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

The Last Night

1939-Germany. The night before the children left for England on the Kindertransport was particularly bittersweet. It was the children's chance for safety but leaving their families was a heartbreaking parting.

Book Excerpt

The Children’s Train

Peter, Becca, and Stephen sat down with their parents for their last dinner in Germany. No one spoke. Peter looked around the table. Stephen’s family was kind. At least his mother would have a comfortable place to live, and Nora would help her take care of Baby Lilly. “Be grateful for small things,” he remembered his father telling him. “If you work hard, you can make your own luck.” His father’s luck had run out.

After dinner, Peter took out his violin and, at his mother’s urging, played “With God by Our Side.” The grownups sang, the impending loss of their children weighing heavily on their hearts. Peter’s penetrating notes chased the sullen Stephen out of the room.

We are marching forward with God by our side.

We will not leave our path, for He will be our guide.

Hold my hand, lift our voices in prayer across the land.

For we have made our choices, and together we will stand.

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Jana Zinser

The Children’s Train

Synopsis

Author Biography

Author Insight

The Last Night

1939-Germany. The night before the children left for England on the Kindertransport was particularly bittersweet. It was the children's chance for safety but leaving their families was a heartbreaking parting.

Book Excerpt

The Children’s Train

Comment on this Bubble