The Black Beret

The Black Beret combines historical and military facts with fascinating fiction to create an unforgettable story of human courage and determination in the face of overwhelming adversity.

The book describes growing up in Germany after the Second World War and how the protagonist becomes a Black Beret in the German Armoured Reconnaissance Battalions and being stationed at the Iron Curtain for many years. It describes the political atmosphere in Europe at that time combined with a story of how a young woman escapes from East Germany to the West, a very dangerous undertaking.

Martin P. Hederich is a retired Captain of the German Armed Forces who immigrated to Canada in 1984. He has a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Hamburg, Germany. Martin grew up in the Fifties and Sixties in post-war Germany. He has extensive first-hand knowledge about the social and political situation in Central Europe during the Cold War. He was wearing the “Black Beret” himself as an Officer with the elite German Armoured Reconnaissance Battalions while stationed at the Iron Curtain for many years. Martin and his wife Sheila live with their three dogs in a historical log cabin on a farm in central Ontario.