Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Release Date: November 8, 2011
Format: ARC
Pages: 384
Source: Publisher
From
Goodreads: They were teachers, students, chemists, writers, and housewives; a singer at the Paris Opera, a midwife, a dental surgeon. They distributed anti-Nazi leaflets, printed subversive newspapers, hid resisters, secreted Jews to safety, transported weapons, and conveyed clandestine messages. The youngest was a schoolgirl of fifteen who scrawled "V" for victory on the walls of her lycée; the eldest, a farmer's wife in her sixties who harbored escaped Allied airmen. Strangers to each other, hailing from villages and cities from across France, these brave women were united in hatred and defiance of their Nazi occupiers.
Eventually, the Gestapo hunted down 230 of these women and imprisoned them in a fort outside Paris. Separated from home and loved ones, these disparate individuals turned to one another, their common experience conquering divisions of age, education, profession, and class, as they found solace and strength in their deep affection and camaraderie.
In January 1943, they were sent to their final destination: Auschwitz. Only forty-nine would return to France.
A Train in Winter draws on interviews with these women and their families; German, French, and Polish archives; and documents held by World War II resistance organizations to uncover a dark chapter of history that offers an inspiring portrait of ordinary people, of bravery and survival—and of the remarkable, enduring power of female friendship.
My review: I am equally disturbed and fascinated with stories that have come from the Nazi occupation across Europe so my emotions during this book shouldn’t have been much of a surprise, but they were very strong. I had to put the book down a few times because the sadness was unbearable to continue reading.
This book focuses on women in Paris who worked with the Underground Resistance – helping to push back against the German occupation. The stories included single young women, new and young mothers, and women over 40 – but it was the young mother’s that really touched my heart. These women risked everything to make a better world for their children, and most paid the ultimate price in the end. Those that did survive jails, working camps, and death camps came home to children years older than when they left. I ached for them as they spent so many nights away from their children, not knowing if they were alive or not.
These women went through the depths of hell, some for minor things but others for large transgressions including helping persecuted individuals cross into free lands. These pages contain a very moving story – one of deep desire to wake up each morning to see the light of day.
