Miss Dior

The name Dior is synonymous with French fashion and people immediately think of the clothes designed by Christian Dior. However there is another member of the family, Christian's sister Catherine, who played an important, but little recognised role, in this period of history.

Miss Dior: a story of courage and couture by Justine Picardie is a wonderful tribute to the resilience of many of the French women who suffered in German run prisons and concentration camps during the Second World War. 

At the centre of this work of non-fiction is Catherine Dior who worked for the French Resistance until she was captured shortly before Paris was retaken by the Allies. After incarceration and being tortured by the Nazis, Catherine and the other women associated with the Resistance and the SOE were forced on trains and transported to German slave camps including Ravensbruck. There they remained until eventually being released by the Allies and returned home.

The author uses the limited records she has been able to locate to tell the story about Catherine and her fellow prisoners. The Germans kept few records about their prisoners but a number of the survivors later wrote about their experiences and some were witnesses at war trials. Catherine herself spoke rarely about her experience, except at an inquiry into the treatment of prisoners in Paris.Instead she retreated to a quiet life with her partner, growing flowers, especially roses often for the perfume industry.

As well as telling the story of the French women who provided information to the Allies about the activities of the German occupying forces, this book is also about the development of fashion industry for which France is famous.

Chapters in the book tell the story of the Dior family before the occupation of Paris by the Germans, life in occupied Paris, the role of the resistance movement, the survival of the couture industry in Paris  during the German occupation of the city, relationships of the people of Paris with the Germans, the power of the black market and of gangs that roamed the streets, the brutal incarceration of prisoners in Germany who were treated as slaves until they died, the growth of the French couture and perfume industry as well as Catherine's retreat to the peace of country life when she returned to France. There is also a section on war crimes tribunals and how the Allies basically decided to overlook war time attrocities in order to encourage the redevelopment of Germany and strengthen the alliance against Russia.

There are many photographs throughout the book helping to documents events before and after the war as well as showing part of the collections of clothes created by Catherine's brother at the end of the 1940s and the 1950s. Christian Dior was famous for creating a range of women's dresses referred to under the title, The New Look. Photographs of models and famous women, including members of the Royal Family and actresses, wearing his dresses feature in some chapters.

Catherine maintained a close relationship with her brother, Christian. Although Catherine was not involved in her brother's business interests, Christian named his first perfume and one of his special dresses, Miss Dior, honouring his sister.

At the back of the book a note on sources is followed by a detailed bibliography and index.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in French and German history during and immediately after the Second World War and also for a useful description of the French fashion industry involving Christian Dior.

Recent novels written about this period of history include:

The Riviera House by Natasha Lester 

The Paris Secret by Natasha Lester

The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles