Behind The Smile Orphaned By Hitlers Madness

I was born during the winter of 1944 by an unwed, seventeenyear old, frightened Norwegian girl on the war-torn soil of Germany. Unknowingly, she became part of Heinrich Himmler’s plan, known as the Lebensborn Program, a master design for cultivating an Aryan race. The unfolding story is both revealing and touching. Over time slivers of buried history surfaced into the mainstream of my thinking. An orphan’s journey is revealed transforming the story into enlightened self-discovery. It wasn’t until I found the courage to face the unknown mysteries woven together by people, places and programs that healing could eventually take place. All the intertwining circumstances influenced my life, opened my eyes and helped me make peace with my inner spirit.

A varied, vivid view of the literary culture of the often-neglected interwar Austrian republic. The literary flair of fin-de-siècle Vienna lived on after 1918 in the First Austrian Republic even as writers grappled with the consequences of a lost war and the vanished Habsburg Empire. Reacting to historical and political issues often distinct from those in Weimar Germany, Austrian literary culture, though frequently associated with Jewish writers deeply attached to the concept of an independent Austria, reflected the republic's ever-deepening antisemitism and the growing clamor for political union with Germany. Spanning the two momentous decades between the fall of the empire in 1918 and the Nazi Anschluss in 1938, this book explores work by canonical writers suchas Schnitzler, Kraus, Roth, and Werfel and by now-forgotten figures such as the pacifist Andreas Latzko, the arch-Nazi Bruno Brehm, and the fervently Jewish Soma Morgenstern. Also taken into account are Ernst Weiss's "Hitler" novel Der Augenzeuge and 1930s works about First Republic Austria by the German Communist writers Anna Seghers and Friedrich Wolf. Andrew Barker's book paints a varied and vivid picture of one of the most challenging and underresearched periods in twentieth-century cultural history. Andrew Barker is Emeritus Professor of Austrian Studies at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.

'A moving novel of strength and resistance in the face of evil but also an inspiring journey of resilience after loss' Erin Litteken, bestselling author of The Memory Keeper of Kyiv A heartbreaking World War 2 novel that tells the story of two women’s fight for love, family and hope, as the world crumbles around them. Based on the true story of the Kindertransport rescue from Nazi-occupied Europe. Berlin, 1936. The Landau family are at the heart of their community, running a music shop in Berlin and just trying to survive. But their lives are unravelling as Hitler's power increases and the treatment of Jewish families deteriorates. Eldest daughter, Rachel, fears for her sisters' future and will do anything she can to keep them safe. Will she find hope in the darkness? Paris, 1936. As whispers of war travel over from Europe, American debutante Kay escapes her mother's grasp and travels as a reluctant spy from Paris to Berlin. But a chance meeting with the Landau family will change her life forever. Kay is determined to give Rachel and her sisters a fighting chance in a society where the youngest are paying the ultimate price, even if it means making dangerous enemies along the way... As the world marches toward war, these brave women will find strength in joining forces to save the ones they love. But they will need the support of one another more than they will ever realise in order to survive... A gripping and heart-wrenching historical novel about hope, tragedy and two women's limitless courage. Perfect for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Nightingale and My Name is Eva. Praise for The Orphans of Berlin: 'The Orphans of Berlin is a moving novel of strength and resistance in the face of evil but also an inspiring journey of resilience after loss. Delving into a lesser known angle of the Kindertransport rescue efforts, Jina Bacarr deftly combines history and compelling characters into a fast-paced, emotional WWII story that readers will love' Erin Litteken, bestselling author of The Memory Keeper of KyivReader Reviews for The Orphans of Berlin:'I wanted this book to continue! I cried with the characters! Utterly amazing story' ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reader Review 'I would give this book more than 5 stars if I could, and there's only one word to describe it...... Brilliant!!' ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reader Review 'Really enjoyed this book from beginning to end a very emotional story, highly recommend everyone to read it' ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reader Review

Set during the early 1900s in a European town full of old traditions, The Four Orphans is an empowering and emotionally charged family history that evokes many thoughts and feelings within the reader as they follow the lives of the Gacek family. Following the tragic loss of their parents, newly orphaned Stefan, Maria, Anna, and Rebecca have no choice but to leave their heartbreak behind as they go through all the ups, downs, and mysteries life has to offer, alone.

Madman, tyrant, animal—history has given Adolf Hitler many names. In Mein Kampf (My Struggle), often called the Nazi bible, Hitler describes his life, frustrations, ideals, and dreams. Born to an impoverished couple in a small town in Austria, the young Adolf grew up with the fervent desire to become a painter. The death of his parents and outright rejection from art schools in Vienna forced him into underpaid work as a laborer. During the First World War, Hitler served in the infantry and was decorated for bravery. After the war, he became actively involved with socialist political groups and quickly rose to power, establishing himself as Chairman of the National Socialist German Worker's party. In 1924, Hitler led a coalition of nationalist groups in a bid to overthrow the Bavarian government in Munich. The infamous Munich "Beer-hall putsch" was unsuccessful, and Hitler was arrested. During the nine months he was in prison, an embittered and frustrated Hitler dictated a personal manifesto to his loyal follower Rudolph Hess. He vented his sentiments against communism and the Jewish people in this document, which was to become Mein Kampf, the controversial book that is seen as the blue-print for Hitler's political and military campaign. In Mein Kampf, Hitler describes his strategy for rebuilding Germany and conquering Europe. It is a glimpse into the mind of a man who destabilized world peace and pursued the genocide now known as the Holocaust.

“Monumental.” —The New York Times Book Review Pulitzer Prize-finalist Stephen Kotkin has written the definitive biography of Joseph Stalin, from collectivization and the Great Terror to the conflict with Hitler's Germany that is the signal event of modern world history In 1929, Joseph Stalin, having already achieved dictatorial power over the vast Soviet Empire, formally ordered the systematic conversion of the world’s largest peasant economy into “socialist modernity,” otherwise known as collectivization, regardless of the cost. What it cost, and what Stalin ruthlessly enacted, transformed the country and its ruler in profound and enduring ways. Building and running a dictatorship, with life and death power over hundreds of millions, made Stalin into the uncanny figure he became. Stephen Kotkin’s Stalin: Waiting for Hitler, 1929–1941 is the story of how a political system forged an unparalleled personality and vice versa. The wholesale collectivization of some 120 million peasants necessitated levels of coercion that were extreme even for Russia, and the resulting mass starvation elicited criticism inside the party even from those Communists committed to the eradication of capitalism. But Stalin did not flinch. By 1934, when the Soviet Union had stabilized and socialism had been implanted in the countryside, praise for his stunning anti-capitalist success came from all quarters. Stalin, however, never forgave and never forgot, with shocking consequences as he strove to consolidate the state with a brand new elite of young strivers like himself. Stalin’s obsessions drove him to execute nearly a million people, including the military leadership, diplomatic and intelligence officials, and innumerable leading lights in culture. While Stalin revived a great power, building a formidable industrialized military, the Soviet Union was effectively alone and surrounded by perceived enemies. The quest for security would bring Soviet Communism to a shocking and improbable pact with Nazi Germany. But that bargain would not unfold as envisioned. The lives of Stalin and Hitler, and the fates of their respective dictatorships, drew ever closer to collision, as the world hung in the balance. Stalin: Waiting for Hitler, 1929–1941 is a history of the world during the build-up to its most fateful hour, from the vantage point of Stalin’s seat of power. It is a landmark achievement in the annals of historical scholarship, and in the art of biography.

⭐ Don’t miss the new epic historical series from Molly Green, set at famous Bletchley Park: Wartime at Bletchley Park – available to pre-order now! ⭐ War rages, but the women and children of Liverpool’s Dr Barnardo’s Home cannot give up hope. A poignant, heart-warming saga to read this winter...

A biography of Tiefenbrunner, born in 1914 in Wiesbaden. Pp. 31-81 deal with the Holocaust period. In 1938 Tiefenbrunner immigrated to Belgium, where he opened a home for German Jewish refugee children in Brussels. He married in 1940. In 1942 the Tiefenbrunner Home became one of the seven orphanages which operated under the auspices of the Association des Juifs en Belgique (AJB), and the only one which was religiously Orthodox. Between 1942-44 hundreds of children passed through the home, which had a capacity for ca. 40 children at any one time. Notes that feeding the children was a constant problem. After the liberation in September 1944, Tiefenbrunner continued to run the home as an orphanage for child survivors; it closed in 1960 and Tiefenbrunner died in 1962. His parents and five of his siblings perished in the Holocaust; he and two siblings survived. The book is based on interviews with family members and survivors who spent time in the home as children, relating their stories as well. Pp. 155-171 contain an account of his wartime experiences by Aron Peterfreund.

A classic work of American literature that has not stopped changing minds and lives since it burst onto the literary scene, The Things They Carried is a ground-breaking meditation on war, memory, imagination, and the redemptive power of storytelling. The Things They Carried depicts the men of Alpha Company: Jimmy Cross, Henry Dobbins, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Norman Bowker, Kiowa, and the character Tim O’Brien, who has survived his tour in Vietnam to become a father and writer at the age of forty-three. Taught everywhere—from high school classrooms to graduate seminars in creative writing—it has become required reading for any American and continues to challenge readers in their perceptions of fact and fiction, war and peace, courage and fear and longing. The Things They Carried won France's prestigious Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger and the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize; it was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER #1 bestselling author Lisa Scottoline offers a sweeping and shattering epic of historical fiction fueled by shocking true events, the tale of a love triangle that unfolds in the heart of Rome...in the creeping shadow of fascism. What war destroys, only love can heal. Elisabetta, Marco, and Sandro grow up as the best of friends despite their differences. Elisabetta is a feisty beauty who dreams of becoming a novelist; Marco the brash and athletic son in a family of professional cyclists; and Sandro a Jewish mathematics prodigy, kind-hearted and thoughtful, the son of a lawyer and a doctor. Their friendship blossoms to love, with both Sandro and Marco hoping to win Elisabetta's heart. But in the autumn of 1937, all of that begins to change as Mussolini asserts his power, aligning Italy's Fascists with Hitler's Nazis and altering the very laws that govern Rome. In time, everything that the three hold dear--their families, their homes, and their connection to one another--is tested in ways they never could have imagined. As anti-Semitism takes legal root and World War II erupts, the threesome realizes that Mussolini was only the beginning. The Nazis invade Rome, and with their occupation come new atrocities against the city's Jews, culminating in a final, horrific betrayal. Against this backdrop, the intertwined fates of Elisabetta, Marco, Sandro, and their families will be decided, in a heartbreaking story of both the best and the worst that the world has to offer. Unfolding over decades, Eternal is a tale of loyalty and loss, family and food, love and war--all set in one of the world's most beautiful cities at its darkest moment. This moving novel will be forever etched in the hearts and minds of readers.