{"product_id":"to-lose-a-war-memories-of-a-german-girl","title":"To Lose a War: Memories of a German Girl","description":"\u003cp\u003eMartin Blumenson refers to this book as a sensitive  beautifully written personal memoir  and calls it a contribution to understanding  particularly to Americans who know little of how World War II and its immediate aftermath disrupted the lives of those who survived the defeat of Germany. Vividly  humanly  Shelton tells her story from the point of view of a teen-age German girl  one who witnessed her countrys surge to power and who felt the ignominy of both Germany and Germans after the fall. She reaches a point during the war when Sometimes the way we now live seems unreal  as if we were marionettes  with orders and permits and schedules attached to us instead of strings. But after the defeat of Germany life gets considerably worse. The victorious Russians evict the natives from their homes. They sneer and leer at the women who must venture forth for food. In this defeated land the nights become unbearably long; without any physical activity by day  sleep refuses to come. I yearn for sleep  be it temporary or eternal. Death is becoming a friend; the enemy has a new name now: Rape. Then comes the dreaded order to evacuate all Germans from Lower Silesia: How can a whole people be uprooted  disowned  tossed aside like useless flotsamhow? With the stroke of a pen  with a new line drawn on a map  we are sentenced to homelessness. Not knowing where they will be sent  they plod out into darkness and cold with the other Germans  their worldly goods reduced to what they can carry. Embittered  they are herded into vermin-infested freight cars  still unaware of their destination.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44986977976373,"sku":"ByrdShop_0809310740","price":226.15,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780809310746.jpg?v=1770922070","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/to-lose-a-war-memories-of-a-german-girl","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}