Book Review : The Nazi Ghost Train

In early September 1944, the Nazis in Belgium were in a hurry as allied forces were close to Brussels. They wanted to move airmen, resistance fighters, and captured spies from the Belgian prison of Saint-Gilles eastwards to labour and concentration camps.

The first part of the book covers the stories of how the airmen were shot down in western Europe and the second part how those airmen were betrayed by Nazi collaborators and ending up in Saint-Gilles. These first two parts deserve three and four stars respectively.

The five-star part covers the Nazi train and how the Belgian railway employees and resistance fighters slowed down the second train to leave Saint-Gilles – the “Ghost Train” of the title – sufficiently for it never to leave Belgium before the Nazis decided the people on board could be released. They were more concerned about saving their own skins from the advancing allies. These Belgian railway staff and fighters were the unsung heroes as they risked their lives to save the 1,400 people on the train.

This is fascinating information and a wonderful read.