How Iconic Mime Marcel Marceau Skillfully Used His Craft to Help the French Resistance Fight Off Nazis

A heartbreakingly prescient narrated video by Great Big Story tells of the legendary mime Marcel Marceau and how he skillfully employed his silent craft to assist the French Resistance in their fight against the Nazi invasion of their country. After his town fell and his father was sent to Auschwitz, Marceau and his brother became involved in war effort, with the former using his dramatic skills to ferry others to safety in Switzerland.

there’s a story about Marcel Marceau saving a group of children from an orphanage he dressed them up as campers and she would walk them into safety in Switzerland. He was doing mimicry and he was acting and essentially he was entertaining them to the point where they could pretend as if they were going on vacation rather than, you know, fleeing for their lives. Another story was that he was encountering a large group of 30 German soldiers and in that moment he pretended that he was actually at the front of a large group of French soldiers and they actually
surrendered to him.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.