Short Synopsis
This official companion to the Ken Burns film Defying the Nazis tells the little-known story of the Sharps, an otherwise ordinary couple whose faith and commitment to social justice inspired them to undertake dangerous rescue and relief missions during World War II.

Full Synopsis
In 1939, Rev. Waitstill Sharp, a young Unitarian minister, and his wife, Martha, a social worker, accepted a mission from the American Unitarian Association: They were to leave their home and young children in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and travel to Prague, Czechoslovakia, to help address the mounting refugee crisis. Armed with only $40,000, the Sharps quickly learned the art of spy craft and covertly sheltered political dissidents and Jews, and helped them escape the Nazis. After narrowly avoiding the Gestapo themselves, the Sharps returned to Europe in 1940 as representatives of the newly formed Unitarian Service Committee and continued their relief efforts in Vichy France. This riveting true story offers listeners a rare glimpse at high-stakes international relief efforts during World War II. Defying the Nazis is a fascinating portrait of resistance as told through the story of one courageous couple.

"A clear, unpretentious volume that justly celebrates a couple who risked all for others." ---Kirkus


“This gripping tale of intrigue and courage, of love’s power and its loss, is both entertaining and inspiring. Heroes are often thought to be super-human. But Defying the Nazis proves that true heroes emerge not from the pages of comic books but the halls of everyday life." ---William F. Schulz, president of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee

"Defying the Nazis: The Sharps' War offers a fascinating and detailed portrait of resistance as told through the story of one courageous couple as it offers a rare glimpse at the high-stakes international relief efforts during WWII." ---Midwest Book Review