Born into a Jewish family and a communist, Anna Seghers immediately attracted the attention of the Gestapo after Hitler came to power. Her books were burned, and the writer herself was forced to emigrate to France, becoming a staunch opponent of the Nazi regime. With the outbreak of war, Seghers spent a year in Marseille waiting for a visa to Mexico. The novel ‘Transit’ is largely based on her experiences during that year. 1941. The unnamed protagonist of the novel arrives in Marseille – the last port in southern France not occupied by the Nazis. The city is flooded with crowds of refugees hoping to get places on steamers bound for Mexico and the USA. But not everyone will succeed.