A Train Near Magdeburg (The Young Adult Adaptation): The Holocaust, the Survivors, and the American Soldiers who Saved Them

by Matthew A. Rozell

—The Young Adult Adaptation of the True Story of the Rescue of a Holocaust Death Train in World War II— WHAT YOU DO MATTERS

AS A YOUNG TEEN living a comfortable life with family, what do you do when the Germans march into your town to persecute you, and your neighbors and your friends turn their backs? As life turns upside-down and you are now a young prisoner—fighting for survival in a concentration camp and FORCED TO BOARD A DEATH TRAIN to nowhere—how do you go on as people are dying all around you?
AS A YOUNG AMERICAN SOLDIER in World War II, fighting brutal battles across Europe—having been shot at and shelled, having seen your friends killed, and no longer even able to remember what your own mother looks like—what is the plan when you STUMBLE ACROSS A HOLOCAUST TRAIN full of suffering families that shocks you to your core, even after you think you have seen it all?

Jewish children on a death train. Nazi murderers. American soldiers. A teacher turned detective, solving a historical mystery, two generations later.
It's not a novel. It's not 'based on a true story.' It really happened, and teenagers were there to tell about surviving the horrors of the Holocaust—and living to thank their liberators, just a few years older than themselves... in their own words.

And what happens when the SOLDIERS AND SURVIVORS again MEET FACE TO FACE, seven decades later?

~ “I survived because of many miracles. but for me to actually meet and cry together with my liberators—the ‘angels of life’ who literally gave me back my life—was just beyond imagination!” –Leslie Meisels, Teenage Holocaust survivor, 65 years after being freed by American soldiers in World War II
~From the author of 'The Things Our Fathers Saw' World War II eyewitness history series~

A recent study found that two-thirds of American millennials do not know what Auschwitz is. Twenty-two percent of you said you are not sure you have heard of the Holocaust at all. Well, most adults my age don’t know much about it, either.
The ‘good news’ is that 93% of the surveyed group feels a need to learn about it, because most agreed that ‘something like it’ could happen again. And I adapted this book for you with the hope that by the time you finish it, you will know more about the Holocaust than most of the adults in your life—and maybe you’ll be motivated to do something about that, and think more about the world we inherited from these survivors, their liberators, and the perpetrators and the bystanders. While it is true that some risked all to help their neighbors, when confronted with a moral choice, most people did nothing.

I’ll take you into the world of the Holocaust through the eyes of the teens who lived it, children and young adult survivors from all over Europe who had two things in common—they shared the exact same American soldier-liberators, and now, as grandparents themselves, they had the opportunity to meet those same American gentlemen who were in the sunsets of their lives, some quietly wondering if it was all worthwhile.

And as I lead you out of the darkness, we will ask questions and seek the answers about what it all means for our world today. We will keep the flame of remembrance alive, and you will become the new witnesses, the new light.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

425 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 18, 2020

Reviews

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story that is retold in the words of the participants! The author did a fantastic job!

Mr Rozell, the author, did a wonderful job in researching and discovering the personal stories of several survivors and a few liberators of an awful chapter in history. Additionally, he included an overview of his efforts that led to the creation of this book and how he has included his students in this life-affirming project. I feel like I've listened to a great lecture from one of the greatest teachers ever! This is a difficult, dark topic that contains moments of uplifting beauty and the author has done a masterful job of acknowledging the horrors of the holocaust, the priceless treasure of survival, and the honor and dignity maintained through or recaptured following unimaginable adversity! This contains some important messages for us all: the Holocaust happened and it was a senseless horror; it is important that we each act with honor and conviction against bullying and brutality, and against prejudice, and racism. Acknowledge and honor the inspiring actions of those who were "just doing their job", and just do our job by speaking up and never allowing it to happen again. Finally, the common thread found at the core of nearly every religion, that we all seem to forget too frequently, is to love each other, and treat each other with dignity! Great book!

[Bonnye Reed]

TheFussyLibrarian

[Laurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

No spoilers in this book, being a series of true stories, memories of holocaust survivors, the young men who stumbled across this train full of people and the personal history of the author. I haven’t read the adult edition, but even tho young adult version is a heartbreaker.

I suppose, being so far away from World War II, kids& young adults have to just hear their grandparents or even great grandparents talk about it. Until I sat overnight with my dad, in the hospital, dying of cancer, I didn’t know exactly how scary he had it. He had told us, he spent hours in the belly of the plane, looking for U-boats off the coast of Africa. Silly me, I never considered the fact he must have lived on a ship. My dad began re-living the war one night. He kept telling me the bombers were coming, tell everyone to get off the deck. I went out into the hall & came back in. He was angry I didn’t yell loud enough. I went back out & walked down the hall & back. He became angrier. It was then that the nurses came in to help. I honestly never thought my dad was on a ship that had bombings. He was 18. My son is 18. My son is a good young man, but I don’t think he could take what my dad lived through or what the young men in WWII lived through. Or what prisoners lived through. (Neither could I.)

A great book, though a few of the soldier’s stories were a bit long & tedious. I read it quickly, in spurts! It is good in details and in the author’s personal story. It hits at the heart & makes you pause and be thankful for what we have in America. Freedom of speech & religion are important. A Train to Magdeburg was also a personal interest. I used to have a penpal in Magdeburg. It ended up in East Germany, so it took awhile for our letters to go back & forth. It was interesting to read a little about life behind the Iron Curtain. There really wasn’t much about Magdeburg, except that was the closest main town. It was a beautiful area.

[Wesley Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Matt Rozell's complete series on World War II, this was a fitting end to the series. Although it is important to make sure we study, understand, and remember the gift the Greatest Generation left us with, it is even more important to remember WHY they fought the war and what the freedom they won is all about. When today's Progressive "experts" are arguing the mistakes of that generation and those that have followed, we must never forget what we accomplished then and what we can still accomplish now. The goodness is still within us, and no amount of digging up the mistakes of the past will change what this country stands for and what many people are still doing to help and aid others.
God Bless America.

[Kathy P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Best Book to Read on the Holocaust

I have read many works on WW II and the holocaust, but this is the best, hands down. Perhaps it's because this one had many perspectives given and the history is presented through several eyes. The stories are told from the viewpoint of soldiers, the commanders, the victims, a history teacher, children, medical personnel, journalist, and observers. This book is one that you power through because you can't put it aside. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in WW II, History, the war, or simply an informative read.

[Ashley Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an important book that tells the story of a train full of concentration camp survivors and the American soldiers that found them, in their own voices. My grandfather was in the 120th Regiment of the 30th Infantry Division at the time, and I wonder how close he came to this microcosm of the Holocaust. Thank you to the author and his students for compiling this story. Never forget.

[Tom Wyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Profound

Reading this story it hit me very much emotionally. I have read of the holocaust in various books but this brings it to a human touch. I met people not faces. There were many tears while reading of the atrocities. NEVER MORE

[Kelly Erwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I have read so many books about the Holocaust but never one like this. All the interviews the author has done and visiting the sites. He makes you feel like you are there too.

[David Nesbit · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute must read. History must not be forgotten.

[Patricia Perreault · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart breaking, but also heart warming.

[Janejellyroll · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be a good book for young adults who aren't very familiar with the Holocaust. I wish there was a little less focus on the author.