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The Gold Train: World War II's Most Shocking Robbery
In 1944, as the Soviet army closed in on Budapest, a mysterious train rolled out of the station. On that train were carriage after carriage of loot – gold, diamonds, furs, wedding rings – plundered in one of the most shameful crimes of the century. Commanded by Árpád Toldi, a key organizer of the Hungarian Holocaust, and harbouring a desperate group of fascist ideologues, soldiers and thieves, the gold train was destined for a Nazi stronghold in the Alps. It would never arrive. Along its crazed journey the train’s contents were pilfered, fought over, hidden and scattered, until they became the stuff of legend, with legal claims unresolved even today. What is the truth of this mythical cargo? In The Gold Train, Ronald Zweig reveals the full story of one of the most terrible mysteries of the Second World War. Praise for The Gold ‘An amazing saga...this page-turner will leave you sorrier and wiser’ - David Cesarani, The Independent ‘An excellent calm, dispassionate and well written...strips away the myth and exposes the real story in all its brutality and confused, naïve cupidity’ - Alan Judd, Daily Telegraph ‘Poignant... brilliantly told... makes compelling reading’ - Geoffrey Alderman, The Guardian Ronald Zweig is the Taub Chair of Israel Studies at New York University and Director of the Taub Center for Israel Studies.
- GenresWorld War II
353 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 17, 2020
205 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 28, 2020
Shocking robbery turn thoroughly boring
This author took what could have been a very interesting historic event and turned it into a boring read. I frequently fell asleep trying to get through the accessible amount of unnecessary detail . The boring trivia, numerous typographical errors, and endless listing of names ruins the story instead of enriching it. I don't recommend this to anyone who isn't a WWW II history scholar.
This author took what could have been a very interesting historic event and turned it into a boring read. I frequently fell asleep trying to get through the accessible amount of unnecessary detail . The boring trivia, numerous typographical errors, and endless listing of names ruins the story instead of enriching it. I don't recommend this to anyone who isn't a WWW II history scholar.
September 20, 2020
Not as exciting as the title suggests.
Thoroughly researched and for the most part not all that exciting or interesting. Page after page of inventories.
On the positive, it gives a very good overview of the history of anti-Semitism in Hungary, and its rise over time. Gives me an idea of why my relatives chose to stay, which unfortunately led to them being murdered n the Holocaust.
Thoroughly researched and for the most part not all that exciting or interesting. Page after page of inventories.
On the positive, it gives a very good overview of the history of anti-Semitism in Hungary, and its rise over time. Gives me an idea of why my relatives chose to stay, which unfortunately led to them being murdered n the Holocaust.
August 3, 2022
everyone needs to read
This is insane. Everything about the 20 yrs from 1930’s-50’s was a time of self fulfilling desires even at the behest of ripping out golf and silver capped teeth that when found still had flesh and blood covering them. ~8,000,000 Jews were exterminated, and that’s exactly what they did, systematically so that the status quo was that there is nothing wrong with the maltreatment and extreme tortures of the Arian/satanic movement in Europe. The amount of wealth is just mind blowing due to the number of individual finds that were ~100,000,000 were found all over the borders of Austria and Switzerland and even a cache of gold coins was found in 2010 worth ~$40,000,000. It is evil to plan the extermination of a culture the way the 3rd reich did. Slowly and over a decade they eventually went from (small reforms to the complete owning of the Jews. Crazy. Must read
This is insane. Everything about the 20 yrs from 1930’s-50’s was a time of self fulfilling desires even at the behest of ripping out golf and silver capped teeth that when found still had flesh and blood covering them. ~8,000,000 Jews were exterminated, and that’s exactly what they did, systematically so that the status quo was that there is nothing wrong with the maltreatment and extreme tortures of the Arian/satanic movement in Europe. The amount of wealth is just mind blowing due to the number of individual finds that were ~100,000,000 were found all over the borders of Austria and Switzerland and even a cache of gold coins was found in 2010 worth ~$40,000,000. It is evil to plan the extermination of a culture the way the 3rd reich did. Slowly and over a decade they eventually went from (small reforms to the complete owning of the Jews. Crazy. Must read
December 15, 2025
Important read.
This is not an easy story to read but it explains a lot about why the political parties involved are still doing what they are today and now the world stands back and watches again another genocide with the Ukrainian people. If people do not learn from the pass we will repeat the past and we are.
This is not an easy story to read but it explains a lot about why the political parties involved are still doing what they are today and now the world stands back and watches again another genocide with the Ukrainian people. If people do not learn from the pass we will repeat the past and we are.
December 17, 2025
A myth dissected
An exhaustive study of the fabled "Gold Train," which necessarily includes a compact history of 20th Century Hungary and biographical detail about some of the Hungarian supporters of "the Final Solution" as well as some of the international maneuvering to gain access to the train's contents.
An exhaustive study of the fabled "Gold Train," which necessarily includes a compact history of 20th Century Hungary and biographical detail about some of the Hungarian supporters of "the Final Solution" as well as some of the international maneuvering to gain access to the train's contents.
November 23, 2025
This is an important story and it’s always good to be reminded of the horrors of the Holocaust but the telling was dry if devastating. I learnt a lot about Hungary and the bureaucracy of the Nazis as well as those who had to pick up the pieces afterwards.
December 31, 2020
Interesting at first, mainly for the history, but definitely not enough to keep me going.
May 20, 2025
A good overview of the destruction and looting if the Jewish people of Hungary.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews