Friendship and Survival in Auschwitz - A Story of Resistance

Moorehead's accounting of the French resistance people, and especially the young women, is heart-breaking. It is hard to believe that the world went through such a horrible experience. The descriptions of the death camps by those who survived are not sugar-coated. Moorehead gives such detailed descriptions, as told by the women who lived through it, the reader fully grasps the horror.

This book is a chilling reminder of what happens when the worst human beings come to power. It shows the best and the worst in human behavior. It also shows how difficult it is to re-adjust to "normal" society after living through the horrors of extermination camps.

Whenever an author is able to interview the people who actually experienced the events referred to, the truth is laid bare and, in this case, the culprits are described and, wherever possible, named. The Nazi treatment of their prisoners, both men and women, Jewish, Gypsy or resistors was an absolute disgrace, and should never be forgotten or forgiven. Ms. Moorhead has written a history which will go towards ensuring that the Nazi concentration camps of World War II, and the death and misery they caused, were inexcusable in that the German people were meant to be
be a civilised nation. We'll done, Ms. Moorhead - you have written a fine book.

I liked this because it traced the womens stories throughout and gave the reader a picture of each woman's personality...it gave the reader a good recounting of the work of each of them...their stories needed to be told...my usual reading material is factual accounts of people in extreme circumstances and this fit the bill

An accounting of courageous women who were failed by their countrymen and brutalized by their country’s enemy. It helps to right the record of the French resistance and what came to those few courageous enough to join it.

Ms Moorehead describes the anguish these women went through during the war and internment with such clarity. She makes you feel that you were there with them. We have all read history books and personal accounts that leave you with feelings of compassion and anger. Reading about the collaborators that these men and women knew was devastating. I believe the most
heart wrenching part of their ordeal was the loss of their children.

Ms Moorehead writes about the countryside and farm land but neglects the vineyards of Bordeaux, which the Germans loved.

Incredible bravery from French women who did the unthinkable to help everyone under the Nazi rule in France. Then in a concentration camps in during the most horrible torture and degradation humanity can endure.

Caroline Moorehead's recounting of the lives of a select group of French women in the WWII resistance and their endurance through the various German concentration camps is extremely detailed - even confusing at tines as other reviewers have noted - but verges on present day social anthropology. Despite physical and psychological hardships, the group creates their own society to reinforce their identities and will to survive.

While only a few, just over 40, last until liberation after nearly two years in the various camps (Auschwitz, Ravensbruck, Bergen-Belsen and others), how they managed to survive is the heart of the core story. However, there are other insights to be gleaned regarding the German perception of the socialist/communist movements in France at the time as well as the well documented treatment of Jews who were clearly perceived by the German leadership and other Nazi sympathizers, especially French collaborators, as less than human (including some well known postwar figures such as Jean Paul Sartre). These descriptions shed some "feeling" for the development of post WWII Europe.

For me, one of the most interesting parts of the book, albeit brief, is the treatment of the survivors when they return to their homes after liberation. According to the presentation, many survivors had great difficulty mixing into their former neighborhoods. Not only did they feel separation from what their former lives had been but it seems that their neighbors and pre-imprisonment friends/colleagues could not talk them to about their experiences - to the point of looking away and changing the subject. It would seem to suggest that when separated, both groups created new societies which were more relevant to their "present" despite a common heritage and reunification. Somewhat like William Golding's "Lord of the Flies."

The drawbacks to the narrative are: the overwhelming and somewhat confusing detail regarding the number of people in the initial groups making tracking and empathizing with them hard to follow and dispassionate (the photographs help); at some point the brutality in the camps becomes pretty repetitive - possibly by design - but somewhat numbing for the reader as well. In fact, this continual description of the brutality had the effect of making me question initially the authenticity of the story and reminding me of a great literary hoax about a WWII resistance member caught and tortured by the Nazis initially published in Reader's Digest, I believe, during the late 50's. However, the diversity of the stories and the post-liberation experiences reinforced the authenticity, for me.

A Train In Winter (P.S.) by Caroline Moorehead is worth the read to keep the memories of man's inhumanity to man alive when the media today both overwhelms with so many stories, then glosses on.

Well researched and beautifully written. I couldn't put down the story of these brave women who were part of the French resistance and it made me wonder how I would have acted under the same circumstances. Amazing how few their numbers when the Germans invaded and how so many others sold out to save themselves.

THIS BOOK RECOUNTS THE HISTORY OF WORLD WAR II FROM THE STANDPOINT OF COMMUNISTS IN FRANCE, ESPECIALLY WOMEN. I KNEW ABOUT PETAIN AND THE VICHY GOVERNMENT BUT I DID NOT REALIZE THAT THE FRENCH POLICE WERE COLLABORATORS. IT IS VERY GRAPHIC BUT EUROPE UNDER HITLER WAS BRUTAL AND GRUESOME. IT IS STILL DIFFICULT FOR ME TO BELIEVE THAT HUMAN BEINGS CAN BE SO CRUEL. AS ONE OF THE WOMEN SAID JUST BEFORE LIBERATION, "WHO WILL BELIEVE US THAT THESE ATROCITIES HAPPENED?" THE GERMANS WROTE EVERYTHING DOWN AND COULD NOT DISPOSE OF IT ALL SO THERE ARE WRITTEN HISTORIES. HOWEVER, THERE ARE STILL PEOPLE THAT SAY THE HOLOCAUST NEVER HAPPENED! THERE IS THE SAYING THAT IF WE DON'T LEARN FROM OUR MISTAKES WE ARE BOUND TO REPEAT THEM AND THAT IS STILL TRUE TODAY.

This book documents and provides further insight into a shameful time for the world, and for the citizens of France. This chapter in French history further depicts their darkest hour in "modern" times. Other books about this era in history have been written and published over the years, and more stories keep coming to our attention. It should be noted that such stories of resistence and betrayal happened world wide during those horrible times. The unfortunate fact is that the world has not learned its lesson. That is why books such as this one are so important now. These stories must be told, not only to keep the memory alive in honor of those gone, but to imprint on the world's consciousness that these horrors must stop.

This is a very moving book about people caught up in the holocaust who were driven beyond comprehension to survive. Extremely well written and very hard to put down. A must read for those interested in the efforts put forth by those who resisted the Nazis and collaborators.

"A Train in Winter," the story of French women working with the Resistance and caught by Germans was impossible to put down -- and also hard to read -- not because of the writing -- which was beautiful and full of detail -- but because of the horrors these women endured. We must acknowledge and continue to bear witness to these terrible events. We must continue to honor those who endured -- and those who didn't.

Book / Audiobook: This is great read and interesting slice of the WWII history. It sheds light on the Communist movement and its human psychology in the French Resistance. The Communist were the most harden resistant fighters since some serve in the Spanish Civil War. It easy to see why the other nationalist French Resistant member as well as some of the French were at odd with them. The Communists were loyal to Marx and the Soviet Union to possibly to the determinant of France. When the Communist Soviet Union signed the Non-Aggression Pact with Nazi Germany, they were shocked ... they did not know that Stalin was an opportunist first, then a Russian, then a Communist. This same zeal help them survive the occupation then the living death of the camps. Even the ones that survived had not only PTSD but some French refused to believe the camps existed. What % of the population did not believe them and were they merely ignorant? I do not know but it was enough.

One other point: the camp and resistance experience continues to support that people survive better as group, or have a least one friend whether you are in a platoon at the front, in a death camp, or at home.

I enjoy reading historical fiction and WWII is a favorite subject. This book combined both and while the subject matter portrayed the horrors of Nazi Germany, the women in the book were treated with respect and honored.

An interesting book. It is difficult to keep your understanding of all the character straight, but the overall scope of the story is eye-opening and heart-breaking, particularly as Paris now finds itself under a sort of siege again.

This extensively researched and well-documented book celebrates women of the French Resistance during World War II, particularly the young women affiliated with the Communist movement who were betrayed by the Vichy collaborators and deported to the Nazis' concentration and killing camps in Poland. In great detail, the author provides extensive introductions to each of the women, her family and resistance activities.
Once betrayed, imprisoned, then literally thrown together on a cattle car for deportation, the women form friendships with one another. Their tenacity and resilience in the face of unspeakable horrors are inspirational.
The meticulously detailed descriptions throughout the narrative are, at once, repulsive, repugnant, and riveting. One feels a kinship with and admiration for the women that compels one to read on and to bear witness.
Ultimately, the book celebrates the power of friendships and relationships which preserved the humanity of the women as they experienced the depths to which men can descend as a result of hatred and a quest for power and control.

Gripping factual account of the brave women in the French Resistance and their fight for survival under Nazi terrorism. Facing unimaginable acts against humanity these remarkable women find strength in their friendship and strong will to survive.

I have read many accounts and each leaves me more despondent that it could happen and what the after was like but all must be read. How oh how could this have happened. How could people be a part of it? Another must read of holocaust memoirs.

Very well written, a devastating story, but one that needed to be told. These women were so brave, and their entire lives were affected by what the Nazis put them through. I've read many WWII stories, and the depth of the Nazi cruelty stuns me every time.

I really enjoyed this book although the subject matter was difficult. The book is a great exploration of the events that took place in France just after the Nazi invasion and a thorough look at the women who were in the French Resistance and how they survived the war.

A Train in Winter brings the reader into the lives of women of the French Resistance who were transported in the Hell of the Nazi concentration camps. Some survive, most perish. Their story is both marvelous and stunningly nightmarish. The Europe they return to is a continent of PTSD where so many stories such as this are lost or nearly so due to their sheer volume.
Caroline Moorehead has done a great service to history and to humankind in preserving the stories these women have to tell us.

I purchased this eBook on a review in The Economist and was not disappointed. A moving story with so many facets it would take too long to describe. As important for the world to know what these women went through equally outrageous was the way successive French governments looked the other way and never brought to justice the collaborators who were more than willing to do the Nazis bidding, only with more zeal.

As the generation who survived the Holocaust dies out their stories are being forgotten or relegated to a "that happened so long ago" section of world history. That would be a tragedy because remembering makes us vigilant about seeing and acting before its too late.

Fantastic book! Amazing history. Must keep in mind this is the story about the strength of women and how they bonded together in friendship and sharing to do whatever it took to survive a hideous situation. Well written.

An informative, fascinating and perceptive reporting on the role women played in the resistance and how their roles were never fully acknowledged. The willingness of the French to collaborate was horrifying.