Slipping the Noose

The book tells two complimentary stories about events at the end of World War II in Germany. Eva describes how her large Mennonite family flees from their farm in East Prussia, pursued by the Russian army, to settle in the west of Germany. In interesting detail, she describes the hardships and the kindness they received while trekking for two month in horse-drawn wagons through war-torn Germany, often slipping out of the Russian noose. Occasionally, she recounts memories of her childhood and shares the difficulties of starting new careers. Helmut, a young soldier, starts on an adventurous, dangerous journey from his military hospital in West Germany. He hitchhikes to his home village in East Prussia in search of his mother. In gripping detail, he describes life-threatening confrontations with Russian soldiers who now occupy his home country. Later he is expelled from his home by Polish militia and escapes from being jailed in a Polish labor camp.