How did a young woman survive the onslaught of Hitler’s war machine in Germany during WWII? I was inspired to write this book after meeting her and finding out that she was in the Hitler youth. Even more surprising was her agreement to tell her story to me. She didn’t think she had done anything special during the war.

This true-story was written for fourteen-year-olds and adults who are interested in a German perspective of WWII. It is a true story.

Thanks to Author’s Lounge for highlighting her journey.

Amid the rise of the Democratic Party in Germany, a young woman defies the odds and survives the turbulent times of 1938-1946. Inspired by the incredible story of a woman who, despite her affiliation with the Hitler Youth, proved to be the kindest person the author had ever met. GERTI’S WAR delves into her extraordinary every- day experiences.

Set in a close-knit family in a small Bavarian village, fourteen-year-old Gerti cherishes her bond with her older brother, Rolf. Her mother serves as a midwife, while her father works as an accountant for the city manager. Although pressured to join the party, her father chooses to serve the community by running the local branch of the Red Cross. However, tragedy strikes when Rolf, a hero who saved a boy from drowning, succumbs to pneumonia at sixteen, shattering their idyllic life.

Gerti’s world is transformed, including her education and after-school activities. The League of German Girls (BDM) supplants her beloved girl scout club, imposing strict mandates, marching drills, and demanding volunteer work at the Post Office, forcing Gerti into arduous twelve-hour days. However, a chance encounter with an officer’s wife seeking a nanny alters her course. This opportunity fulfills Gerti’s aspirations someday to have children of her own. Yet, when jealousy erupts from the wife, Gerti is banished to grueling conditions at a large state farm camp, another BDM requirement. The separation from her loving family amplifies the hardship she faces.

Gerti spent five months in field work, and then moved to a transcription team to record weather information for the military. Amidst the relentless bombing raids and strict regulations, she falls in love with Sigi, an enlisted man. Gerti winds up in Berlin, witnessing the city’s destruction in the last two years of the war. Finding solace in her work for a food distribution network when not operating the top-secret enigma machine, she narrowly evades capture by the Russians. She makes her way to the American sector, where she is labeled a prisoner of war.

Following months in the camp, Gerti’s journey home has her walking through the devastation of Germany. She doesn’t know if her family has survived and collapses into her mother’s arms when she finally gets there. The post-war era greets her family with scarcity, rationing, and the obligation to house displaced families. She gets a letter from Sigi, but he has nothing to offer her for a future and asks her to get on with her life.

The book’s final chapters transports readers to the early 1980s, where Gerti, now a widow, assists a pen-pal in securing a job in the area. Grateful for her kindness, the pen-pal embarks on a mission to reunite Gerti with her lost love from the war. Sigi and Gerti met and fell in love again after forty-six years.

Gerti’s War offers readers a poignant and unvarnished portrayal of the harsh realities of war, transcending national boundaries to depict a narrative where no one truly emerges victorious.

Publishing Gerti’s War was a promise made to Gerti during the last months of her life. I feel I have captured the essence of his remarkable woman who maintained a positive outlook on life.

Lois Buchter is an artist and writer who loves telling reluctant hero stories. Gerti’s War is her first book. More information can be found on her website LoisBuchter.com, and social media platforms of Twitter (@LoisBuchter), Facebook (LoisBuchter – author), and Instagram/Thread @loisbuchter. 

Gerti’s War can be found on Amazon and other book platforms.