314 - The Nazi Ghost Train

In early September 1944, as Allied forces raced across France and Belgium, the German occupation of Brussels was beginning to collapse.

On 2 September, around 1,500 prisoners, including members of the Belgian Resistance, Allied airmen, SOE agents, and political prisoners, were taken from Brussels prisons and loaded onto a train bound for Germany.

For many, it seemed certain they were heading for concentration camps. But over the next two days, a remarkable series of delays and acts of resistance by Belgian railway workers and prison officials prevented the train from reaching its destination.

The convoy became known as the Ghost Train.

Joining me to discuss this extraordinary story is Greg Lewis, author of The Nazi Ghost Train.

 

patreon.com/ww2podcast