Code Name Hélène takes place in France and the United Kingdom during World War II. In 1940, the Germans invaded France as part of their attempt at territorial expansion. The invasion created factions in French society. Some French leaders and citizens collaborated with the German invaders for a variety of reasons, including antisemitism and anti-Sovietism. The French government that collaborated with the Germans after the invasion is known as the Vichy regime and was led by Nazi collaborator Marshal Phillipe Pétain (News Wires. “Macron Stokes Anger With Plan to Honour Nazi Collaborator Pétain.” France 24, 2018). Those in the French government who opposed the invasion, led by Charles de Gaulle, fled to London and established a government in exile there. The Vichy regime was authoritarian and attempted to press French men into forced labor for German factories. Many French laborers went into hiding and formed militia groups to resist the German invaders and their French supporters.

One such group in the Resistance against the Nazis, the Maquis (pronounced [mah-kee]), formed in the mountainous region of Auvergne in central France. Maquis means “scrubland” or “bush,” a reference to the forested wildness that these militiamen used as their hideout and headquarters.