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

Written by Gwen Strauss

Narrated by Juliet Stevenson

The Nine follows the true story of the author’s great aunt Hélène Podliasky, who led a band of nine female resistance fighters as they escaped a German forced labor camp and made a ten-day journey across the front lines of World War II from Germany back to Paris.

This program includes a bonus conversation with the author, as well as an archival recording of Martine Podliasky singing the Champs de Marais at her mother, Hélène Podliasky's, funeral.

The nine women were all under thirty when they joined the resistance. They smuggled arms through Europe, harbored parachuting agents, coordinated communications between regional sectors, trekked escape routes to Spain and hid Jewish children in scattered apartments. They were arrested by French police, interrogated and tortured by the Gestapo. They were subjected to a series of French prisons and deported to Germany.

The group formed along the way, meeting 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, forced onto a death march, 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.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press

"A compelling, beautifully written story of resilience, friendship and survival. The story of Women’s resistance during World War II needs to be told and The Nine accomplishes this in spades."—Heather Morris, New York Times bestselling author of Cilka's Journey

"This haunting account provides yet more evidence not only of the power of female friendship but that the often unrecorded courage and resilience of ordinary women must be honored and celebrated. It’s a most inspiring read...Utterly gripping." —Anne Sebba, author of Les Parisiennes

"The Nine is poignant, powerful, and shattering, distilling the horror of the Holocaust through the lens of nine unforgettable women...Gwen Strauss melds a poet's pen and a decade of research into a tale of friendship, courage, and indomitable will." —Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio
• Release date: May 4, 2021
• ISBN: 9781250803665

Gwen Strauss

Gwen Strauss's book of poems, Trail of Stones, with illustrations by Anthony Browne was published by Knopf in New York and Walker Books in London. The Night Shimmy (Random House), a children's book with the same illustrator, has been translated into several languages. She is an award-winning poet and her writing has appeared in many publications, including the London Sunday Times, The New Republic, New England Review, Kenyon Review, Tampa Review, and Antioch Review. She works as the on-site director at the Brown Foundation Fellowship Program at the Dora Maar House in Ménerbes, France.

Reviews for The Nine

[Heather Coe · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An excellent and moving story about an amazing group of women.

[Wilma Branstetter · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Gwen Strauss has succeeded in weaving and conveying the stories of this band of 9 women who resisted the Nazi occupation of their countries and survived the tortures of the imprisonment and the adventure of the escape. This book is likely to become a purchase for my home library shelf. It is a helpful touch to include the interview with the author at the end of the book.

[Husam Mohammed · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The story behind the 9 is an inspiration …. While listening to the unraveling events of the 9 women i felt myself growing stronger in my own life which is not at all comparable to theirs but there adaptation and their focus on a specific goal even after the war is aww inspiring. Thank you for putting all this effort in to explaining their emotions and reactions so intensely