
My Train to Freedom
A Jewish Boy’s Journey from Nazi Europe to a Life of Activism
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Eric G. Dove
-
By:
-
Ivan A. Backer
About this listen
The breathtaking memoir by a member of "Nicky's family", a group of 669 Czechoslovakian children who escaped the Holocaust through Sir Nicholas Winton's Kindertransport project. My Train to Freedom relates the trials and achievements of award-winning humanitarian and former Episcopal priest Ivan Backer.
As Backer recounts in his memoir, in May of 1939, as a 10-year-old Jewish boy, he fled Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia for the United Kingdom aboard one of the Kindertransport trains organized by Nicholas Winton, a young London stockbroker. The final train was canceled on September 1 when Hitler invaded Poland. The 250 children scheduled for that train were left on the platform and later transported to concentration camps and presumably perished.
Detailed in this true story is Backer's dangerous escape, his boyhood in England, his perilous 1944 voyage to America, and his mantra today. Now he is an 86-year-old who remains an activist for peace and justice. He has been influenced by his Jewish heritage, his Christian boarding school education in England, and the always present question: "For what purpose was I spared the Holocaust?"
My Train to Freedom was thoroughly researched and shaped by Backer's own memories. It includes interviews he conducted in 1980 in Czech with his mother and her sister, later translated into English; a collection of conversations he had with his older brother and cousin; and insights gained from the Czech film Nicky's Family, about the Kindertransport, and concludes with never-before-published death march accounts by two family members.
Download the accompanying reference guide.©2016 Ivan A. Backer (P)2016 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Confidante
- The Untold Story of the Woman Who Helped Win WWII and Shape Modern America
- By: Christopher C. Gorham
- Narrated by: Ann Richardson
- Length: 14 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With a disarming mix of charm and Tammany-hewn toughness, Rosenberg began her career in public relations in 1920s Manhattan. As FDR's unofficial adviser, Rosenberg soon wielded enormous influence—no less potent for being subtle. Her extraordinary career continued after his death. By 1950, she was tapped to become the assistant secretary of defense—the highest position ever held by a woman in the US military—prompting Senator Joe McCarthy to wage an unsuccessful smear campaign against her.
-
-
Part History, Part Promotion
- By D. Bucks on 06-07-23
-
Code Name Blue Wren
- The True Story of America's Most Dangerous Female Spy—and the Sister She Betrayed
- By: Jim Popkin
- Narrated by: Jim Popkin
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Just days after the 9-11 attacks, a senior Pentagon analyst eased her red Toyota Echo into traffic and headed to work. She never saw the undercover cars tracking her every turn. As she settled into her cubicle on the 6th floor of the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, FBI Agents and twitchy DIA officers were hiding in nearby offices. For this was the day that Ana Montes--the US Intelligence Community superstar who had just won a prestigious fellowship at the CIA--was to be arrested and publicly exposed as a secret agent for Cuba.
-
-
It drags
- By Jules on 02-18-23
By: Jim Popkin
-
Nowhere Girl
- A Memoir of a Fugitive Childhood
- By: Cheryl Diamond
- Narrated by: Eileen Stevens
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By the time she was in her teens, Diamond had lived dozens of lives and lies, but as she grew older, love and trust turned to fear and violence, and her family—the only people she had in the world—began to unravel. She started to realize that her life itself might be a big con, and the people she loved, the most dangerous of all. With no way out and her identity burned so often that she had no proof she even existed, all that was left was a girl from nowhere.
-
-
As Diamond said in an interview, “It is a horrific story at times, but also absolutely magical.”
- By Teela Klekotka on 02-11-23
By: Cheryl Diamond
-
A Fever in the Heartland
- The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them
- By: Timothy Egan
- Narrated by: Timothy Egan
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Roaring Twenties—the Jazz Age—has been characterized as a time of Gatsby frivolity. But it was also the height of the uniquely American hate group, the Ku Klux Klan. Their domain was not the old Confederacy, but the Heartland and the West. They hated Blacks, Jews, Catholics and immigrants in equal measure, and took radical steps to keep these people from the American promise. And the man who set in motion their takeover of great swaths of America was a charismatic charlatan named D.C. Stephenson.
-
-
This is a must read!
- By V. Richmond on 04-14-23
By: Timothy Egan
-
Becoming
- By: Michelle Obama
- Narrated by: Michelle Obama
- Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites listeners into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her - from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work to her time spent at the world's most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it - in her own words and on her own terms.
-
-
Didn't know what I was getting into
- By Kenneth Woodward on 12-05-18
By: Michelle Obama
-
The Girls of Atomic City
- The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II
- By: Denise Kiernan
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the height of World War II, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, was home to 75,000 residents, consuming more electricity than New York City. But to most of the world, the town did not exist. Thousands of civilians - many of them young women from small towns across the South - were recruited to this secret city, enticed by solid wages and the promise of war-ending work. Kept very much in the dark, few would ever guess the true nature of the tasks they performed each day in the hulking factories in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains.
-
-
Important story of this secret city
- By CBlox on 11-14-13
By: Denise Kiernan
-
The Confidante
- The Untold Story of the Woman Who Helped Win WWII and Shape Modern America
- By: Christopher C. Gorham
- Narrated by: Ann Richardson
- Length: 14 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With a disarming mix of charm and Tammany-hewn toughness, Rosenberg began her career in public relations in 1920s Manhattan. As FDR's unofficial adviser, Rosenberg soon wielded enormous influence—no less potent for being subtle. Her extraordinary career continued after his death. By 1950, she was tapped to become the assistant secretary of defense—the highest position ever held by a woman in the US military—prompting Senator Joe McCarthy to wage an unsuccessful smear campaign against her.
-
-
Part History, Part Promotion
- By D. Bucks on 06-07-23
-
Code Name Blue Wren
- The True Story of America's Most Dangerous Female Spy—and the Sister She Betrayed
- By: Jim Popkin
- Narrated by: Jim Popkin
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Just days after the 9-11 attacks, a senior Pentagon analyst eased her red Toyota Echo into traffic and headed to work. She never saw the undercover cars tracking her every turn. As she settled into her cubicle on the 6th floor of the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, FBI Agents and twitchy DIA officers were hiding in nearby offices. For this was the day that Ana Montes--the US Intelligence Community superstar who had just won a prestigious fellowship at the CIA--was to be arrested and publicly exposed as a secret agent for Cuba.
-
-
It drags
- By Jules on 02-18-23
By: Jim Popkin
-
Nowhere Girl
- A Memoir of a Fugitive Childhood
- By: Cheryl Diamond
- Narrated by: Eileen Stevens
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By the time she was in her teens, Diamond had lived dozens of lives and lies, but as she grew older, love and trust turned to fear and violence, and her family—the only people she had in the world—began to unravel. She started to realize that her life itself might be a big con, and the people she loved, the most dangerous of all. With no way out and her identity burned so often that she had no proof she even existed, all that was left was a girl from nowhere.
-
-
As Diamond said in an interview, “It is a horrific story at times, but also absolutely magical.”
- By Teela Klekotka on 02-11-23
By: Cheryl Diamond
-
A Fever in the Heartland
- The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them
- By: Timothy Egan
- Narrated by: Timothy Egan
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Roaring Twenties—the Jazz Age—has been characterized as a time of Gatsby frivolity. But it was also the height of the uniquely American hate group, the Ku Klux Klan. Their domain was not the old Confederacy, but the Heartland and the West. They hated Blacks, Jews, Catholics and immigrants in equal measure, and took radical steps to keep these people from the American promise. And the man who set in motion their takeover of great swaths of America was a charismatic charlatan named D.C. Stephenson.
-
-
This is a must read!
- By V. Richmond on 04-14-23
By: Timothy Egan
-
Becoming
- By: Michelle Obama
- Narrated by: Michelle Obama
- Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites listeners into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her - from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work to her time spent at the world's most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it - in her own words and on her own terms.
-
-
Didn't know what I was getting into
- By Kenneth Woodward on 12-05-18
By: Michelle Obama
-
The Girls of Atomic City
- The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II
- By: Denise Kiernan
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the height of World War II, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, was home to 75,000 residents, consuming more electricity than New York City. But to most of the world, the town did not exist. Thousands of civilians - many of them young women from small towns across the South - were recruited to this secret city, enticed by solid wages and the promise of war-ending work. Kept very much in the dark, few would ever guess the true nature of the tasks they performed each day in the hulking factories in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains.
-
-
Important story of this secret city
- By CBlox on 11-14-13
By: Denise Kiernan
-
Sleeping Giants
- Authentic Stories and Insights for Building a Life That Matters
- By: Dr. Nathan Mellor
- Narrated by: Dr. Nathan Mellor
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Your mental model is not rigid. At any point in life, you possess the ability to change your perspective. Have you found that success does not erase insecurity and self-doubt? Do you know what it feels like to long for a different life? Sleeping Giants provides practical insights into how ordinary people can choose to build lives that matter.
-
-
Like blurry eye sight that becomes clear
- By Dallas on 02-25-23
-
Confucius Never Said
- By: Helen Raleigh
- Narrated by: Helen Raleigh
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This book is a four-generation family journey from repression and poverty in China to freedom and prosperity in the United States. Their lives overlap with many significant historical events taking....
-
-
Wake up America
- By K and J on 12-14-19
By: Helen Raleigh
-
An American Family
- A Memoir of Hope and Sacrifice
- By: Khizr Khan
- Narrated by: Khizr Khan
- Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Khizr Khan electrified viewers around the world when he took the stage at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. And when he offered to lend Donald Trump his own much-read and dog-eared pocket Constitution, his gesture perfectly encapsulated the feelings of millions.
-
-
Inspirational immigrant memoir
- By Mark on 04-16-18
By: Khizr Khan
-
The Inextinguishable Symphony
- A True Story of Music and Love in Nazi Germany
- By: Martin Goldsmith
- Narrated by: Martin Goldsmith
- Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the spring of 1933, more than 8,000 Jewish musicians, actors, and other artists were expelled from their positions with German orchestras, opera companies, and theater groups. Later that year, the Jüdische Kulturbund, or Jewish Culture Association, was created to allow Jewish artists to perform for Jewish audiences.
-
-
An incredible story
- By Stanner on 04-20-22
By: Martin Goldsmith
-
Finding Samuel Lowe
- China, Jamaica, Harlem
- By: Paula Williams Madison
- Narrated by: Paula Williams Madison
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thanks to her spiteful, jealous Jamaican mother, Nell Vera Lowe was cut off from her Chinese father, Samuel, when she was just a baby, after he announced that he was taking a Chinese bride. By the time Nell was old enough to travel to her father's shop in St. Anne's Bay, he'd taken his family back to China, never learning what became of his eldest daughter. Bereft, Nell left Jamaica for New York to start a new life.
-
-
Fascinating
- By ayodele higgs on 01-27-16
-
Destined to Witness
- Growing Up Black in Nazi Germany
- By: Hans Massaquoi
- Narrated by: Peter Jay Fernandez
- Length: 19 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What would life be like for a Black boy growing up in Nazi Germany? This unprecedented autobiography answers that question with the spellbinding true story of Hans J. Massaquoi’s life in Hamburg during the height of Hitler’s regime. Hans is the son of a Black Liberian diplomat father and a white German mother. His father returns to Africa at the beginning of the war, leaving them behind in poverty without the means to flee. Within this tense atmosphere, increasingly violent Nazi policies and Allied bombing raids make Hans and his mother’s lives a day-to-day survival struggle.
-
-
An important story, marred by lackluster writing.
- By Christopher on 03-04-15
By: Hans Massaquoi
-
Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt
- By: Eleanor Roosevelt
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 18 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The daughter of one of New York's most influential families, niece of Theodore Roosevelt, and wife of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt witnessed some of the most remarkable decades in modern history, as America transitioned from the Gilded Age, the Progressive Era, and the Depression to World War II and the Cold War. A champion of the downtrodden, Eleanor drew on her experience and used her role as First Lady to help those in need.
-
-
Fascinating
- By Jean on 03-26-18
-
The Three Graces of Val-Kill
- Eleanor Roosevelt, Marion Dickerman, and Nancy Cook in the Place They Made Their Own
- By: Emily Herring Wilson
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Three Graces of Val-Kill changes the way we think about Eleanor Roosevelt. Emily Wilson examines what she calls the most formative period in Roosevelt's life, from 1922 to 1936, when she cultivated an intimate friendship with Marion Dickerman and Nancy Cook, who helped her build a cottage on the Val-Kill Creek in Hyde Park on the Roosevelt family land. In the early years, the three women - the "three graces", as Franklin Delano Roosevelt called them - were nearly inseparable.
-
-
Beautifully written and deeply felt
- By Edward Abraham on 09-13-17
-
Forty Autumns
- A Family's Story of Courage and Survival on Both Sides of the Berlin Wall
- By: Nina Willner
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this illuminating and deeply moving memoir, a former American military intelligence officer goes beyond traditional Cold War espionage tales to tell the true story of her family - of five women separated by the Iron Curtain for more than 40 years and their miraculous reunion after the fall of the Berlin Wall. A personal look at a tenuous era that divided a city and a nation and continues to haunt us, Forty Autumns is an intimate and beautifully written story of courage, resilience, and love.
-
-
Excellent look into the divided Germanys
- By Mary Aalgaard on 01-18-18
By: Nina Willner
-
Sign My Name to Freedom
- A Memoir of a Pioneering Life
- By: Betty Reid Soskin
- Narrated by: Betty Reid Soskin
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Betty Reid Soskin’s 96 years of living, she has been a witness to a grand sweep of American history. When she was born in 1921, the lynching of African-Americans was a national epidemic, blackface minstrel shows were the most popular American form of entertainment, white women had only just won the right to vote, and most African-Americans in the Deep South could not vote at all. From her great-grandmother, who had been enslaved until her mid-20s, Betty heard stories of slavery and the times of terror and struggle for Black folk that followed.
-
-
Betty Reid Soskin's life and career, in her own words
- By Betsy Fowler on 04-13-25
-
50 Children
- One Ordinary American Couple's Extraordinary Rescue Mission into the Heart of Nazi Germany
- By: Steven Pressman
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In early 1939, few Americans were thinking about the darkening storm clouds over Europe. Nor did they have much sympathy for the growing number of Jewish families that were increasingly threatened and brutalized by Adolf Hitler's policies in Germany and Austria. But one ordinary American couple decided that something had to be done. Despite overwhelming obstacles - both in Europe and in the United States - Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus made a bold and unprecedented decision to travel into Nazi Germany in an effort to save a group of Jewish children.
-
-
I didn't want it to end
- By David Shear on 05-07-14
By: Steven Pressman
-
Madison Park
- A Place of Hope
- By: Eric L. Motley, Walter Isaacson - foreword
- Narrated by: Brandon Maloney
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Welcome to Madison Park, a small community in Alabama founded by freed slaves in 1880. And meet Eric Motley, a native son who came of age in this remarkable place where constant lessons in self-determination, hope, and unceasing belief in the American dream taught him everything he needed for his journey to the Oval Office as a Special Assistant to President George W. Bush. This charming, engaging, and deeply inspiring memoir will help you remember that we can create a world of shared values based on love and hope.
-
-
The family historian we all long for
- By Brannon winter on 03-11-24
By: Eric L. Motley, and others