The Twentieth Train: The True Story of the Ambush of the Death Train to Auschwitz

Rating:
Summary: The Twentieth Train
Review: The Twentieth Train: The True Story of the Ambush of the Death Train to Auschwitz by Marion Schreiber is a true account of rescue in Belgium. After the Nazi invasion of Belgium in May of 1940, a camp was set up in Malines (or Mechelen in Flemish) for captured Jews. Their ultimate destination was Auschwitz, but a minimum quota of prisoners was required to fill a convoy, hence Malines, the collecting area. Tragically, there would be twenty-eight Belgian convoys to Auschwitz before the end of the war, but Marion Schreiber tells the little-known story of the ambush of the twentieth convoy. Executed entirely by three young men independent of the Belgian Resistance movement, the operation managed to free over 240 Jewish prisoners before the train reached Auschwitz. Of the rescuers, however, only one survived capture and death.
Encompassing more than just the rescue operation, The Twentieth Train explores pre-war Belgium thorougly in much of the book. I enjoyed learning about this country's history as well as its amazing story of courage and rescue in World War II.

Rating:
Summary: Young Heros....A fascinating story of courage
Review: Reading this book renews your faith in mankind. In this book there are many stories of people who resisted the Nazis and the thugs and gangsters who supported and collaberated with the Nazis.

The book details the methods use to steal the property of the Jews before they were shipped to their death. How the Nazis lied and convinced most of the deportees that they were being transported to a workers paridise. It also shows how people cooperated with the Germans or paid or used influence to have their names removed from the list of Jewish deportees only to betrayed at the end.

The book tells in detail how famlies were arrested and taken to a temporary holding camp waiting until a full train load of people had been collected and then sent to the death camps.

Then, a group of young people each decide to do something to save lives. With no support from the allies or the underground they faced the Germans face to face and won.

Their story of individual courage is fasinating. It clearly shows that there were many, many more courageous people in Belguim than there were Nazi collaberators.

I loved this book. My copy of the book has been passed to at least 10 people so far. All the reactions have been the same; wonderful admiration of the courageous young heros.