Calm at Sea

In October of 1941, two German officers are gunned down in broad daylight in Nantes by French Resistance members, the first instance of German blood to be shed in this region. In retaliation, Hitler orders 100 Frenchmen to be shot. Instead of innocent Frenchmen, it was later arranged that 100 political prisoners would die, selected by the district administrator from a camp in Brittany where Môquet and others like him are incarcerated for various offenses. Môquet himself was guilty of distributing anti-Nazi pamphlets.

The harshness of Hitler’s order leaves the inhabitants of the camp in disbelief. Môquet, at age 17, is the youngest of all the prisoners to be executed. This event quickly becomes known as one of France’s many World War II atrocities, and in the years following his death, Môquet was mourned and remembered by his countrymen. The prisoners are forced to grapple with their consciences and reflect on the impact they have had on the resistance against the Nazis and their other fellow comrades. Môquet’s last letter, written before his execution, has become one of France’s proud relics, and since 2007 has become required reading of French school children.