human rights fiction

Over ten days in 1943 Berlin, six teenagers witness and try to escape the Nazi round-ups. This thriller gives voice to the unheard victims of Nazism — the Roma, the disabled, homosexuals, intermarried Jews, and political enemies of the Nazi regime.

Marko screwed up. But he's good at swallowing his fear.
  By now, the 17-year-old 'Gypsy' should be far from Nazi Germany. By now, he should be with Alex. That's how they planned it. But while Marko has managed to escape the Gestapo, Alex has been arrested in the final round-ups of Berlin's Jews. Even worse, Marko’s little cousin Kizzy is missing. And Marko knows he’s to blame.
   Yet the tides of war are turning. With hundreds of Christian women gathered in the streets to protest the round-ups, the Nazis have suspended the trains to the camps. But for how long? Marko must act now. Against time, and with British warplanes bombing Berlin, Marko hatches a dangerous plan to rescue Alex and find Kizzy.
   There are three people who can help: Marko’s sister with her connections to the Resistance, Alex’s Catholic stepsister, and a mysterious Nazi girl with a deadly secret.
  But will Marko own up to how Kizzy disappeared? And then there’s the truth about Alex — they just wouldn’t understand.

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Written by Danny M. Cohen and published in partnership with Unsilence, Train launched on January 27th 2015 to coincide with International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Train launched on Kindle on August 2nd 2015 to mark Roma Holocaust Remembrance Day, the anniversary of the Nazis' liquidation of the 'Gypsy Camp' at Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1944.

Train is the central text of Overlapping Triangles, the inaugural educational program of Unsilence.

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READER'S GUIDE

Questions and discussions
for classrooms, book clubs, and communities.

ENTER  >

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HIDDEN PAGES
A WEBQUEST

Through a series of puzzles,
explore the true hidden history of Train.
Suitable for communities and classrooms.
Or solve the webquest at home.

ENTER WEBQUEST  >

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THE STORY BEHIND TRAIN

How Danny M. Cohen wrote a novel by accident. 

GHOSTS OF AUSCHWITZ  >

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ART EXHIBIT

Artist Sara Ramirez responds
to hidden Holocaust stories as told in Train.

IN OTHER PEOPLE'S HANDS  >

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GOOGLE MAP

While reading or teaching Train,
follow the characters and the story
​through this annotated Google Map.

TRAIN MAP  >

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Cover art by Ava Kadishson Schieber, artist, Holocaust survivor, and author of memoirs Soundless Roar and Present Past.

TRAIN

DANNY M. COHEN
A NOVEL INSPIRED BY HIDDEN HISTORY

Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk

READ THE FIRST 50 PAGES.pdf
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Download File

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​
UPDATE:
​Train was selected as the inaugural text of the
​'Museum Teacher Fellowship' bookclub of the
​United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

"A stunning achievement . . .  From the start, Train's
historically grounded depiction of Hitler's young victims creates unrelenting compassion and suspense."
— Dr. Phyllis Lassner, Holocaust scholar

​"Train is an essential read for Holocaust and Genocide educators, students, and anyone who believes in the profound power of brilliant storytelling, the resilience of the human spirit, and the need to shed light on and bring a voice to the often shadowed narratives of the Holocaust.
— Kelley Szany, Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center

​"Train not only fills a gap in Holocaust literature;
it is also powerful, moving, and hard to put down."
— Alexis S. Morrisroe, The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education

​"Train's six main characters' contradictions and complications make them reassuringly human rather than historical puppets. They form complex portraits of young love, sibling rivalry, and fading friendship."
— Liz Baudler, Windy City Times

"It's a fascinating book. I couldn't put it down. I read it in two afternoons."
— Tony Sarabia, The Morning Shift, WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

"Train will change the way we think about Holocaust history."
— Ellen Rago, Social Studies Teacher