Publisher's Synopsis
Living an idyllic childhood in 1930s Germany, sisters Ursula and Christa-Maria's world is torn apart in the final months of WW2.
Ursula and her parents must endure the terrifying, lawless and brutal Russian occupation of their hometown, Gleiwitz. A clandestine escape is their only chance of survival and hope of finding Christa-Maria.
Hundreds of miles from home, Christa-Maria is abandoned at a Nazi work camp when it is forced to close as Germany faces defeat.The Russian Army has advanced into south east Germany.She is cut off from her family, not knowing the fate of her parents and sister.Alone, she makes a life-changing decision, taking her on a year-long journey across Czechoslovakia and Germany.
Ursula and Christa-Maria take you on their separate journeys-harrowing and emotional at times, their faith and small acts of kindness shown to them amid the devastation bring hope to their desperate plight.
This compelling true story weaves the sisters' journeys together.Separated as girls, they become young women in a new world order; their innocence lost, their once bright futures in ruins, their relationship changed forever.
Evocative and thought-provoking, No Way Home gives a rarely heard perspective on the lives of ordinary German sisters- from their happy childhood years to the fateful journeys in 1945, these translated diaries are a significant piece of social history. If you enjoy inspirational true stories of courage, faith, survival and resilience of the human spirit, don't miss this unforgettable read.
Author's Note.
Author Elisabeth Dunleavy's mother, Christa-Maria, was reluctant to talk about her war-time experiences, it being too painful to recall and believing no-one would be interested in her story.Elisabeth found her 1945 diary in the bottom of her wardrobe after she died in 2020, never having known of it's existence.This was a complete surprise because, unlike her aunt Ursula, her mother had never alluded to writing a diary although she happily recalled stories about her childhood and life in Gleiwitz in Nazi Germany. Elisabeth has included these in No Way Home to give you the contrast of their lives before and after the war in this enthralling and heartfelt true story
