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The Ticket Collector from Belarus
- An Extraordinary True Story of Britain's Only War Crimes Trial
- Narrated by: Luke Thompson
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
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The Ticket Collector from Belarus
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Summary
The UK's only war crimes trial took place in 1999 and had its origins in the horrors of the Holocaust, but only now in The Ticket Collector from Belarus can the full story be told.
The Ticket Collector from Belarus tells the remarkable story of two interwoven journeys. Ben-Zion Blustein and Andrei Sawoniuk were childhood friends in 1930s Domachevo, a holiday and health resort in what is now Belarus. During the events that followed the Nazi invasion in 1941, they became the bitterest of enemies. After the war, Ben-Zion made his way to Israel, and ‘Andrusha the bastard’ to England, where he found work as a British Rail ticket collector in London.
They next confronted each other in the Old Bailey, more than half a century later, where one was the principal prosecution witness and the other charged with a fraction of the number of murders he was alleged to have committed. There was no physical evidence, just one man’s word against another, leaving the jury with a series of agonising dilemmas: could any witness statement be trusted so long after the event? Was Andrusha a brutal killer, a hapless pawn or a scapegoat? And were his furious protests a sign of guilt or the justified anger of an innocent old man?
Mike Anderson was gripped by the story, and so began his quest to find the truth about this astonishing case and the people at its heart. As he discovered, it was even more remarkable than he could ever have imagined.
Critic reviews
"Brilliantly gripping." (Sunday Times)
"Compelling." (Daily Mail)
"Heart-rending." (Sunday Telegraph)
"Excellent." (The Times)
"Engrossing." (Independent)
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What listeners say about The Ticket Collector from Belarus
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Hayley
- 27-07-22
Fascinating, terrible, unforgettable
What an incredible, true, story! So well narrated, an already well written book, was bought to life. Such a sad, yet powerful and insightful story. I can highly recommend it.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 22-02-22
Interesting Listening
A very interesting story. Well narrated. Sawoniuk comes across as thoroughly unpleasant, but the trial should have been stopped midway and started again with a different jury
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs. G. Moynihan
- 05-11-22
So moving.
An incredible story, horrifically graphic and detailed but absolutely necessarily so in order to tell the story. There can be few more extreme instances of the depravity to which man frequently descends in his aggression towards his fellow man. The book could be subtitled ‘A graphic example of man’s inhumanity to man.’
Having said that, the book is also a shining story of one man’s courage & determination firstly to survive, then to help others similarly tortured & assaulted through to gritty determination to see the principal source of their suffering brought to justice, albeit 50yrs late.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Eric Lennon
- 19-02-22
Compelling story brilliantly produced
I am 60 yo and therefore from a time after the horrors of WW2 but still in a period of those with the experience and living knowledge of the nazi extremes . I was not sure about this book as I sometime feel weary about hearing of these events again. However I am glad to have listened to this , sometimes it is required to be reminded how evil can easily arise and thrive when good people don’t stand up strong against it.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Malcolm Mills
- 09-04-22
Fascinating
This book was so well put together. It was so beautifully read, you felt you were in court.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Sam M.
- 28-01-22
Astounding.
An utterly astounding book with captivating narration - I can’t recommend this title enough: read this book!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- kkjimbo
- 04-05-22
Amazing
Cannot recommend enough. Exciting, fascinating, harrowing and very moving. A very personal account of one of history's darkest moments.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- AM
- 30-06-22
Devastatingly brilliant, moving and fascinating
A fantastic account of the legal battle to convict a brutal participant in the Holocaust, including the judge's private notes as well as the private notes and thoughts of the prosecution and defence team. The incredible detail of exactly how all this happened, the characters involved both at the time of the crimes committed and at the time of the trial is stunning. This is harrowing, thoughtful, beautiful, profound and gripping. This particular Nazi, so real, his trajectory so repulsive but almost understandable, his victims brought back to life so fabulously that we are able to mourn them individually, and then the actual trial process followed in minute detail that we feel present in the courtroom. Actually, the writing allows us to be present for the crimes as well - a difficult but important experience. I came away feeling I understood the Holocaust better and can now see how hard it is to get these convictions of people obviously guilty when the distance in time is so great. A staggeringly perfect book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- cristo
- 15-08-22
More than it seems
A brilliant piece of research and writing. Not only do you understand the hell that the witnesses lived through, but also you get a real insiders’ view of the UK’s archaic legal system and the toffs that preside over it. Throw in some fascinating political and journalistic observations and you have a truly exceptional book. However, if none of the above interests you, this is not for you.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Rossano Nocera
- 03-03-22
Superb book, well narrated.
Great story, great listen, full of interesting details and also superbly narrated.
Very Highly recommended.
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