The Nazi Ghost Train

Evasion, Betrayal, and Escape during World War II

Greg Lewis

The dramatic true story of the heroic rescue of Allied resistance fighters from a Nazi prison train after a devastating betrayal.

In the final hours before the liberation of Brussels in 1944, the Germans loaded more than 1,400 members of the Resistance, SOE agents, and Allied airmen onto a train bound for the Neuengamme concentration camp. What happened next came to be known as the miracle of “The Ghost Train,” as members of the Resistance rose up to delay, divert, and eventually derail the train and save the lives of all of those on board.

The book shines a light on everyday heroes who have been lost to history: such as New Yorker Ted Kleinman, a Jew who risked his life to carry out sabotage behind the lines; young Resistance heroines such as Michou Dumon, who ordered an attempt to kill one traitor and escaped to London to expose another to British intelligence; and Belgian businessman Gaston Masereel, who planned to parachute into his homeland as an SOE agent. Badly hurt when his plane was attacked, he killed all four German soldiers who came to arrest him.

As well as the heroes, there is a villain every bit as keenly drawn and despicable as any in a spy thriller: the most heartless double agent of all—Prosper Dezitter—a traitor of such cunning that he came to be seen as an almost mythical bogey man. A convicted rapist and swindler, he enlisted the aid of his Spanish-born mistress to create a false network of helpers to ensnare airmen and résistants. It was a process which made Dezitter a millionaire.

Investigative journalist Greg Lewis draws upon a wealth of primary sources and his own extensive interviews to bring to life a cast of unforgettable characters, as The Nazi Ghost Train unfolds in a tense and pacy narrative, describing the feeling of terror after being shot down on bombing missions, the fight to stay alive with the Gestapo on your trail, and the gut-wrenching horror of betrayal.

Greg Lewis has written extensively about espionage, resistance, fascism, and World War II. His book, Defying Hitler (written with Gordon Thomas), was a top-five pick in both USA Today and New York Post.  Greg writes and produces award-winning history and true-crime documentaries, including two New York Festival Gold Medals and a BAFTA Cymru. He has contributed to many national and international newspapers, including The Times (London), The Observer, The Wall Street Journal, and the investigative pages of Private Eye. He lives in Wales.

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Endorsements & Reviews

Praise for Greg Lewis’s Defying Hitler:

“Stirring.” USA Today

“Fascinating.” New York Post

"In Defying Hitler, Gordon Thomas and Greg Lewis show in chilling and vivid detail just how courageous were those who dared to defy Hitler. A terrifying and timely account of resistance in the face of the greatest of evils.” Alex Kershaw, New York Times bestselling author of The First Wave

“Gripping. Manages to keep you guessing what some of the outcomes might be, despite our overall knowledge of Germany’s ultimate fate. [Defying Hitler] reminds us all that good people can dare to stand and fight evil and powerful regimes regardless of the odds.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“This important book offers alternative profiles in courage—portraits of the ordinary men and women who resisted Hitler, aided Jews and spied for the Allies during the dark days of World War II." Newsday

“[A] well-researched volume that drills into the darkness to examine the lives of those within the Third Reich who actively defied Hitler’s orders from 1933 to 1945. Highly recommended. This masterful work will best serve general audiences and historians alike.” Library Journal (starred review)

“This carefully researched book challenges the myth that the German people were virtually unanimous in support of Hitler. Defying Hitler is filled with almost unbearable suspense and drama.” Booklist (starred review)

“An engrossing and accessible history of Germans who risked, and mostly lost, their lives opposing the Nazi regime. An informative counterpoint to accounts of widespread German complicity with the Holocaust.” Publishers Weekly

“A deeply researched work that passionately challenges the popular myth that 'the German people followed Hitler as if as one mass, mesmerized like the children of Hamelin by the Pied Piper." Kirkus Reviews