The Children’s Train by Jana Zinser

The Bravery And Horrors Of War

The Children’s Train by Jana Zinser is a heart wrenching historical novel focusing on the years 1938-1945 in Germany. It is written from the point of view of the Jewish people. The novel zooms in on a small group of individuals. They are a microcosm for what affected millions and not just in Germany.

We follow the plight of several families from their homes and lives where liberties are eroded to the kindertransport to the ghetto to the gas chambers. The reader witnesses the full horror of what life was like when you were Jewish in Nazi Germany.

There is both bravery and desperation of parents relinquishing their children on a train to a better life in England. The reader ‘travels’ to England and also remains behind in Germany.

As lives are extinguished so hope is extinguished too. It feels like the world has abandoned the Jewish people to their fate. “They’re robbing our souls, and the world has turned out its light and gone to sleep.” It even feels like God has left them. “Do you think God can still hear me?”

There are some very difficult to read scenes of horror, as well as scenes of great bravery and of hope. Some possess a fighting spirit, for others it is just too much.

A particularly moving scene for me involved Eddie and Otto towards the end of the war. I shall say no more but let you read it yourselves.

The literary device of pathetic fallacy was used as the weather mirrored the mood. “Lightning flashed and thunder shook as the train travelled across Germany.”

The Children’s Train was simply written but this simplicity seemed to magnify the horrors.

We must never forget the evil done to the innocents – the six million who perished and the others who survived.

JULIA WILSON

One thought on “The Children’s Train by Jana Zinser

  1. This book sounds like it would be a very hard to read book because of what it is about, yet it sounds like a book that we all should read. I would like to read this book, so I will be adding it to my TBR list. Thank you so much for posting about this book. Have a Great rest of the week. God Bless you.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.