A French Woman's Unexpected Adventure in 1914 Germany: Lydie-Eugénie Ducros's Journal d'une Française en Allemagne (1915)

ABSTRACT: French writer Lydie-Eugénie Ducros (1881–1968) was visiting the Silesian village of Kleinitz when her trip was disrupted by the outbreak of WWI. In her little-known wartime diary Journal d'une Française en Allemagne (1915), Ducros chronicled her experiences, first in Kleinitz and later in Berlin, during the summer and fall of 1914. One of the earliest first-person texts published by a French woman during the war, Ducros's determination to gather and share information from enemy territory results in a compelling account that provides nuanced insights into daily life and reveals the complexity of a traveler's experience during wartime.