The School That Escaped the Nazis

Book excerpt: 'DEVASTATINGLY AFFECTING' THE TIMES 'EMOTIONALLY COMPELLING' OBSERVER In 1933, as Hitler came to power, schoolteacher Anna Essinger hatched a daring plan: to smuggle all her pupils out of Nazi Germany under the nose of the Gestapo. The - mostly Jewish - children who escaped found a safe haven in Anna's new school, a rundown manor house in southern England, until the outbreak of war in 1939 raised terrifying new dangers. Despite her growing blindness, Anna continued rescuing children throughout the war. Many had lost their families and witnessed unimaginable horrors. But she was determined to instil the belief in all those under her care that there was still a life worth fighting for. 'By turns heartbreaking and inspiring, I could not stop reading this remarkable book' JOSH IRELAND, author of Churchill & Son 'A celebration of what the human spirit can achieve' RABBI JULIA NEUBERGER