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It was my pleasure to meet the author of this book and her husband, fellow full-time RVers, while traveling in southwestern Arizona this Spring.

I was particularly interested in reading Karin's book because my parents also underwent hardships during WWII in the Netherlands, but they were on the "other side".

Childhood Memories transcends "sides". It is a heartfelt and often heartrending account of a family struggling to survive as WWII drew to a close, and during the post-war years. Karin's happy early childhood in Koenigsberg (now Kaliningrad) sets the stage. That all changed when Karin (then age 9), her mother, and her little sister Doris were caught up... More > in the mass evacuation of East Prussia 1944-45.

Reading Karin's book is just like sitting down with her and her husband in the always welcoming area beside their RV, where neighbors and passersby are often invited to sit down for a chat and a glass of red wine. No one can tell this story better than the people who lived it. Reading Childhood Memories, you will be caught up in a world that, depending on your background and your own history, may shock and horrify you, bring tears to your eyes, or both.

No matter what "side" you, your parents, or grandparents were on, seeing WWII through the eyes of a 9-13 year old child who had to grow up very fast, will bring home once again to you the senselessness of wars.

Thank you, Karin, for sharing that difficult time in your life with your readers. < Less

"Re: "
Thanks, Tanja, for this heartfelt review! After having written that book I felt like someone had lifted a weight off my shoulders. It simply had to be done to bring that part of my life to a closure. I could only do it by my simple English which seems to be appropiate for this book because the emphasis is on the happenings rather than a sophisticated memoir. You don't only have to cry when reading, you can also laugh a little. There is always some fun next to pains and hardships. That is life...
I was lucky not to have lost my nearest relatives in that hellish war, neither did Dieter, my husband. He had to flee also from Silesia (Schlesien)and went through similar hardships. We... More > don't have any hard feelings against any country participating in that war. Our only wish is that next generations solve conflicts with diplomacy rather than war. The only real victims of a war are always the civilians and the soldiers giving their lives in combat - never the politicians initiating it. No political reason is enough to wage a war!!
I wish our youth is hearing me, reading my book, to appreciate the good times now, the abundance of food and fun and not wasting any of it.
I am waiting for that "Universal brotherly love" - when not in this lifetime, maybe in my next?? Karin Bartsch. < Less