Other Times, Other Places

Many photos help tell the story of an idyllic childhood in Greece, with a German mother, a Greek father, a loving grandfather and a seductive maid. War comes in 1940 bringing the horrors of German occupation, followed by a bloody Civil War. Salvation comes in 1947 with a visa to study in America!

In the swirl of nineteen twenties Berlin, Lotte, a young woman eager for life and adventure, falls in love with Niko, an exotic Greek architecture student, and follows him to his native country. Their only child, the adored, cosseted Tician, is born there. The family will soon include Papous, the boy's grandfather and companion; Rosa, the black maid; and later, Kaiti, who introduces Tician to the ways of carnal love. An idyllic childhood comes to an end when Germans occupy Greece. There are cadavers in the street and Nazi teachers in school. The bitter civil war that follows forces the family to flee through combat lines to safety. Three decades of Europe's most explosive time form the background of this memoir. Events range from the 1936 Berlin Olympics and the famous Greek "Oxhi" of 1940, to the horrors of Auschwitz. History becomes personal when the author sees Hitler in Berlin and cheers Churchill in Athens. (With many photographs)

Tician Papachristou came to America in 1947 to study at Princeton University. He and his wife, their children and grandchildren visit Greece annually. They pass through Tician's hometown Athens on their way to their house on the island of Hydra. Taking on his father's profession, Tician became an architect, practicing throughout the U.S. and on four continents. He lives in western Massachusetts with Judy, his wife of 62 years.