What a story! I could hardly put the book down
This review is based on the first volume of Inge Stanneck Gross's biography, which covers her life as a child in Berlin during and immediately after the Second World War. My reaction, in simple terms, - what a story! I could hardly put the book down.
I believe it is the first account I have read of the civilian aspects of the War from the German point of view. What makes this book so absorbing is the amount of detail Inge is able to recall for her descriptions of the people and neighbourhoods of the once-beautiful Berlin, and the nearby villages where her family took refuge.
The recounting of the retreat of refugees through East Germany and the arrival of the Russian Army was hair-raising. The absolute destruction and destitution the German people experienced is hard to imagine, but Inge's words paint a picture which is absolutely convincing. The photos are real treasures as well.
Inge has also succeeded in portraying her mother as a marvelous person. The humour, ingenuity and positive attitude Mrs. Stanneck and her family maintained in the face of the horror they lived through is admirable.
During the aerial bombardment and later the rule of the occupying Russian army, the conditions of life were awful. You wonder how poor, ordinary people were able to survive. In her book, Inge reveals the methods which enabled the people of Berlin, with both inner strength and luck, to do so.
David L. Rutherford, Reviewer, Abbotsford, British Columbia