Written in Lisbon in 1940 "Letter to a Hostage" speaks to the commitment of Saint-Exupéry for his country and the misfortune of those who flee from under oppression, those who no longer have a past. It also tells how he fell into the hands of anarchist groups in Spain and how he almost died, not speaking Spanish and suspended the whim of his captors. The book could apply to any French undergoing the Nazi occupation during the Second World War. It is also an opportunity to reappear the French spirit, that of Montaigne, which is embodied in the confrontation of ideas and courteous in conversation, just the opposite of Nazism where difference of opinions is denied. Human intelligence can fortify themselves in confrontation. But to confront, we must fight or rather resist. This is why Saint-Exupéry ends his text with this sentence, addressing the Nazism of hostages, "You are holy."
