The Island of Extraordinary Captives Audiobook By Simon Parkin cover art

The Island of Extraordinary Captives

A Painter, a Poet, an Heiress, and a Spy in a World War II British Internment Camp

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The Island of Extraordinary Captives

By: Simon Parkin
Narrated by: Elliot Fitzpatrick
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About this listen

The “riveting…truly shocking” (The New York Times Book Review) story of a Jewish orphan who fled Nazi Germany for London, only to be arrested and sent to a British internment camp for suspected foreign agents on the Isle of Man, alongside a renowned group of refugee musicians, intellectuals, artists, and—possibly—genuine spies.

Following the events of Kristallnacht in 1938, Peter Fleischmann evaded the Gestapo’s roundups in Berlin by way of a perilous journey to England on a Kindertransport rescue, an effort sanctioned by the UK government to evacuate minors from Nazi-controlled areas. But he could not escape the British police, who came for him in the early hours and shipped him off to Hutchinson Camp on the Isle of Man, under suspicion of being a spy for the very regime he had fled.

During Hitler’s rise to power in the 1930s, tens of thousands of German and Austrian Jews like Peter escaped and found refuge in Britain. After war broke out and paranoia gripped the nation, Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered that these innocent asylum seekers—so-called “enemy aliens”—be interned.

When Peter arrived at Hutchinson Camp, he found one of history’s most astounding prison populations: renowned professors, composers, journalists, and artists. Together, they created a thriving cultural community, complete with art exhibitions, lectures, musical performances, and poetry readings. The artists welcomed Peter as their pupil and forever changed the course of his life. Meanwhile, suspicions grew that a real spy was hiding among them—one connected to a vivacious heiress from Peter’s past.

Drawing from unpublished first-person accounts and newly declassified government documents, award-winning journalist Simon Parkin reveals an “extraordinary yet previously untold true story” (Daily Express) that serves as a “testimony to human fortitude despite callous, hypocritical injustice” (The New Yorker) and “an example of how individuals can find joy and meaning in the absurd and mundane” (The Spectator).

©2022 Simon Parkin (P)2022 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
20th Century World War II Military War Winston Churchill Espionage England Refugee Inspiring
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What listeners say about The Island of Extraordinary Captives

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Can’t get into it

It feels like so many facts just being relayed, and it’s not easy to get sucked into the story. Narration has a strong accent so maybe that’s why.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A unique and previously untold WWII story - of Britain's domestic internment camps!

As much nonfiction as I read, British political POW/internment camps was an entirely new revelation to me. A shocking reality hidden from the public, un-English incivility, and yet? So much hope, beauty, and goodness was created out of the ashes! (Quite literally!) The first chapters build the background and walls of the story. The internees fill the camp with art, music, science, literature! (Yes, even making their own supplies out of ashes and eyelashes!) The well-researched uniqueness of this story bumped this from a four - to a five-star rating for me!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Preaching

Too much preaching about the unfairness of interning enemy aliens. Of course it’s awful but I wanted more about the artists.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating, well written history

I was totally ignorant of this part of history as I imagine are most people. This work is alarming yet beautiful, sobering yet intriguing. I loved it !

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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I learned something compelling

A little-covered story about internment of German refugees in British internment camps during WWII. The story paints a picture of life in the camps, following a German boy taken to Britain as part of an orphan rescue and soon arrested as a possible threat to national security. The other internees bring life to the story and boost his future as an artist.

The narrator was effective and not distracting. The story is compelling and makes me want to research more about this slice of history regarding WWII.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating story

Such an unknown story is finally brought to life. I particularly loved the anecdotes about the Dada artist Kurt Schwitters: a great man whose absurdist poetry was greatly appreciated by his fellow imates.

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12 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Amazing unknown story

Here to fore unknown stories of WW2, just when I thought we not retell the story another way. Absolutely fascinating.

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10 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A new favorite for me

In internment, some people prosper. Others despair. Not all heroic wins are won by people always acting heroically. This is a good commentary on the bad actions of good people. The casualties of epic struggles aren’t always on the battlefield. The forgotten don’t always disappear.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Love history, but this one while good, not great book

I love history books and read them all the time. This is a story I didn't know. I did enjoy it and learned from it, but was just really hard to keep going and finish for me.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Internment in Great Britain

So many names, so many accomplished people interred - above all had no idea GB even interred people during WWII ( & neither did anyone in my book group)

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