Escape From Plauen, A True Story [Hardcover]

ESCAPE?FROM?PLAUEN tells the story of war's depravation but also tells the story of faith and the will to triumph against all odds. An artist as well as a writer, Renate Stoever has an artist's sensibility that lends beauty to her writing. As a result, the reader is not just an observer, but also a participant in her experience. This memoir of a remarkable life is a polished gem. It will keep you turning pages until the last word. -Christine Royer, retired Vice-President of Public Affairs, Barnard College, N.Y. I've been a professional editor for more than thirty years, and Escape From Plauen is better writing than the work of most professional writers I've edited. This is an amazing story, and it is incredibly well written. -Mike Slizewski, professional editor Parts of this book moved me to tears...creating powerful images of destruction...great choice of words describing the emotion, terror, and horror of war...as seen first hand through the eyes of a child. What a great read...riveting.... -Carol Kreit, author of First Wives' Tool Kit. This is a true story about the ravages of war seen through the eyes of a 9-year-old girl in Plauen, Germany. The political and economic causes of what are considered by many to be the greatest armed struggle since the Great War have been widely coined into books and movies. In more ways then we would like to admit, we still live with the results of that victory, but other than Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut's fictionalized account of the fire-bombing of Dresden, Germany in 1945, few works have been written about the actual events in the fire-storm of that devastation. None are seen through the eyes of an innocent child caught within the terror caused by events beyond comprehension. ESCAPE?FROM?PLAUEN is a first-hand account of life in the German city of Plauen before Hitler's defeat, the end of Nazi Germany and through the destruction caused by the wrath of the Soviet Army. Caught between Stalin's advancing Communistl3æ