The Ice Road: An Epic Journey from the Stalinist Labor Camps to Freedom - Hardcover

Waydenfeld, Stefan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1607720027 ISBN 13: 9781607720027

Publisher: Aquila Polonica, 2010

Synopsis

In a forgotten chapter of history, 1.5 million Polish civilians-arbitrarily arrested by Stalin as enemies of the people following the Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939-were deported to slave labor camps throughout the most inhospitable forests and steppes of the Soviet Union. The Ice Road is the gripping story of young Stefan Waydenfeld and his family, deported by cattle car in 1940 to the frozen wastes of the Russian arctic north.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

"He who does not work, does not eat."

These grim words greated 14-year-old Stefan Waydenfeld and his parents at the end of their forced journey by cattle car from their home in Poland to a Stalinist labor camp in the desolate Siberian forests.

The Ice Road is Stefan Waydenfeld's spellbinding tale of survival in the frozen arctic forests and his long journey to freedom. This enthralling story of great scope and humanity sheds light on a little known aspect of World War II, in which 1.5 million Polish civilians were arbitrarily arrested by Stalin as "enemies of the people" following the Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939.

A Selection of the HISTORY BOOK CLUB and the MILITARY BOOK CLUB

"It is truly an extraordinary book." -- Ann Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Gulag

"A thrilling adventure, all the more remarkable for being true." -- Norman Davies, leading historian and author

"Within the first paragraphs of The Ice Road I knew I would be captivated...surprisingly fresh, detailed and intimate." -- The Sunday Times, London

"People don't have stories like his to tell any more." -- Literary Review

From the Inside Flap:

"The sun is on the wrong side!"

June 1940: Rousted out of bed in the middle of the night, given thirty minutes to dress and pack, crammed and locked into a cattle car with dozens of other people, 14-year-old Stefan Waydenfeld and his parents were told by Soviet militia that they were being repatriated from Soviet-occupied eastern Poland to Nazi German-occupied Warsaw--until the next morning on the rails, when young Waydenfeld realized that the sunrise was on the wrong side of the train. They were heading east, deep into the Soviet Union, not west toward Warsaw.

Brilliantly told through the eye of a young schoolboy, The Ice Road is a fluid, engaging tale of pluck, incredible resourcefulness, and even humor, as Waydenfeld and his parents survive in the hostile Siberian labor camp and eventually escape on a raft, then travel by rail and foot to Central Asia, Kazakhstan and Persia to join the Second Polish Corps, leaving Stalin's paradise behind.

Courage and humanity make this real life story an inspiring read, as well as a rare window into a long-buried aspect of history.

About this edition

• Publisher: Aquila Polonica
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1607720027
• ISBN 13: 9781607720027
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 400