Dynamo: Triumph and Tragedy in Nazi-Occupied Kiev

When Hitler initiated Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, he caught the Soviet Union completely by surprise. At breathtaking speed, his armies swept east, slaughtering the ill-prepared Soviet forces. His greatest military gains in all of World War II were made in these few short months, and the largest single country that he conquered was the Ukraine. Ukraine's capital, Kiev, was circled, assaulted, and overrun. Among the city's defenders who were captured and incarcerated were many of the members of the sparkling 1939 Dynamo Kiev football team, arguably the best squad in Europe before the war. Captured Kiev was a starving city whose population was deported in vast numbers as slave labor. However, one man was determined not just to save the surviving players from the Dynamo squad but other athletes as well. He offered them work, shelter, and-most valuable-bread, as workers in his bakery. Inspired by the charismatic goalkeeper Trusevich, the Dynamo squad was re-formed as Start FC, and a series of matches were arranged, all of which the team won handsomely, and to such an extent that they inspired Kievan spirits. The final match, however, against the Luftwaffe, was arranged by the German authorities. A well-fed team from the Fatherland would vanquish the upstart Ukrainians, especially since the game would be refereed by an S.S. officer. The match itself was an allegory of resistance, and its consequences were brutal. In Dynamo Andy Dougan has discovered the truth behind a legendary encounter, sorting fact from fiction and restoring a moment of extraordinary poignancy and complex bravery to the center of World War II. The cliche is demonstrably true: Football is not a matter of life ordeath; it's much more important than that.

About the Author :
Andy Dougan is a writer for the Glasgow Evening Times and the author of six previous books, including biographies of American film luminaries Martin Scorcese, Michael Douglas, and Robert De Niro.

Review :
"Dougan's narrative is both inspiring and humbling... this is a moving and memorable book." --"London Tribune" "The author tells this unusual World War II story the way it should be told: by setting it in its context. A fascinating, exciting, and ultimately, deeply unsettling book."--" Booklist" "The sideshow to the brutal Nazi occupation of Kiev is more complex than the popular version of Soviet myth, but it is still ghastly enough. The whole story is skillfully recounted by author Andy Dougan. Mr. Dougan's thoughtful treatment makes the episode compelling on its own terms, whether the athletes were heroes or merely, like millions of others, people caught in the wrong place at the wrong time."--"The Wall Street Journal (Weekend Edition) "A fascinating, exciting, and ultimately, deeply unsettling book." "-- Booklist