personalmemoirs

Surviving Hitler, Evading Stalin: One Woman's Remarkable Escape from Nazi Germany | Mildred Schindler Janzen, Sherye S. Green

Today we celebrated w. a short documentary of her life. Last year our Bookclub met w. the 94 yo American born German descent author. She & family in East Germany were 1st displaced by Russia during & later by Poland after WWII. As a teen, she survived Russian work camps, displaced persons camps, & ocean voyage to America. 7 yrs later Mom & brother joined her in KS. Her strength, joy, & gratitude abounds. Here is the suitcase she brought to USA.

LeahBergen How wonderful! 14mo

AmyG Amazing! 14mo

tpixie @LeahBergen @AmyG she is smart as a whip & spry!! Her story is unique since she‘s American (although she did not know that until she was 17, because the family moved back to Germany when she was an infant) & a protestant. The Nazis would count their chickens to make sure the family was providing enough eggs to them. 14mo

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tpixie Then, when Russia became part of the Allies, they kicked her family off the farm, and they went to camps. Then, after the war, Poland was given that part of eastern Germany as reparations, and so they were kicked out of their home again! There are just so many untold stories. 14mo

Librarybelle What an amazing afternoon! 14mo

tpixie @Librarybelle yes! I then took my husband to an evening event at her home church (75 years!) about 50 minutes away. Whew! Luckily he enjoyed it & was impressed with her and the documentary! lol makes up for some of the ball games I watch with him! 😃 14mo

Suet624 What a life. 13mo

tpixie @Suet624 yes! She‘s still coming to grips with her earlier years, but she is very positive. 13mo

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tpixie

Surviving Hitler, Evading Stalin: One Woman's Remarkable Escape from Nazi Germany | Mildred Schindler Janzen, Sherye S. Green

#12booksOf2022 #February

Very ugly cover, but interesting book of a Christian German family that suffered after WWII under Stalin‘s rule. Not a concentration camp story, but a different WWII story.
The author is a very gracious woman who lives about 1 hour away, so our IRL bookclub was able to have a luncheon with her.

Andrew65

Andrew65 This does sound interesting. 2y

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tpixie

Surviving Hitler, Evading Stalin: One Woman's Remarkable Escape from Nazi Germany | Mildred Schindler Janzen, Sherye S. Green

We had a wonderful get together w. the 93 yo author. She‘s American born German descent. She & family in East Germany were 1st displaced by Russia during & then Poland after WWII. As a teen, she survived Russian work camps, displaced persons camps, & ocean voyage to America. Finally after 7 years, her Mom & brother joined her in KS. Her strength, joy, & gratitude should never be forgotten.

Sills

Chrissyreadit What a great day!!! 3y

Cortg Amazing! Our library just hosted a holocaust survivor last week. ❤️ 3y

AmyG Sounds amazing. 3y

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LeahBergen Oh, wow! What an incredible day! ❤️ 3y

tpixie @CoverToCoverGirl we had a great time!! 3y

tpixie @Chrissyreadit @Cortg @AmyG it was amazing. And her story is different than what I‘ve heard, being a German displaced by Russia! They were Christians, & not Nazi sympathizers, but imprisoned by Russia. Then as reparations, Poland got Eastern part of Germany, so they got kicked out of their home again. Unfortunately they ended up in Russian Occupied Germany (not US, British, or France Occupied), so they were prisoners again! Then her mom helped her 3y

tpixie Escape to American occupied Berlin. There it was discovered she was actually Americsn born (her parents were in Kansas from 1922 to 29) & so at 18 yo, she was able to come to USA. Her mother & brother, Germans, were allowed 7 years later. Dad never seen after being taken away by Russians in WWII. WE had a very insightful lunch with her! 3y

tpixie @LeahBergen yes! My husband‘s cousin‘s wife is going to be the new school superintendent of Ellsworth Kansas where Mildred lives. I‘m going to buy her the book. I‘m hoping it gets into the school curriculum & she can visit the school! 3y

CoverToCoverGirl Amazing! How lucky you were to meet and spend time with this incredible woman. So very sad for her to have lost her Dad in such a horrific way. Thanks for the update! 💟 3y

tpixie @CoverToCoverGirl I do feel blessed. Your welcome! 3y

Cathythoughts Great picture ♥️ 3y

tpixie @Cathythoughts thanks. We had a great time! 3y

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tpixie

Surviving Hitler, Evading Stalin: One Woman's Remarkable Escape from Nazi Germany | Mildred Schindler Janzen, Sherye S. Green

Can‘t wait for book club tomorrow. We are meeting with the author. She lives nearby in Kansas.
She was American born of German parents. They got displaced from their family farm in Germany during World War II by the Russians. After World War II they got displaced again by Poland and were sent to Russia Occupied Berlin. Once it was discovered that she was actually a US citizen, she was able to come to America!

#FriendsWithBooks

Sills, JoanehSmith

CoverToCoverGirl That‘s exciting and it sounds very interesting! 3y

tpixie @CoverToCoverGirl yes! They were not pro Nazi. it‘s very interesting to hear about World War II from a German family‘s viewpoint (edited) 3y

CoverToCoverGirl @tpixie I can‘t wait to hear how this goes. Please give us an update. 🙂 3y

tpixie @CoverToCoverGirl ok!!! 3y

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tpixie

Surviving Hitler, Evading Stalin: One Woman's Remarkable Escape from Nazi Germany | Mildred Schindler Janzen, Sherye S. Green

Starting this memoir for my IRL book club #FriendsWithBooks. We are meeting with the author in early April. She lives nearby.
I‘m planning to read as a companion book
The Redhead of Auschwitz
❤️‍🩹💝❤️‍🩹
#WomenInspiringWomen

JoanehSmith

DivineDiana Sounds like a model Book Club! 3y

tpixie @DivineDiana yes! 3y

42 likes2 comments

squirrelbrain

Married to Bhutan: How One Woman Got Lost, Said "I Do," and Found Bliss | Linda Leaming

pick

The author travels to #Bhutan in her early 40s and meets and marries a Buddhist artist.

This became better as it went along. At first the writing was too basic and simplistic, and more about the author than the country. However, we soon start to learn about the customs and people of Bhutan and it became much more interesting. The Bhutanese ways of thinking and viewing the world around them are particularly fascinating.

#readingasia2021

Librarybelle, BarbaraBB

Librarybelle Stacking this one! 3y

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jenniferw88

Speaking Truth to Power | Anita Hill

#12booksof2020 #day5 #fivegoldrings

@Andrew65

390pts #teamreadnosedreindeer #wintergames2020 @StayCurious

Andrew65 Good choice. 4y

56 likes1 comment

Bookwormjillk

Speaking Truth to Power | Anita Hill

pick

I was in high school when the Thomas hearings happened. I picked up this book after seeing it here on Litsy so I could get a little more background than what a typical teenager would get from the evening news. After reading this I am so frustrated that things don‘t seem to have changed yet (but are hopefully heading that way.) Hill was only doing her job, and it changed the course of her life.
#CYOReadathon book 4 #Scarathalon2020 #TeamSlaughter

Clwojick, Sace

51 likes

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Speaking Truth to Power | Anita Hill

After finishing the #TruthToPowerBuddyRead last month, I wondered how she felt about both the Kavanaugh hearings and how she felt about Joe Biden‘s candidacy now....guess that answers one, even for her Trump is a bridge too far.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/05/politics/anita-hill-joe-biden-voting/index.html

GingerAntics I honestly don‘t understand the people who don‘t think Trump takes things way too far. 4y

Bookwormjillk How was that book? I‘m trying to decide what Non- fiction to read next 4y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Bookwormjillk It was very good, especially if you remember the Thomas-Hill hearings. But I found it very informative for how the political process works too... how sexual harassment became more well known and understood... which for me parallels out to #MeToo now and some weird parallels with the Kavanaugh Hearings. 4y

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Bookwormjillk Right now, I‘m reading One Person, No Vote which is very good too if you are interested.

One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy

Bookwormjillk @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Thanks! I‘ll add that to my list as well. I do remember the hearings and had a refresher when reading

Rodham

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Bookwormjillk Then you‘ll probably find it very interesting. I think the only one in the reading group who didn‘t like it was someone who didn‘t know about the case at all. 4y

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Speaking Truth to Power | Anita Hill

pick

So good! This story is frustrating and maddening, but I‘m so glad she wrote it. The parallels with the recent Kavanaugh hearings are numerous, and since Thomas & Kavanaugh are now lifelong coworkers, I can only hope that Hill & Ford can at some point talk because only they truly understand the horrible gauntlet we ask citizens to go through, and the fallout that follows for years afterward as their statements become fodder for partisan politics.⤵️

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Sadly we still haven‘t learned from the past, and neither has the Senate, since they made some of the same mistakes in both cases. I can‘t help but feel that it isn‘t a lack of learning on their part, but a playbook that they now know works to defame any woman who has a complaint in the public and cast the candidate as the victim. Sadly what Hill went through in the Hearings wasn‘t the end, she has dealt with harassment and threats for years ⤵️ 4y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ... afterward, and double standards because anything associated with her name was suddenly a political issue. Through it all Hill remained poised and matter of fact, persevering through more than I can possibly fathom, and because of her Sexual Harassment laws became more defined, more cases came forward, and employers were held accountable. It wasn‘t what she would have chosen for her life, but I can‘t help but be grateful for that outcome. ⤵️ 4y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ...Keep Speaking Truth to Power, it‘s hard, and may cost you everything, but after the gauntlet things can change. 4y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa #TruthToPowerBuddyRead Finishing finally....better late then never. 😉 4y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa #Nonfiction2020 #AboutTheLawCourt 4y

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