I’m happy to report that The Escape Line has been recorded as an audiobook and is now available to borrow or purchase.   So you can listen to the story of Dutch-Paris on your commute or long drive, although you’d miss out on the photos and maps in the book.

Or you could join a walking memorial and listen to the book while hiking through the Pyrenees in the footsteps of the aviators and Engelandvaarders who Dutch-Paris took to Spain.   The British Charity The Escape Lines Memorial Society (ELMS) offers 16 different treks along the routes of WWII escape lines in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Norway, Denmark, Crete, Poland, Slovenia and Italy.   Some of them are considerably more challenging than others in terms of terrain, but all of them honor the courage and dedication of the men and women who helped aviators and others to escape from the Nazis.  The “Chemin de la Liberté” in the Pyrenees is the closest to the Dutch-Paris routes.

The walking memorials are part of ELMS’s mission to help and honor the helpers.  Now that many helpers no longer need practical assistance with medical fees and the like, ELMS is shifting its focus to education and to building friendships across international borders.  For example, they bring young students who are related to escape line families to their annual reunion in York so that the young people can practice their English, make friends and visit museums.  ELMS also runs an Escape Lines Museum at Eden Camp  WW2 Museum at Malton, North Yorkshire.   They have a very informative newsletter that goes out to members in 26 countries.   And, of course, a website with all the details at www.ww2escapeslines.co.uk.

Of course ELMS can’t completely replicate the experience of aviators and other fugitives.  They run their walking memorials during the summer months, when it’s less likely to blizzard in the Pyrenees, and they walk in the daytime rather than at night because the Gestapo has abandoned the Pyrenees (thank heavens).  But this is as close as you’ll get.  If you’re interested, now’s the time to let the people at ELMS know (www.ww2escapelines.co.uk)