The Note Through the Wire: The Incredible True Story of a Prisoner of War and a Resistance Heroine

Written by Doug Gold

Narrated by Conrad Coleby

Praised as an “unforgettable love story” by Heather Morris, New York Times bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, this is the real-life, unlikely romance between a resistance fighter and prisoner of war set in World War II Europe.

In this true love story that defies all odds, Josefine Lobnik, a Yugoslav partisan heroine, and Bruce Murray, a New Zealand soldier, discover love in the midst of a brutal war.

In the heart of Nazi-occupied Europe, two people meet fleetingly in a chance encounter. One an underground resistance fighter, a bold young woman determined to vanquish the enemy occupiers; the other a prisoner of war, a man longing to escape the confines of the camp so he can battle again. A crumpled note passes between these two strangers, slipped through the wire of the compound, and sets them on a course that will change their lives forever.

Woven through their tales of great bravery, daring escapes, betrayal, torture, and retaliation is their remarkable love story that survived against all odds. This is an extraordinary account of two ordinary people who found love during the unimaginable hardships of Hitler’s barbaric regime as told by their son-in-law Doug Gold, who decided to tell their story from the moment he heard about their remarkable tale of bravery, resilience, and resistance.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Mar 16, 2021
• ISBN: 9780063012318

Doug Gold

Doug Gold is a retired broadcaster with a passion for historical and fact-based stories, and the author of Fun Is a Serious Business, a nonfiction account of More FM’s David-versus-Goliath success story. He lives in Wellington, New Zealand, with his wife, Anemarie.

Reviews for The Note Through the Wire

[bridgettes-104215 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"The Note Through the Wire" by Doug Gold is an incredible book that I could not put down! It is a beautiful story of a WWII POW and a resistor. What is so remarkable is that this is a true story and the author should be commended for a job well done in telling his in-law's story. It is very well-written and I highly recommend to all!

[mary-jane · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a very enjoyable book to listen to. As I am (was!) quite unfamiliar with WWII happenings in Eastern Europe, it was as enlightening as it was entertaining. Bravo !

[kimd66 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The things we do for love... What a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing your in-laws' prolific experiences. It sure makes one believe in true love again!

[dgmlrhodes · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I thought that the things that made this book compelling were that 1) it was based on a true story and 2) the circumstances of two people coming together against all odds were so unique. Through the barbed wire, Bruce Murray, a POW at Stalag camp, is passed a note to through the wire from a woman disguised as an elderly woman. Joseafine Lobnik is looking for her brother who was recently captured by the Germans. . As the story progresses, the backgrounds of both characters are revealed through time and how their perceptions of war change and how their lives/characters are impacted. It was also interesting to read about POW's who are separated in the camp based on where they came from and how that impacts their treatment. It was also interesting to read about the motivations and bravery that fueled the resistance. Without giving out spoilers, the story is of these two individuals who ultimately fall in love and the story of how that relationship is impacted by the war. Overall this was a very real and interesting read about a piece of WWII that is unique compared to many of the other books out there on the topic.Reader received an advanced readers copy from the publisher through Library Thing Early Reviewers.

[fjumonvi · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Amid the spate of World War II memoirs and novels comes this story of Bruce Murray, a prisoner of war in Slovenia, and Josefine Lobnik, a local daughter of active partisans who also joins the resistance. They briefly meet by accident but encounter each other again and fall in love. Danger and separations abound, but courage and love prevail. Written by the couple's son-in-law, the narrative seems to emphasize Bruce's experiences, about which more is known. Josefine died in an automobile accident three days before she was scheduled to recount her story for the author.I found this a difficult book to review because it straddles the fence between nonfiction and fiction--factual insofar as the facts are known, but filling in the gaps. It is a valuable contribution to the literature of WWII for the uncommon perspectives of its two leading characters and for its portrayal of everyday life in Nazi-occupied Slovenia.William Morrow deserves praise for its perseverance in getting a review copy to me. When I reported that my book had not arrived, they sent another. The two copies arrived two days apart, the first apparently having been delayed in the mail for two months. Special thanks to Morrow!

[bayleaf_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book is unlike most WWII ones I’ve read because instead of a setting inside a concentration camp, it occurs, in some part, inside a prisoner of war camp. It’s based on a true story of how a New Zealand soldier and prisoner of war, Bruce Murray, and Josefine Lobnik, a Slovene resistance fighter, meet and fall in love.The Note Through the Wire is interesting exactly because it’s centered around events that actually occurred and for the look it offers readers into life inside a prisoner of war camp and the dangers undertaken by partisan fighters. I felt closer to Josefine and became more involved in her story than Bruce’s, for some reason, perhaps because I felt her wartime experience seemed more “real” to me than Bruce’s. Whatever my thoughts, it’s a decent and different piece of WWII writing for those who are interested.

[gingersnap000 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The author, Doug Gold, is the son-in-law of the subjects of this based on truth novel. WWII was a horrific time in history especially for those fighting the war. Love may be a battlefield but Bruce and Josefine find love on several battlefields. Bruce Murray is a New Zealand POW being held by the Germans in Slovenia close to where Josefine Lobnik lives; they met when Josefine slips Bruce a note through the wire fence. As fate would have the lives intertwine, they met again on the farm of one of Josefine's relatives when Bruce is assigned as farm work. Amidst all the fighting and cruelty of the war, they fall in love. They are separated throughout the war as Josephine helps the resistance move documents and people. Both Bruce and Josefine face danger every day of the war but their love does not fade.. As the end of the war grows closer, Josefine helps Bruce escape the POW camp and guides him to safety where they must separate. It is agony for both of them but they both pledge that they will find each other after the war.The reader will feel their pain, applaud their courage and cheer them to reunite.

[kimaoverstreet · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the story of the author’s in-laws, who met during WWII in Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia, where he was a POW and she was part of the local resistance movement. These perspectives are not often featured in American stories from the war, and will be appreciated by WWII history buffs looking for a different angle. Bruce and Josefine’s descendants are indeed lucky to have this accounting for posterity. My interest as a reader tends to be in literary and historical fiction. The writing didn’t win me over in that regard. Bruce and Josefine never came to life, and the story itself was bogged down by details well researched but not relevant to the main storyline.

[pennsylady · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

THE NOTE THROUGH THE WIREOur story begins in February of 1942 in Nazi occupied Europe.Bruce Murray, a New Zealand soldier, is a prisoner of war in Stalag XVIIID.Josefine Lobnik, of Maribor, is a young Slovene carrying a concealed package of documents from one partisan group to another.As a cry for help in her search for her missing brother, a crumbled note passed through the wire of the POW compound at Maribor will change the life course of Bruce and Josefine forever.As much as I was inspired by the bravery, courage and love,I was distressed by the horrific moments recounted.There are a roller coaster of emotions in their story.This is an extraordinary WWII account that is well worth your reading.A sad yet joyful saga

[juju2cat · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I always have favored war stories and this of course included a great love story but the book didn't flow easily. Both Bruce and Josefine were amazing people with an amazing story but I felt as though I was taking a class course and was standing at a great distance from feeling involved.

[thewanderingjew_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Note Through the Wire: The Incredible True Story of a Prisoner of War and a Resistance Heroine.This is a true story about a soldier from New Zealand and a young girl from Slovenia. Both were victims in their own unique way, as is true with every survivor of the Holocaust. It was only through luck, cunning or sheer will that some survived the brutality of the National Socialist regime. Hitler’s Thousand Year Reich was thankfully brought to an end in far less time. Their story is told in alternating chapters featuring the experiences of each, Josephine and Bruce, and sometimes featuring both of them. Hitler’s war created many heroes and heroines in spite of the evil he wrought upon the world. Hitler and his followers were examples of the worst behavior mankind could exhibit, but Bruce and Josefine were examples of the opposite, the best and most courageous of us who were willing to sacrifice their own lives to save the lives of others.Bruce enlisted with two buddies after a night of drinking. His marriage was floundering and he was escaping it into another world, perhaps without thinking carefully enough about what was to come. Josefine lived in Slovenia which was invaded by the German Army and brutalized at the soldier’s pleasure. Bruce is captured after a brutal battle in Greece, a battle in which he witnesses the dreadful toll of war. Ultimately, he is sent to Stalag XVIIID, in Maribor. Josefine lives in Limbus, not far from Maribor, and although she is barely 18, she works with the partisans and is a freedom fighter. She is a part of the Polish Underground, as are her other siblings. Her family does not support the Nazis and is doing its part to thwart them. They all suffer for it. Josephine’s brother Polde is captured and released after being brutally tortured. He reveals nothing to the Nazis. He goes into hiding, but he is reckless and returns once more to visit his family. He is soon recaptured. No one knows where he has been sent, and the family fears he is dead. Still, Josefine, refuses to give up hope. She goes to the nearby prison camp in Maribor, disguised as an old crone. What she is doing is very dangerous. She is hoping to attract the attention of a prisoner and to pass him a note asking if her brother, Polde Lobnik, is incarcerated there. If she is spotted, she will be captured or shot, as will the prisoner who aids her. The only soldier who faces the danger and will approach the fence is an unkempt, disheveled man. That soldier is Bruce Murray. She passes him the note and runs away as a guard spots her, and she injures her ankle as she escapes. She hears him shout Halt over and over again and waits for a bullet or the sound of pursuing dog. Bruce places his body between the guard and Josefine so he cannot get a clear shot. Her injury prevents her from returning to the camp as promised in the note. Bruce has the note translated and endangering himself further, attempts to find out if anyone knows of her brother. When she doesn’t return, he bribes someone to bring her a note explaining that her brother is not there. Josefine is touched by his effort to help her. Bruce is truly smitten by Josefine.This true story is told in alternating chapters that reveal the experiences that both Bruce and Josefine endured, until they met again, by chance. He is sent to a farm on a work detail. The farm happens to belong to her aunt and uncle. In the midst of the horror of this war, with the danger of death at their doorstep every day, these two unusual strangers, fall in love. Even their love is dangerous. Bruce often sneaks out of the prison to meet Josefine. There are spies everywhere hoping to catch someone in order to curry favor with the Germans, so they must be ultra-careful. Josefine has been ferrying escaped prisoner and Allied Soldiers to safety. Bruce begins to help her. When their trysts are discovered, her aunt and uncle’s farm is searched. They are safely hidden in a special niche for that purpose. When the war intrudes further, and Josefine is in great danger, they are driven apart. Will their love endure?As their story is told, the atrocities committed by the Nazis are palpable. Wholesale murder of innocent people in retaliation for resistance is not uncommon. Torture is standard for anyone imprisoned, especially if they are suspected of being traitors to Hitler’s cause. Humiliation and abuse are the stock and trade of the Nazis. There is great attention paid to detail in an attempt to write the story of Bruce and Josephine, their love and their resistance efforts, as accurately as possible. Since both Bruce and Josefine are no longer alive, it sometimes had to be pieced together using a bit of poetic license. The constant is that no matter how many books one reads, there is always something new to learn, and be shocked about, with regard to the Nazis, their hate and their behavior. The book is particularly interesting because it is not about Jewish prisoners or Jewish victims, but rather about the POW’s and those people trapped in towns invaded by Hitler. It is also about the brutality of Russia, as conqueror, which was as bad as Germany, as invader. Fear, jealousy and greed motivated most of those who supported Hitler. What motivated Hitler, his supporters, and the soldiers who fought to further The Third Reich will never be known. It is impossible to determine what would cause such evil and blind obedience. They committed unspeakable atrocities and thought they could get away with it. Can that behavior ever be justified or forgiven? What inspires a hero or a heroine? From where does their courage spring? The author of this book is the son-in-law of Bruce and Josefine. He tells their story. It is a worthwhile story that should be widely read. Perhaps if we learn from the past, we won’t make the same mistakes in the future.

[lori6868 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed reading this book. I couldn't wait for it to get here and I thought it might not come because it took way longer than usual, but it finally arrived!! And I finished it in a day and a half, it was that good. Based on a true story of a Slovene resistance fighter, Josefine Lobnik, and a POW from New Zealand, Bruce Murray. Bruce gets his first glimpse of Josefine when she slips a note through the wire of the prison where he is being held trying to get information about her missing brother. Although Bruce does not see her again for a long while he continues to think of the mysterious woman who so bravely defied the odds and dared to attempt contact despite guards all around. When they do meet again, the war is heading towards the end, Josefine is taking more and more risks with her participation in the resistance and Bruce has already made several failed attempts at escape. What got me about this book is the miracle of it all. These two went through so much, they faced impossible odds that were against them. How they managed to survive all the trials they did, being prisoner of war, Josephine having her whole family separated, not knowing if they were dead or alive, the German occupation, betrayals by both friends and enemies. It is so incrediably unbelievable what they went through. It seemed that everyone and everything were against these two getting together. I loved that this is based on a real story and that most of the incrediable events really did take place. Even though this is a story of war, it is more than that. This is a wonderful love story, showing how even out of the ugliest of times something pure and beautiful can arise. This book is well researched, and beautifully written, the characters came alive for me, making it very fast and easy to read. I recommend for all historical fiction lovers. Along the lines of The Nightengale, or Resistance Women, I believe this is a must read for 2021.

[labfs39 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Bruce Murray is a twenty-five year-old ANZAC soldier who is captured after a battle in Greece and interred in a German POW camp in Slovenia. Josefine Lobnik is an eighteen-year-old Slovene partisan, ferrying documents and weapons across the Austrian border and helping escaped Allies. They first meet when she passes a note through the camp fence seeking information about her missing brother. The two meet again when Bruce is a forced laborer on her cousin′s farm, and they fall in love. The story is both a familiar wartime love story and something a bit different, and I think the difference is in how it is told.″A story can be interesting, but the way in which it is told determines whether it enthralls the reader and does justice to the subject,″ writes Doug Gold in his acknowledgments, and in The Note through the Wire, I think he succeeds. He starts with the dashing story of how Bruce and Josefine meet. Bruce′s story includes best mates, daring escapes, and derring-do. Josefine′s includes a family of partisans, heroic deeds, and defiance even when tortured. It could easily have become a caricature, an over-the-top swashbuckler. But in Gold′s hands it becomes the story of two people, whom you might meet at a pub and swap stories with over a pint. Nothing too heavy or maudlin, a little righteous indignation, a few jokes and exaggerated swagger. The result is a story that feels intimate, yet not all-knowing.The author was privy to Bruce and Josefine′s stories, as well as those of other family members, because he was their son-in-law. The anecdotes he heard over the years lend vivacity, and he corroborates what he can with primary sources. But the story remains theirs, as they experienced and remember it. In this way, I think Gold succeeds in writing an enthralling story that does justice to its subjects. It′s a warm family story that kept me turning the pages, and a glimpse into their sliver of the war on the Slovenian-Austrian border.

[stanslong · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent read, even if there may be a considerable amount of artistic license applied.

[susan0316 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In this true love story that defies all odds, Josefine Lobnik, a Yugoslav partisan heroine, and Bruce Murray, a New Zealand soldier, discover love in the midst of a brutal war. Bruce lived in New Zealand when WWII started. He had a good job and loved to go out drinking with his two best friends. They joined the Army as a chance to see the world but when they finally got into combat, it was another story. Bruce got captured by the Germans and was sent to a POW camp. The living conditions were not the best but they were able to get packages from the Red Cross and mail from home. When Bruce was walking around the compound on a Sunday, a woman approached the barbed wire and passed him a note asking for help finding her brother. That woman was Josefine Lobnik, an underground resistance fighter who was fighting for freedom from the Germans. After several unsuccessful escapes, Bruce was assigned to work on a local farm. By chance, it is the farm of Josefine's aunt and uncle, where she is hiding because she's been betrayed and has a price on her head. They begin to talk and fall in love. This is a story about finding love during the war and their struggles to be together. They both face torture, betrayal and sacrifice along with way but eventually love wins!Be sure to read the author's notes at the end about their life after the war. He also mentions the letters that they kept that shows how difficult it was for them to be together after the war ended.