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A Train in Winter

An Extraordinary Story of Women, Friendship, and Resistance in Occupied France
by Caroline Moorehead
A Train in Winter: An Extraordinary Story of Women, Friendship, and Resistance in Occupied France. Harper: HarperCollins. Nov. 2011. c.384p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780061650703. $27.99. HIST
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The winter of 1942–43 encompassed some of the darkest days of World War II, not least for the French Resistance. Moorehead (Gellhorn) uses as her lens the lesser-known January 1943 transport of 230 women of the Resistance to the Auschwitz death camp. She conducted interviews with several of the 49 surviving women or their families and incorporates information from their published and unpublished works about the experiences they endured during their incarceration. Taking us from the early days of the Resistance and these women's roles to the postwar period of disillusionment and unhappiness, Moorehead finds inspiration in the way they assisted and protected one another, sometimes ensuring another's survival to the detriment of themselves.
VERDICT Readers will get a good overview of the historical context and the sacrifices made by women whose motivation was to provide a better world for their country. Although at times difficult to read (the descriptions of Auschwitz offer nothing new but reiterate the horror endured), this book rightfully gives these women—survivors and nonsurvivors alike—their place in our historical memory. For a memoir by a woman in the Resistance not transported with this group, see Agnes Humbert's Résistance. [See Prepub Alert, 5/16/11.]
Reviewed by Barbara Hoffert , Aug 01, 2011
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