Among Enemies: A Young Woman's Fight for Survival in Nazi Germany

Based on the Writings of Marguerite Kirchner

by Wanda and Mary Rodgers


Formats

Hardcover
£23.49
£12.60
Softcover
£14.49
£8.10
Hardcover
£12.60

Book Details

Language : English
Publication Date : 08/04/2010

Format : Hardcover
Dimensions : 6x9
Page Count : 224
ISBN : 9781449090562
Format : Softcover
Dimensions : 6x9
Page Count : 224
ISBN : 9781449090555

About the Book

This first-person narrative tells the true story of Marguerite Kirchner, whose multicultural family was living in Germany when WWII began. We have remained as true as possible to Marguerites account which reveals to readers the cruelty of war and the innocence of past generations. As a child, her family lived a luxurious life. Her mother was a French aristocrat, and her father a wealthy Austrian diplomat, and so her story begins. Always defiant, Margie was forced into a labor camp for dissident teenagers. She attended the University of Berlin during the Berlin bombings, became a young teacher in the Polish war zone, was captured as a prisoner of war and escaped, and after the war, worked for the Allied Forces, helping repatriate those who had been displaced. Her story demonstrates cunning and great courage. She went from affluence to poverty and survived the war on her wits alone, dependent on only herself and the skills shed acquired from traveling with her family. Only after the war does she reflect on what her single-minded struggle for survival cost her, and a new journey, of a very different kind, begins.


About the Author

Marguerite Charlotte Kirchner was born on March 13, 1925 in Holland, to an Austrian father and French mother. In this memoir she tells the harrowing story of her life in World War II Germany, where her father moved the family shortly after Hitler came to power.

 

Wanda Rodgers Reynolds discovered Marguerite's writings at an estate sale in Florida. Fascinated by Marguerite's dramatic story and unusual perspective, she compiled the material into chapters and helped prepare them for publication. She is a retired businesswoman living in Winter Park, Florida, and has published her own memoir, Journey to the Son, about adopting a son from India.

 

Mary Rodgers Frazier assisted in compiling and researching Marguerite Kirchner's story. She is a retired French and English teacher and wrote education and training programs for pharmaceutical, manufacturing, printing, and food corporations. She lives in Wheatfield, Indiana, and Palm Bay, Florida.

 

Melanie Wilson edited Ms. Kirchner's original manuscript. She is a social worker, researcher, and writer specializing in child and adolescent well-being. She lives in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire.