This Friday will be the 75th anniversary of VE Day. Some liken the Corona virus to wartime, but unlike that joyous day in 1945 when everyone was dancing in the streets, will there ever be an end to the virus? Rather like a train idling somewhere down the tracks, the insidious danger will always be there, lurking.
And yet, despite everything, like Agatha Christie I’ve always loved locomotives. There’s something about the churning wheels and rushing wind that adds excitement to any journey. Couple this with a daring escape plan and you have the makings of a spine-chilling novel.
That’s what we should do to take our minds off things. In the lead up to VE Day, let’s remember how well this country did in the war. Yesterday I talked about 1938 Germany and 1942 Vichy France. Not so much has been written about what happened in Poland back then.
Welcome to The Mazurek Express, where I’ve used my love of trains to effect a sense of release from stress. I’ve used the Polish word Mazurek to evoke the swirling dance-like rhythm of the locomotive wheels.
It’s 1943 and our Birmingham protagonist is sent to Warsaw on his most dangerous mission yet: to help those trapped in the ghetto. However, despite heroic efforts, he finds himself herded into a cattle car heading for the notorious Treblinka concentration camp. As the heavy wheels churn, everyone is in peril.
This is a story about German-occupied Poland, the courage of the inmates of the Warsaw ghetto, and how a mighty locomotive acts as a catalyst for salvation of the spirit.
The Mazurek Express is available here: mybook.to/themazurekexpress
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