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  • The Light of Days

  • The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler's Ghettos
  • Written by: Judy Batalion
  • Narrated by: Mozhan Marno
  • Length: 14 hrs and 22 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (19 ratings)

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The Light of Days cover art

The Light of Days

Written by: Judy Batalion
Narrated by: Mozhan Marno
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Publisher's Summary

One of the most important stories of World War II, already optioned by Steven Spielberg for a major motion picture: a spectacular, searing history that brings to light the extraordinary accomplishments of brave Jewish women who became resistance fighters - a group of unknown heroes whose exploits have never been chronicled in full, until now.

Witnesses to the brutal murder of their families and neighbors and the violent destruction of their communities, a cadre of Jewish women in Poland - some still in their teens - helped transform the Jewish youth groups into resistance cells to fight the Nazis. With courage, guile, and nerves of steel, these “ghetto girls” paid off Gestapo guards, hid revolvers in loaves of bread and jars of marmalade, and helped build systems of underground bunkers. They flirted with German soldiers, bribed them with wine, whiskey, and home cooking, used their Aryan looks to seduce them, and shot and killed them. They bombed German train lines and blew up a town’s water supply. They also nursed the sick and taught children.

Yet the exploits of these courageous resistance fighters have remained virtually unknown.

As propulsive and thrilling as Hidden Figures, In the Garden of Beasts, Band of Brothers, and A Train in Winter, The Light of Days at last tells the true story of these incredible women whose courageous yet little-known feats have been eclipsed by time. Judy Batalion - the granddaughter of Polish Holocaust survivors - takes us back to 1939 and introduces us to Renia Kukielka, a weapons smuggler and messenger who risked death traveling across occupied Poland on foot and by train. Joining Renia are other women who served as couriers, armed fighters, intelligence agents, and saboteurs, all who put their lives in mortal danger to carry out their missions. Batalion follows these women through the savage destruction of the ghettos, arrest, and internment in Gestapo prisons and concentration camps, and for a lucky few - like Renia, who orchestrated her own audacious escape from a brutal Nazi jail - into the late 20th century and beyond.

Powerful and inspiring, The Light of Days is an unforgettable true tale of war, the fight for freedom, exceptional bravery, female friendship, and survival in the face of staggering odds.  

©2020 Judy Batalion (P)2020 HarperAudio

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  • 2021-06-10

insightful story of resilience and resistance

enjoyed the book and recommend listening
excellent narration
every grade 10 student should read this book to understand a history of genocide, background of development of hatred in a society, the importance of a Jewish state in the post modern era.
Would have preferred one chapter per character rather than mixing up personas in each chapter. it was hard to keep everyone's personal story straight. overall excellent.

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riveting0

the author has written a captivating true story of heroic Jewish woman during WWIi. I have read many memoirs , and scholarly books on this subject. This book ranks in the top 5%. She has humanized each woman and described the terror, and depravity inflicted on the them by the Nazis, inside and outside of the ghettos. the story reads even more captivating than a novel because the characters are real people.

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