This fascinating chronicle of daily life in Germany during World War 2, as well as the life of the part of the family that emigrated to the US, is compiles from hundreds of letters and postcards sent between members of the Langer family and their friends from 1939 to 1945.
Although Helene (Nene) Langer was baptized and confirmed Protestant, her Jewish heritage thrust her and the rest of the family into the swirling pot of the Holocaust's injustice and persecution. In the mid-1930's, long before the war had started, livelihoods and lives of family members and friends had been threatened and lost. By the time war was declared in 1939, Gerhard (their 15 year old son) was "visiting" the US with good friends of the Langers (who exited Germany due to their political convictions and actions, ) Nene had been arrested and released, and Nene's Jewish adoptive mother was receiving official mail with directives regulating her daily living.
As the political noose tightened around the Langer family in the 1940's, they continued to pursue options that would allow them to maintain some kind of quality of life. Life changing decisions had to be made between what seemed to be only a variety of poor choices. Some decisions cost them dearly, others worked out well. In time the goal was simply to stay alive, which not all members of the family were able to accomplish.
As the tide turned for Germany in the war, train travel and mail connections deteriorated. Wilhelm went for weeks without knowing if his daughters had lived through the lastest air raids in the cities where they lived. Food became scare and heating was minimal. Since the Langer's home had not been damaged by bombings, at the end of 1944 Wilhelm was informed that he should expect to house 7 refugees along with his 10 other assorted renters. Half of them would share the same bathroom and 12 would use the same kitchen.
Once the war ended a whole new set of circumstances kept everyone on edge. The Americans occupied the Langer's hometown initially, but within a few weeks rumors circulated that the area would become part of the Russian sector. Citizens were not kept well informed, so tension ran high.
As the devastation of the war engulfed the Langers in Jena, Gerhard Langer was creating a new life in the US where he finished high school and college, and eventually joined the US Army. At the time of his high school graduation, the US entered the war and the Langers were not longer able to communicate directly with him. It was many years before they reestablished communication and learned of each others fates during the war.
