Annemarie Schomaker

Out of the Ashes: Berlin 1930 to 1950 Annemarie Schomaker

Seen through the eyes of a child, the lives of real people in a world gone mad, gives this book its character. Where else can you experience the days and nights of innocent children caught in a nightmare, considering life in wartime as "normal". Picture mothers separated from their children in the name of safety, thereby putting these children into other, unforeseen dangers. Imagine a group of school children, considered wards of the state and therefore under the full protection of the Hitler government, fleeing from the advancing Russian army in sub-zerodegree weather.  See them walking fordays, with backpacks, and finally hitching a ride on open freight cars of a military train. Consider that seeing a Russian propaganda movie in East Berlin was preferable overwatching an American flick in the West, just because the theater in the East was heated.  Ride on top of freight cars into the countryside, searching for food, trading family treasures for a sack of potatoes.  Join West Berliners in their stand  against communism despite cold and hunger. From cover to cover these stories will amaze you. Written with a sense of humor, this book will capture your attention and keep you riveted.