The Children’s Train

Literature & Fiction

synopsis

Synopsis

In November 1938 on The Night of the Broken Glass, the Jewish people of Germany are terrified as Hitler's men shatter their store windows, steal and destroy their belongings, and arrest many Jewish fathers and brothers. Parents fear for their own lives but their focus is on protecting their children. When England arranges to take the children out of Germany by train, the Kindertransport is organized and parents scramble to get places on the trains for their young family members, worried about what the future will hold. Soon, trains filled with Jewish children escaping the Nazis chug over the border into Holland, where they are ferried across the English Channel to England and to freedom. But for Peter, the shy violin player, his sister Becca, and his friends Stephen and Hans, life in England holds challenges as well. Peter’s friend Eva, who did not get a seat on the Kindertransport, is left to the evil plans of Hitler. Peter, working his musician’s hands raw at a farm in Coventry, wonders if they should have stayed and fought back instead of escaping. When the Coventry farm is bombed and Nazis have reached England, Peter feels he has nothing left. He decides it’s time to stand and fight Hitler. Peter returns to Germany to join the Jewish underground resistance, search for the mother and sister he left behind in Berlin, and rescue his childhood friend Eva.

bio

Author Biography

As Jana tells it, the remarkable story of the Kindertransport children in Nazi Germany touched her heart and would not let go: “Since the moment I heard their incredible, historic tale, they have not left my mind. The Kindertransport children came to live in my conscience and would not leave until I told their story.” Jana hopes readers will find the courage to stand up to the injustices that affect us all. Jana Zinser is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire School of Law and received her masters in Journalism from the University of Iowa. Her past work in politics, public policy, and the media, coupled with her determined focus on children and social justice, have uniquely placed her to tell this story. It’s a story as timeless and essential as ever, a story that will capture the hearts of the world. Jana lives in Colorado with her children.

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Author Insight

Is It Ever Over?

It was 1945 and World War II had finally ended. There was celebrating in the streets of London. It was over. But for anyone who had survived the nightmare, they feared the horror of an evil dictator with hatred in his heart and people who would follow him, could happen again.

Book Excerpt

The Children’s Train

In the London streets that night, Stephen danced with a pretty girl in a swirling blue skirt.

A beautiful girl with brightly painted red nails grabbed Hans and kissed him, then skipped off into the jubilant crowd.

“Who was that girl that just kissed you?” Stephen asked.

“I don’t know who the dame was!” Hans said, imitating Humphrey Bogart’s voice in the movie Casablanca. “But who cares? She kissed me!” He laughed loudly, a boisterous laugh that could only erupt from the freedom of victory. “I really like this end-of-the-war stuff!”

“Yes, we’ll have to do this again,” Stephen said.

“No, no, no, one war is enough for me,” Hans said.

“Oh, it’ll happen again, but who will be the Jews next time?” Stephen asked.

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Jana Zinser

The Children’s Train

Synopsis

Author Biography

Author Insight

Is It Ever Over?

It was 1945 and World War II had finally ended. There was celebrating in the streets of London. It was over. But for anyone who had survived the nightmare, they feared the horror of an evil dictator with hatred in his heart and people who would follow him, could happen again.

Book Excerpt

The Children’s Train

Comment on this Bubble