A Train in Winter: A Story of Resistance, Friendship, and Survival

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, spirited 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 World War II resistance organization documents 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.

"[A] moving novelistic portrait...An inspiring and fascinating read."

"A compelling account of human suffering and courage in the face of appalling brutality. And by the careful use of detail, and an almost obsessive curiosity, Ms. Moorehead has succeeded in frustrating one of the main aims of the Nazis...the memory of 'le Convoi des 3100' has not disappeared."

"An extremely moving and intensely personal history of the Auschwitz universe as experienced by these women...A powerful and moving book."

"As chronicled by Moorehead with unblinking accuracy, their agonies are appalling to contemplate, their stories of survival and friendship under duress enthralling to hear."

"As Moorehead delves deeply into the women's fight for survival, her narrative seamlessly comes together in order to share a significant part of history whose time has come to be heard."

"By turns heartbreaking and inspiring."

"Compelling and moving...The literature of wartime France and the Holocaust is by now so vast as to confound the imagination, but when a book as good as this comes along, we are reminded that there is always room for something new...A necessary book."

"Compelling...Moorehead weaves into her suspenseful, detailed narrative myriad personal stories of friendship, courage, and heartbreak."

"Haunting account of bravery, friendship, and endurance."

"Heightened by electrifying, and staggering, detail, Moorehead's riveting history stands as a luminous testament to the indomitable will to survive and the unbreakable bonds of friendship."

"Moorehead...traces the lives and deaths of all her subjects with unswerving candor and compassion...In Moorehead's telling, neither evil nor good is banal; and if the latter doesn't always triumph, it certainly inspires."

"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...This book rightfully gives these women--survivors and nonsurvivors alike--their place in our historical memory."

"The first complete account of these extraordinary women and, incredibly, over sixty years later we are still learning new and terrible truths about the Holocaust...An important new perspective...Careful research and sensitive retelling."