The author with her aunt, Lillian Tolsma, the inspiration for this book and a truly courageous woman.
Ruth Sabine Hildegard Lippert, seventeen years old in February 1945, is the inspiration for the first half of this story. In her own words: “Soon thereafter, on February 8, the Russians marched into our city; we escaped by night, in temperatures of minus 20 degrees, launched into a four-week Flucht [escape]. Through the Lord’s grace and shielding, I was able, as a fearless leader, to save a group of about ten people from certain death or captivity.”
They crossed the frozen Frische Haff, were shot at by Russian planes, and rode in trucks and on trains. She endured many trials and hardships and finally arrived at home in Bad Homburg four weeks later, only to be bombed out of her home the same night she arrived.
The second half of the book is based on the stories told by my aunt, Lillian Tolsma, born in the United States to parents of German descent. In the late 1930s, her family decided to return to Germany. She spent the last part of the war in Berlin, surviving almost constant bombing raids and having her apartment building bombed out while she was away from home. Once the Soviets entered the city, she had to hide from the Russians soldiers, escaping their clutches more than once.
These women’s stories demonstrate that the war affected ordinary citizens on both sides of the conflict. The courage it took to survive one of the darkest periods in history was amazing.