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.
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German civilians who survived WW2 were treated terribly by the Russian soldiers who were the first soldiers to occupy Berlin. People who survived the Holocaust and the war spent days and years hunting for their family members. Most did not find them. This is a story from their point of view and is based on fact.
Great series. Read them all!
I loved the book. It was really hard to put down because it made one want to find out if it was going to end the way you hoped it would.
Its a Roberta Kagan book. Nothing more needs to be said by anyone who has read anything by Roberta. You go in knowing you will like it and it does not disappoint. I have read 5 I think, but if I made a mistake and got one I had already read I would read it again, its that good. All of her books brings tears, laughter, And knowledge of a time I never lived in but have now read a lot of and she seems to be right on. A lot of research has gone into these books and it shows. Its like Diary of Anne Frank goes on, different people, same feelings. Yes I would recommend her books to all…
I always enjoy Robert Kagan and can’t wait to read her next books! She’s wonderful!
Poorly written book. Cannot believe they could publish this book. At best it was like a kids book report.
This series was very enjoyable.
It was a very interesting story, but kind of choppy at first until the characters get familiar.
A bit of history that most people of which most people are unaware, I think it should be read so that one realized that are no winners in war and the enemy are not always able to control their own destinies. Thank
Love all her books. A great series.
a description of the lives of German Jewish women who came to the US during or after WWII. The courage needed to endure the trip and then to try to set up a life of themselves is described. Heart breaking as well as amazing.
Did not think it was that well written.
As good as the first one.
A little hard to get into
I love a book that not only has a great story, but one you can learn from as well.
Started off slow and had to get all the characters in place, but it was a good read.
If you like that particular time period it is informative as well.
Well written to reflect the times and the horrible ordeals the Jewish population went through.
.As a student of the Holucast, I have read several of this series. We need to to know more so it will never happen agai
Did not like. Writer should remember “show, don’t tell.”
I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and found this book to be moving and informative. It was well written and if it had editing errors I don’t recall them. What happened in Germany when the Russians arrived was not something I ever contemplated, though I have a dear friend who came to America after the war and I knew she had very nearly been raped in Germany I had no idea how horrible it was there, not understanding hers was not an isolated event. It is worth the read just to get an inkling of what people went through. It’s important to know history and we all know why.