54 great opening lines: 17

There was once an art critic, I have been told, who had a sure way of identifying ancient Maltese art objects:  he found himself crying before them.

Lest Innocent Blood be Shed, Philip Hallie

*****

The story of a village in the south of France, Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, where every household and farm sheltered or hid refugees between 1941 and 1944, under penalty of death.  In four years, thousands of Jewish refugees were saved;  only nineteen were lost.

Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, France, looking over the railway line on which refugees arrived from 1941-1944
Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, France, looking over the railway line on which refugees arrived from 1941-1944