Blessings and Hardships: A German Girl’s Experiences During and After the Nazi Era

This book accurately reflects the times of turmoil in central Europe during and after World War II. The author describes in her own words her memories of those times and reconstructs the voice of her childhood from those terrible war years and the struggles afterwards until she emigrates to the United States of America in the mid fifties. Because Brigitte Kirchhoff's parents were staunch opponents of the Nazi regime, it made them targets of harassment and put their lives many times in jeopardy. Nonetheless, they were able to provide their two daughters relatively carefree childhood years in a middle-class setting. In January 1945, this all ended abruptly one day when the author and her parents had to not just leave their home while being pursued by the Gestapo but also their homeland of Silesia because of the approaching Russian Army. They began an odyssey of fear, homelessness, starvation and total uncertainty amid terror from Russian soldiers for more than a year. Many times, the author found herself being totally alone with nothing left but prayers and her undaunted faith in God during those long months. After the family settled in a village outside of Munich in Bavaria in March 1946, they struggled for several more years until they achieved a normal life again in the City of Munich. Readers will be fascinated as the author portrays her experiences in vivid terms and with incredible detail from her earliest remembrances until she arrives in New York harbor in late February 1957. Her style is captivating and holds the reader's attention through the entire book. It gives a remarkable insight into the lives of people, devastated by the terrors of the times and how they coped in their individual and collective fights for survival and a desire for normalcy and peace.