The Nine : The True Story of a Band of Women Who Survived the Worst of Nazi Germany

336 pages | Hardcover

The gripping, previously untold WWII story of nine female resistance fighters who banded together to survive the camps and ultimately escaped from a final death march across war-torn Germany

At the end of WWII, Gwen Strauss’ great aunt Hélène Podliasky led a band of nine female resistance fighters as they escaped the SS and made their way through war-torn Germany. Drawing on their various strengths—diplomacy, humor, courage—they made it across the front lines against all odds and eventually back to Paris.

The women were all under thirty when they joined the resistance. They smuggled arms, harbored parachuting agents, trekked escape routes to Spain and hid Jewish children. They were arrested by French police, interrogated and tortured by the Gestapo, and deported to Germany. The group met at different points, in prison, in transit, and at Ravensbrück. By the time they were enslaved at the labor camp in Leipzig, they were a close-knit group of friends. During the final days of the war, the nine chose their moment and made a daring escape.

Drawing on incredible research, this powerful, heart-stopping narrative is a moving tribute to the power of humanity and friendship in the darkest of times.