It’s 1945. The Nazis surrender. Hitler is dead. But, the Third Reich has already left a bloody footprint on the soul of the world. The Margoils family and their friends Lotti and Lev Glassman were torn apart by Hitler’s hatred of the Jewish people. Now that the Reich has fallen, the survivors of the Margolis and Glassman family’s find themselves searching to reconnect with those they love. Lotti …
Lotti Strombeck- Glassman, is a German woman, living in Berlin. She had been a good friend to the Margolis family. Lotti had been married to Lev, a Jewish man, who was taken away by the Gestapo and never seen again. In 1945 the curtain comes down on Hitler. But, Stalin is pushing his army towards Germany’s capital city. There is an angry mob of Russian soldiers who are on their way to punish what’s left of Hitler’s Aryan race. They will take out all of their hatred for the Third Reich on the terrified women left behind in Berlin.
Alina Margolis escapes to America with her lover at the beginning of the war. Although she has been away from Germany, her life has not been easy. Alina is strugglilng to make her way in a foreign land that doesn’t welcome Jews or Jews of German decent.
At ten years old Gilde Margolis , along with a group of other children board a train out of Germany. They are headed for Britain on the Kindertransport. Alone and frightened, Gilde must leave everyone and everything she loves behind. She is taken in by a family in London. However, London is in the throes of war. Bombs rain down on the city. Food, clothing, even bath water is rationed. As air raid sirens blare and buildings are turned to rubble, Gilde Margolis comes of age. She learns to love, to sacrifice, but most of all to survive.
This is a story of ordinary people whose lives were shattered by the terrifying ambitions of Adolf Hitler… a true madman.
more
Roberta Kagan is one of my favorite authors. Have not read a book of hers that I didn’t love! Great historical fiction author!
it is a follow-up to the Michal’s Destiny series. Great to see how women pulled themselves up from ruins to make something of their lives.
It held my interest. I enjoyed it.
One always enjoys and is enlightened by learning about individual experiences relating to WWII. It’s always interesting to read of those experiencing the Nazi invasion as well as those related on safer countries. Historical facts as well as human emotions in both areas covered in this book were well described, enlightening, and thought-provoking. Well done!
All the characters were able to overcome great tragedy.
The plot had was hard to beat but I think this book was ghost written by someone’s adolescent daughter.
For fans of WWII novels, this is an exceptional novel that takes a look inside the German Jews and others caught up in the Nazi movement and the disruptions of their lives. Could hardly put this one down….highly recommend
Quite a story from a perspective that covered a lot of ground and human tragedy.
I’ve read the whole series and just couldn’t put them down.