You can read about the experience of St. Therese's two surviving sisters during the bombing of Normandy in 1944 at the  Web site of the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux,

Click on the English translation of the obituary circular of St. Therese's sister Pauline, Mother Agnes of Jesus, prioress of the Carmel, and scroll down to Section VII, "Her Last Days."  The circular notes that on May 3,1944, Pope Pius XII signed the decree declaring St. Therese of the Child Jesus secondary patroness of France, the equal of her "dear sister," Joan of Arc.  Due to the war, Mother Agnes did not receive this document until June 12, 1944, by which time she and the other Carmelites had taken refuge with other townspeople in the crypt of the basilica of the new Patroness of France.  Let's pray that St. Therese, whose protection extended to so many during both World Wars, will obtain from God a renewal of the faith in France and in the whole world. 

Click on the English translation of the obituary circular of St. Therese's sister Celine, Sister Genevieve of the Holy Face, and scroll down to Chapter V, "Sunshine and Shadows Over Carmel," to read of Sister Genevieve's experience that summer and of what a great sacrifice it was to her, in the crypt, to put up with the requests of the townspeople to speak to the sisters of St. Therese. See a photo of the crypt of the basilica taken in 1944. 

We thank the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux and their collaborators for making the story of the lives of the sisters of St. Therese available on the Web.