Holding On To Hope

The Train That Took You Away by Catherine Hokin is a powerful historical novel that I read in just two sittings.

The novel is set from 1936-1946 in Berlin, the seat of the Nazis power. There are also a few scenes in Blitz-ravaged London.

We follow three main characters all connected with the art world – a young female art restorer from England; a young artist; and a young mother who runs an art gallery in Berlin. The latter two are Jewish and their war is beyond horrendous.

Germany seems to be a civilized nation in 1936 as it welcomes people to the Olympics. The young art restorer declares in 1936; “The German people are too kind and too good to let hatred and prejudice swallow it.” Unfortunately, the German people were governed by fear and/or blind adoration as they believed the lies they were told.

Bit by bit the lives of the Jewish people were eroded until all their liberties and freedoms were gone. Those who remained in Berlin were said to be “invisible and we’re targets, and we’ve nothing to live on but bad food, fear and rumor.”

There is much heartache and sacrificial love as a character makes the decision to put her eight-year-old son on the kinder transport to England for safety. It is an emotional wrench and only the hope that she will see him again, keeps her going.