Sunbury Press Books Show -- Surviving Hitler, Evading Stalin
The peaceful farm life of a teenage girl in Germany is abruptly upended when WWII comes knocking at her family\u2019s door. One month before her sixteenth birthday, Mildred \u201cMickchen\u201d Schindler and her family are captured by Russian Soldiers. Having already survived life in Hitler\u2019s Nazi Germany, they now face the terror of a new enemy\u2014Stalin\u2019s Red Army.\xa0Driven from their home, Mildred and her family become refugees along with a sad, slow-moving caravan of other families who have suffered the same fate. Cleverly disguised by her mother, Mildred avoids being taken to a work camp until one morning when authorities arrive unexpectedly. Her father has already been taken by Russian soldiers, and now she is taken from her mother and brother.\xa0Mildred recounts, in meticulous detail, her treacherous journey and the roller coaster of raw emotions she experiences \u2014fear, regret, loneliness, humility, perseverance, and defiance.\xa0 Mildred\u2019s odyssey of making her way home and finding her family in a war-torn countryside takes many riveting twists and turns. The discovery of a secret, hidden document offers hope for a brighter future. From harrowing to heartwarming, this memoir provides a unique perspective of a Gentile girl\u2019s road to resilience and her fortitude against all odds to forge a life filled with love and laughter.