Women Spies World War Ii

Wartime espionage has fascinated generations. This nonfiction book tells the true stories of extraordinary women who put their lives on the line in the fight against tyranny and fascism.

Poland 1938. Eve of the World War II. Rivka sends her husband and three beloved children to the United States, where they will find safe shelter from the war. She tells everyone that she is staying behind in order to care for her aging parents but her real reason is completely different. Beyond her work as librarian, Rivka serves as a spy for the Jewish underground, a critical role in the changing reality in Europe.

In the early 1940s, during World War II, Germany’s Nazi regime expanded into neighboring European countries. In France, groups of anti-Nazi citizens, known as the French Resistance, fought to stop Germany’s reign of terror. A brave woman named Nancy Wake became one of the movement’s greatest assets as a spy.

Wartime espionage has fascinated generation. This nonfiction audiobook tells the true stories of extraordinary women who lost their lives in the fight against the tyranny of Nazi fascism. Just as men on the battlefields of Europe and North Africa gave their lives to defeat the Nazi menace, so too did these brave women. From the unique and specific situations and experiences that led each one of them to do what they could for the war effort, to the overarching themes and beliefs in each of their lives that unified them in their opposition and resistance to oppression.

This heart-wrenching novel about family and war unearths generations of secrets and sacrifices—perfect for fans of The Paris Orphan and The Lost Girls of Paris. 2017, London: When Aurelia Leclaire inherits an opulent Paris apartment, she is shocked to discover her grandmother’s hidden...

Virginia Hall was the spy the Nazis couldn’t catch. Operating behind enemy lines with a wooden leg she nicknamed “Cuthbert,” Hall organized sabotage missions, trained the French Resistance, and sent life-saving intelligence to the Allies. Despite being hunted by the Gestapo, she returned to France again and again—risking everything to liberate a country that wasn’t her own.

But once Margaret begins to unravel the secrets of Bletchley Park, Betty finds herself thrust—untrained—into the deadly world of counter-espionage. And as the pair begin a critical game of cat and mouse with each other, the situation rapidly becomes ever more desperate. With a highly dangerous newcomer suddenly arriving on the scene, the fate of Britain's most vital war secret hangs entirely on the outcome of the two women’s deeply personal conflict. But which one of them has really been the cat, and which one the mouse?

In this biography, young listeners will learn all about Elizebeth Friedman (1892-1980), a brilliant American code breaker who smashed Nazi spy rings, took down gangsters, and created the CIA's first cryptology unit. Her story came to light when her secret papers were finally declassified in 2015. From thwarting notorious rumrunners with only paper and pencil to “counter-spying into the minds and activities of” Nazis, she held a pivotal role in the early days of US cryptology. No code was too challenging for her to crack, and her work undoubtedly saved thousands of lives.

How did a young lady from a wealthy family in Maryland end up as the Gestapo’s most wanted spy? This YA biography of Virginia Hall, World War II’s most successful female spy, will inspire reluctant listeners and budding history buffs alike.