No comments about I Gave You Life Twice: A Story of Survival, Dreams, Betrayals and Accomplishments.

No comments about The Second Bailout: A Personal Memoir of Bombing Missions over Nazi Germany and Life as a POW.

No comments about My Gaze Is Turned Inward: Letters 1938-1943 (Jewish Lives).

No comments about The House of Margie.

4 comments about Hanna and Walter: A Love Story.

1. I first read this story as part of the Reader's Digest Condensed books. I've picked it up several times in the years since, and it never fails to move me. I was sorry to learn that Hanna and Walter have passed on; I feel as if I've lost two heroes.
   
   The book follows Hanna and Walter through their early romance, separation, and Hanna's marriage to another man (who is murdered in Auschwitz) and her suffering in the death camps to their eventual reunion. Walter's journey to find her, praying that she's somehow survived, and their reunion are equally moving.
   
   I'm glad that they had a happy marriage, and wish their souls peace. They saw enough of hell.
   
   Everyone should read this book along with "The Diary of Anne Frank."
   
   Lest we forget.



2. I thought the book was too complex and I thought it was a nice love story but they made the Holocaust seem like a cakewalk which it wasn't



3. I would recommend this book to a patient reader. It begins slowly at first, and the reader has to motivate him or herself to keep reading but by the middle of the book it's a total page-turner. I think the thing I like most about this novel was that love prevailed. Walter and Hanna both went through their terrible times, but in the end, it was like all that disappeared and there they were again, her standing up on the stairs, him in the entry hall, just like they had been 7 years earlier. I think after you finish the book you sit back and think, "Dang! This can't be real!" But it is, and that's what I think is magical about it. It's a true tale of love persevering.



4. I cannot express how much I liked this book! This couple wrote in thier own words the experiences they encountered during WWII. Hanna and Walter are two young lovers near the Austro-Hungary border in a amall Jewish Community. When WWII broke out, they were torn in seprate directions. You cannot get a more personal view of what was going on at the time (unless you were there). This story was from real people, in real situations, with a real and romantic ending. I recomend this book to anyone who is interested in not only WWII history, but anyone who beleves in hope.

No comments about Mona Parsons: From Priviledge to Prison, from Nova Scotia to Nazi Germany.

No comments about Life in a Jewish Orphanage.

5 comments about Ruined by the Reich: Memoir of an East Prussian Family, 1916-1945.

1. For an autobiography, constrained to stick to what actually happened or was lived, the second world war is as dramatic a context as you can get. I have little previous exposure to books about personal experiences of the second world war, but I think what sets this book apart is the slowness & indirectness of experiencing the war & the inevitable & visceral destruction it brings.
   
   Brandenburg tells a very involved & nuanced story without ever bordering on the dramatic. She shows remarkable poise & a wonderful eye for detail without losing herself in any kind of literary embellishments. She tells the story of growing up with a lovely peasant family in East Prussia, its hard life demanding discipline, the Germans trading freedom for security post first world war, Hitler's deep penetration into the social & psychological realms of Germany, the initial victories, the never-ending war with Russia, the eventual retreats, & the German defeat.
   
   In between all this are woven tales of growing up, marriages, jealousies, betrayals, cowardice, fear & suspense. And inevitably, there is death. Yes, there is hope at the end, & yes, there is rejuvenation. But those remain very lame consolations for what is lost, for what is learned, & for what is lived.
   
   Perhaps, if Brandenburg had experienced the war as an adult, there might have been more complex experiences & analysis; however, this book remains ultimately about what is lost.
   
   S!



2. The beauty of this story is in the details. What was eaten for breakfast; her first doll; the logistics of evacuating - of loading your possessions and food onto a wagon hitched to a horse in the days before refrigeration and styrofoam coolers. Yes, this story is a tragedy, be prepared to have your heartstrings pulled but intermingled are the happy events such as finding an abandoned cow, hiding it and tasting milk again.The characters are real and the reader cannot help himself from empathizing with the whole village.



3. After reading Ruined by the Reich it brought to light that everyone suffers during and after war. Unfortunately, to this point, the view of Germans has always been that the whole population were Nazis. From this book we realize that such is not the case and that Germans also encountered horrible and unspeakable acts of terror in their own country. It's important to understand that there are two sides to every story and thanks to the vivid recount by Dan Laing and the strength of Christel Weiss Brandeburg we are presented with the entire picture.



4. I recently finished the book Ruined by the Reich. Its a compelling story of a firsthand account of a families anguish. When Christel speaks of her harrowing ordeals you can visualize everything that she is going through. A detailed outlook of the effects of war on all individuals involved.I would love to see this book made into a movie. Dan Laing is an excellent writer and Christel Weiss is a wonderful story teller.



5. I JUST FINISHED READING, RUINED BY THE REICH. THIS WAS
   A FASCINATING STORY, AND YET VERY SAD. I DON'T THINK
   MOST OF US EVER THOUGHT ABOUT THE GERMAN PEOPLE SUFFERING.
   THAT POOR GIRL. THE WRITING WAS SO DISTINCT, I FELT IT
   WHEN CHRISTEL WAS COLD AND I FELT STARVED WHEN SHE DIDN'T
   GET ENOUGH TO EAT. POOR CHRISTEL IS IN OUR PRAYERS.

   I HOPE THESE TWO WHO HAVE COLLABORATED SO WELL, ARE
   WORKING ON A SCREEN PLAY.

   THIS WAS SO VERY WELL TOLD. POOR CRYSTEL IS IN OUR PRAYERS.

No comments about Story of a Girl: My Life in Hitler's Germany 1925-1945.

No comments about Nine Suitcases.