Once We Were Family

ONCE WE WERE FAMILY (In Nazi Germany) NOVEL Berlin, 1935. Thirteen-year-old Annalise belongs to a middle-class family of six children. Unaware of the evils of Nazism until it is too late, her parents struggle to keep the family together while facing daily threats of betrayal. The atmosphere is thick with mistrust and loss. Annalise loses her best friend and childhood crush to the encroaching specter of bigotry and Nazism. Her brother Hans is forced to join the Nazi youth and prepare for war. The two youngest children, twins, are indoctrinated by the Nazis and become a threat as informers. Her oldest sister flirts with young Gestapo agents, exposing the family to further scrutiny. Annalise grows into womanhood during Hitler's reign. She is exposed to Russian soldiers while trying to save the children of her cousin, who is brutally murdered toward the end of the war. She grapples with the loss of family members and loved ones. Annalise will leave her childhood home. Will she find love? Will she find resolution from the sins of her past and start a new life? This is a story of hope in the face of evil, that asks the question of how people can function in a society that turns so barbaric. How does a society embrace a monster and then, cannot, or is unwilling to, fight for decency? For Annalise, is there redemption after all?

ONCE WE WERE FAMILY (In Nazi Germany) NOVEL Berlin, 1935. Thirteen-year-old Annalise belongs to a middle-class family of six children. Unaware of the evils of Nazism until it is too late, her parents struggle to keep the family together while facing daily threats of betrayal. The father is a professor at the University of Berlin who watches all his Jewish comrades fired. Annalise loses her best friend and childhood crush. Her brother Hans is forced to join the Nazi Youth and prepare for combat. He will be destroyed by his actions in the war. Annalise will be an assault victim of the Russian invasion of Berlin as she tries to save the children of her cousin who is raped and murdered by Russian soldiers. The two youngest children, twins, will be indoctrinated (from the age six to twelve) in the Nazi program. Father and Annalise will try to teach these children not to hate Jews, but the risk of being turned in is very high. The oldest son lands a job as a journeyman architect under a man close to Hitler, Albert Speer. The oldest daughter flirts with young men of the Gestapo exposing the family to further scrutiny. Mother, a dressmaker, is forced to sew for the wives of Nazi officers. The atmosphere is thick with mistrust and loss. At the end of the war, the family is hopeful for a new beginning. Annalise will leave her childhood home to start over. More tragedy will follow. Will she find love? Will she find resolution from the sins of her past and start a new life? This is a story of hope in the face of evil, that asks the question of how people can function in a society that turns so barbaric. How does a society embrace a monster and then, cannot, or is unwilling to, fight for decency? For Annalise, is there redemption after all?