“As a child of the war in Europe, you must write your remembrances of the war.”, last words spoken to the author by Harold, an 80-year-old veteran of WWII. Sadly, he passed away three weeks later. Madonna on the Bridge would not have been written, had the author not met him. Born in 1937, the author understood Harold’s message. Not that many years are left to write about the war in the avenue, where he grew up with his parents under German occupation. In a private moment with his mother, at age sixteen, the author learned about a family secret, that her father was the offspring of a Circassian beauty, who became pregnant by a professor in the German Reich. He paid no attention to this detail until many years later. In 1961 he completed his military service with the Belgian Army, and in 1963 he immigrated to the USA. He studied at Michigan State University, earning an M.A. in Counseling Psychology. During research on WWII he ran across a footnote about the Circassian people, who had come to the attention of the SS in Germany. German scientists had identified the Circassian ethnic population as the oldest Caucasians on the European Continent. Himmler decided to recruit Circassians for his intelligence operations, recognizing their expertise in secret military operations. However the Allied beat him to the task. While researching the history of the Circassians, the author became fascinated with the richness in culture, tradition and family values. Exceptional courage was their special attribute, exemplified in warfare against the Russians. Writing Madonna on the Bridge has been a journey of passion and hard work shining a light on their unique characteristics of courage and heroism. Are Circassians endowed with a genome that allows them to take on risk at a higher level than other populations? Bert Wouters is a member of the International Thriller Writers, Romance Writers of America, Independent Writers of Southern California, Padre Serra Parish Writers, and the Ventura County Genealogical Society. With the novel Madonna on the Bridge, the writer hopes to solidify the bond between Circassians, engrained with a unified desire to regain their homeland on the shores of the Black Sea. " />  “As a child of the war in Europe, you must write your remembrances of the war.”, last words spoken to the author by Harold, an 80-year-old veteran of WWII. Sadly, he passed away three weeks later. Madonna on the Bridge would not have been written, had the author not met him. Born in 1937, the author understood Harold’s message. Not that many years are left to write about the war in the avenue, where he grew up with his parents under German occupation. In a private moment with his mother, at age sixteen, the author learned about a family secret, that her father was the offspring of a Circassian beauty, who became pregnant by a professor in the German Reich. He paid no attention to this detail until many years later. In 1961 he completed his military service with the Belgian Army, and in 1963 he immigrated to the USA. He studied at Michigan State University, earning an M.A. in Counseling Psychology. During research on WWII he ran across a footnote about the Circassian people, who had come to the attention of the SS in Germany. German scientists had identified the Circassian ethnic population as the oldest Caucasians on the European Continent. Himmler decided to recruit Circassians for his intelligence operations, recognizing their expertise in secret military operations. However the Allied beat him to the task. While researching the history of the Circassians, the author became fascinated with the richness in culture, tradition and family values. Exceptional courage was their special attribute, exemplified in warfare against the Russians. Writing Madonna on the Bridge has been a journey of passion and hard work shining a light on their unique characteristics of courage and heroism. Are Circassians endowed with a genome that allows them to take on risk at a higher level than other populations? Bert Wouters is a member of the International Thriller Writers, Romance Writers of America, Independent Writers of Southern California, Padre Serra Parish Writers, and the Ventura County Genealogical Society. With the novel Madonna on the Bridge, the writer hopes to solidify the bond between Circassians, engrained with a unified desire to regain their homeland on the shores of the Black Sea. " />
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About the Author

Bert C. Wouters
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 “As a child of the war in Europe, you must write your remembrances of the war.”, last words spoken to the author by Harold, an 80-year-old veteran of WWII. Sadly, he passed away three weeks later. Madonna on the Bridge would not have been written, had the author not met him.

Born in 1937, the author understood Harold’s message. Not that many years are left to write about the war in the avenue, where he grew up with his parents under German occupation.

In a private moment with his mother, at age sixteen, the author learned about a family secret, that her father was the offspring of a Circassian beauty, who became pregnant by a professor in the German Reich. He paid no attention to this detail until many years later.

In 1961 he completed his military service with the Belgian Army, and in 1963 he immigrated to the USA. He studied at Michigan State University, earning an M.A. in Counseling Psychology.

During research on WWII he ran across a footnote about the Circassian people, who had come to the attention of the SS in Germany. German scientists had identified the Circassian ethnic population as the oldest Caucasians on the European Continent. Himmler decided to recruit Circassians for his intelligence operations, recognizing their expertise in secret military operations. However the Allied beat him to the task.

While researching the history of the Circassians, the author became fascinated with the richness in culture, tradition and family values. Exceptional courage was their special attribute, exemplified in warfare against the Russians.

Writing Madonna on the Bridge has been a journey of passion and hard work shining a light on their unique characteristics of courage and heroism. Are Circassians endowed with a genome that allows them to take on risk at a higher level than other populations?

Bert Wouters is a member of the International Thriller Writers, Romance Writers of America, Independent Writers of Southern California, Padre Serra Parish Writers, and the Ventura County Genealogical Society.

With the novel Madonna on the Bridge, the writer hopes to solidify the bond between Circassians, engrained with a unified desire to regain their homeland on the shores of the Black Sea.