Description from Goodreads:
"The true story of how more than 1,400 men and women of the Resistance, SOE agents, and airmen from Britain, the US and Canada were saved from death in a concentration camp by the courage and cunning of a small group of Belgian civilians.
Nazi Ghost Train unfolds in a pulse-pounding narrative, describing the terror of being shot down on bombing missions, the fight to stay free and alive with Gestapo on your tail, and the gut wrenching horror of betrayal.
From the opening scenes inside a B-17 when it is pounced on by an enemy fighter to the final desperate hours on the 'Ghost Train', this fight for survival will keep readers truing the pages after they should have flicked out the light.
Drawing upon a wealth of primary sources and extensive interviews, Nazi Ghost Train brings to life a cast of unforgettable characters, a Jew who risked his life to work with the armed resistance; a Liberator pilot who dropped secret agents behind the lines; a fascinating young Resistance heroine who ordered an attempt to kill one traitor and escaped to London to expose another to British intelligence; and Francoise Labouverie, who gathered intelligence on German radar until a Nazi officer dedicated a detective unit to track her down.
These stories weave together until - with liberation a heartbeat away - the Belgian patriots, Allied airmen and agents are roused from their prison cells and loaded onto cattle trucks. Would that be the end of them or could one last extraordinary escape plan change everything?"
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Essential reading to ensure these remarkable people are never forgotten
I've read quite a few books about the Second World War but this one really stuck with me. It tells the story of Allied airmen and members of the resistance who were trapped on one of the final deportation trains leaving Brussels just as the city was about to be liberated. The sheer scale of the research Greg Lewis has put into this is incredible and it shows in every chapter.
What really got to me was the unbelievable bravery of the "normal" people involved. These weren't professional soldiers in the traditional sense – they were just people who decided they couldn't sit back and do nothing while their country was occupied. The detail provided about the individual airmen and the Belgian resistance fighters makes the whole ordeal feel very personal rather than just another history lesson.
The conditions these people faced were nightmare-ish, and the author doesn't shy away from the grim reality of life in occupied territory. It isn't just about the train itself, but the constant fear and the unknown that they lived with every single day. From the tension of evasion and moving between safe houses to the harrowing experiences after being caught, you really get a sense of the immense pressure on both the airmen and the resistance members.
If you're interested in untold stories of WWII or the resistance in occupied Europe, I'd definitely recommend picking this up. It’s a remarkable tribute to those who suffered and fought back during such a dark time.
Many thanks to the author, Mirror Books and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this informative book.
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