refugees.

In the 16th century, Martin Luther’s campaign to reform the Roman Catholic Church originated Protestantism. The most important theological differences between Protestants and other Orthodox Christians (like followers of the Catholic or Russian or Greek Orthodox Church) is the belief that the church is not an institution or a temple but instead a community of true believers who follow the doctrine of the Bible rather than the rule of man. Protestantism has many denominations, but the most notable in Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed are the Huguenots, Darbyites, and Quakers. In essence, Protestantism seeks to democratize worship and honors an individual relationship with God for each worshiper. The book characterizes Trocmé and his village in part by their Protestant history and beliefs. Because the relationship with faith and God is so individualized and intimate, each person has the responsibility for living up to the Bible’s moral expectations.

A philosophical theory, psychological egotism holds that all people are primarily motivated by self-interest rather than altruism. The theory is often attributed to philosophers Thomas Hobbes and Jeremy Bentham and is often rejected by mainstream philosophy today. The book mentions psychological egoism in describing how Trocmé was surprised by his reaction to Magda’s life-threatening hemorrhage following Nelly’s birth. The text generally portrays Trocmé as inherently altruistic, but in that moment, he was grateful for his own health and safety when confronted with the potential imminent death of his wife.

The Society of Friends, or Quakers, is a denomination of Protestantism that is radically nonviolent and individualistic. Quakers have no ordained ministry or leadership and no set structure for worship. A Friends meeting involves sitting together and communing with God, either silently or speaking when moved by the Holy Spirit. Quakers believe that every person has the light of God within them and that, therefore, the only true sin is to harm another human being. Quakers have a long history of nonviolent resistance and action to help those under threat of violence. In the US, Quakers were famously abolitionist, and many Quaker families assisted with the Underground Railroad to help enslaved people escape to freedom; in addition, Quakers campaigned for women’s rights and prisoners’ rights, and during World War II, they sent funding and representatives to Europe to help anyone threatened by the Nazi regime escape to safety. Burns Chalmers figures prominently in the book as the Quaker representative in France who helped Trocmé establish Le Chambon as the hub that facilitated the rescue of thousands of Jews and other refugees.