Audio only

The Light of Days

The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler's GhettosBy Judy BatalionNarrated by Mozhan Marno
Length14h 22m

About this audiobook

One of the most important stories of World War II, already optioned by Steven Spielberg for a major motion picture: a spectacular, searing history that brings to light the extraordinary accomplishments of brave Jewish women who became resistance fighters—a group of unknown heroes whose exploits have never been chronicled in full, until now. Witnesses to the brutal murder of their families and neighbors and the violent destruction of their communities, a cadre of Jewish women in Poland—some still in their teens—helped transform the Jewish youth groups into resistance cells to fight the Nazis. With courage, guile, and nerves of steel, these “ghetto girls” paid off Gestapo guards, hid revolvers in loaves of bread and jars of marmalade, and helped build systems of underground bunkers. They flirted with German soldiers, bribed them with wine, whiskey, and home cooking, used their Aryan looks to seduce them, and shot and killed them. They bombed German train lines and blew up a town’s water supply. They also nursed the sick and taught children. Yet the exploits of these courageous resistance fighters have remained virtually unknown. As propulsive and thrilling as Hidden Figures, In the Garden of Beasts, Band of Brothers, and A Train in Winter, The Light of Days at last tells the true story of these incredible women whose courageous yet little-known feats have been eclipsed by time. Judy Batalion—the granddaughter of Polish Holocaust survivors—takes us back to 1939 and introduces us to Renia Kukielka, a weapons smuggler and messenger who risked death traveling across occupied Poland on foot and by train. Joining Renia are other women who served as couriers, armed fighters, intelligence agents, and saboteurs, all who put their lives in mortal danger to carry out their missions. Batalion follows these women through the savage destruction of the ghettos, arrest and internment in Gestapo prisons and concentration camps, and for a lucky few—like Renia, who orchestrated her own audacious escape from a brutal Nazi jail—into the late 20th century and beyond. Powerful and inspiring, The Light of Days is an unforgettable true tale of war, the fight for freedom, exceptional bravery, female friendship, and survival in the face of staggering odds.

Audiobook details

Rating★★★★ 4.2 (15.1K)
Includes Goodreads, Amazon, StoryGraph, LibraryThing
GenreHistory, Biography and Memoir
Length14 hrs 22 mins
Narrated byMozhan Marno
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateApr 6, 2021
LanguageEnglish

More from Judy Batalion

A Brief History of IntelligenceMax S. Bennett12h 18m4.6 (6.6K)$29 · $0.00
Black AF HistoryMichael Harriot15h 43m4.7 (14.6K)$33 · $0.00
The Gulag Archipelago Volume 3Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn21h 56m4.7 (8.9K)$46 · $0.00
Pearl of Great PriceJoseph Smith3h 8m4.7 (7.2K)$1.20 · $0.00
The Happiest Man on EarthEddie Jaku3h 48m4.6 (178K)$7 · $0.00
MotherlandJulia Ioffe17h 52m4.7 (2.5K)$40 · $0.00
Where Cowards Go to DieBenjamin Sledge8h 42m4.7 (351)$20 · $0.00
RevolutionariesSanjeev Sanyal11h 23m4.6 (2.6K)$29 · $0.00
Days of Love and Rage: A Story of RevolutionAnand Gopal22h 36m4.7 (584)$34 · $0.00
We Crossed a Bridge and It TrembledWendy Pearlman6h4.6 (5.2K)$24 · $0.00
Unbroken Bonds of BattleJohnny Joey Jones8h 31m4.6 (2.6K)$8 · $0.00
The Daughter of AuschwitzTova Friedman, Malcolm Brabant7h 54m4.6 (16.7K)$26 · $0.00
Lily's PromiseLily Ebert, Dov Forman8h 54m4.6 (16.1K)$29 · $0.00
On Democracies and Death CultsDouglas Murray10h 38m4.6 (6.5K)$29 · $0.00
Across the RiverKent Babb11h 40m4.6 (927)$29 · $0.00
Balcony Over Jerusalem: A Middle East Memoir - Israel, Palestine and BeyondJohn Lyons12h 37m4.6 (1.4K)$33 · $0.00
BeyondStephen Walker15h 39m4.6 (3.2K)$33 · $0.00
Kings and PawnsHoward Bryant10h 9m4.6 (678)$29 · $0.00
No EscapeNury Turkel9h 30m4.6 (809)$28 · $0.00
Jubal Stone: U.S. Marshal: Blood Trail To Hell: A Western Adventure NovelCasey Nash3h 42m4.6 (3.2K)$18 · $0.00
The Way of RoninTu Lam12h 9m4.9 (1.3K)$29 · $0.00
Matters of the HeartJacinta Nampijinpa Price9h 35m4.8 (359)$29 · $0.00
The StepsSylvester Stallone9h 4m4.8 (635)$29 · $0.00
How to Test Negative for StupidJohn Kennedy8h 13m4.7 (9.7K)$28 · $0.00
Bad Fat Black GirlSesali Bowen6h 32m4.7 (2.8K)$24 · $0.00
Send MeMarty Skovlund, Joe Kent8h 10m4.7 (1.6K)$26 · $0.00
John Muir: The Story of My Boyhood and Youth & Letters to a Friend (Annotated)John Muir10h 13m4.7 (1.1K)$1.99 · $0.00
Invisible StormJason Kander6h 48m4.7 (3.2K)$24 · $0.00
Forever BoyKate Swenson9h 27m4.7 (5K)$29 · $0.00
You Are Worth ItKyle Carpenter, Don Yaeger8h 53m4.7 (4.8K)$29 · $0.00
The Happiest Man on EarthEddie Jaku3h 48m4.6 (178K)$7 · $0.00
MotherlandJulia Ioffe17h 52m4.7 (2.5K)$40 · $0.00
Evidence Not SeenDarlene Deibler Rose11h 11m4.6 (11.9K)$29 · $0.00
Where Cowards Go to DieBenjamin Sledge8h 42m4.7 (351)$20 · $0.00
Will You Love Me?Cathy Glass9h 5m4.6 (9.3K)$29 · $0.00
Designing Terry Pratchett’s DiscworldPaul Kidby3h 52m4.7 (343)$20 · $0.00
HostageEli Sharabi5h 25m4.6 (10.8K)$24 · $0.00
Finding MeViola Davis9h 15m4.6 (256.4K)$29 · $0.00
The Dangerous Truth about Today’s MarijuanaLaura Stack CSP, MBA9h 57m4.7 (385)$20 · $0.00
Birdie & HarlowTaylor Wolfe7h 50m4.6 (6.5K)$26 · $0.00

You may also like

The Light of Days Young Readers’ EditionJudy Batalion6h 42m4.3 (531)$24 · $0.00
Five ChimneysOlga Lengyel8h 11m4.5 (26.2K)$20 · $0.00
A House in the MountainsCaroline Moorehead13h 43m4.0 (1.4K)$33 · $0.00
Most SecretNevil Shute12h 52m4.1 (2.2K)$1 · $0.00
Most SecretNevil Shute Norway12h 51m4.1 (2.2K)$1 · $0.00
No SurrenderChristopher Edmonds, Douglas Century9h 37m4.4 (1.9K)$29 · $0.00
The Keeper of Hidden BooksMadeline Martin10h 53m4.2 (44.9K)$29 · $0.00
Front LinesMichael Grant11h 57m4.0 (6.3K)$29 · $0.00
76 HoursLarry Alexander9h 49m4.5 (439)$23
The AviatorCraig DiLouie5h 30m4.4 (422)$17
The Escape ArtistJonathan Freedland11h 48m4.5 (31.6K)$29 · $0.00
The Last Train to LondonMeg Waite Clayton11h 57m4.2 (23.9K)$29 · $0.00
The Girls Who Stepped Out of LineMajor General Mari K. Eder US Army (Ret.)10h 3m4.2 (4.7K)$20
The Teacher of AuschwitzWendy Holden10h 39m4.0 (2.9K)$29 · $0.00
MissionRobert Matzen11h 46m4.3 (2.3K)$23
The SaboteurPaul Kix7h 14m4.1 (3.1K)$24 · $0.00
THE IRISH GUARDS IN THE GREAT WAR (Vol. 1&2 - Complete Edition)Rudyard Kipling25h 41m4.3 (252)$1.99 · $0.00
The Last Jew of TreblinkaChil Rajchman3h 4m4.4 (7.7K)$17
Beyond Band of BrothersMajor Dick Winters9h 55m4.4 (26.8K)$20
82 Days on OkinawaArt Shaw, Robert L. Wise8h 49m4.1 (4.8K)$29 · $0.00