“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.”
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