Two Escaping the Last Battle
by Rajaniemi, Brunhild
pub. by 1st Books Library, USA, 2001     isbn - 0-7596-0559-9 - - 334 p. - Contents p. vii-xi -- map p. v, xvii -- About the author p.329-334
This book was written by a woman who grew up in Germany, mostly under Nazi rule. She was in her early teens at the end of World War II. She lived in Berlin. I heard her speak at a book signing.
The autobiographical story is the story of her escape, with another girl of the same age, from Berlin very shortly before - hours before - the Russian Army invaded at the end of WWII. They escaped on foot literally hiding from the encircling Russian troops. They came upon some units of the Germany Army, who treated them well and assisted their escape. As a son of man who was in the US Army Air Corps in WWII it was interesting reading where the Germany Army were the - good guys -, They made it to the Baltic and begged enough food to stay alive and connected up with Germany Navy and attempted fleeing afloat. They were afloat when they found out that the War was over. Social services shuttled them to a series of foster homes. She returned to Berlin and the devestation there, finding some relatives and experiencing the food shortages. The last section of the book brings her life up to date, getting to USA, getting a job, getting married, working at a number of jobs, including IBM then having a business of her own, retiring and living in south Texas.
On the whole this book gives the reader a first hand account of the confusion and terror of being a citizen of a country which was on the losing end of a major war, and managing to survive.
An interesting read.
~ 2002 ~

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