Talkshow Thursday: Welcome Back, Aubrey Reiss Taylor

From Writing to Reenacting

A Guest Post

I’ve mulled over the idea of getting involved with a living history group for years. Finally, this year, I took the plunge. Just when I was about to ask myself what I could possibly be thinking, I found it to be a perfect complement to what I’m already doing.

All of my World War II novels are written from the German perspective, so naturally, I joined a group that portrays a German unit from WWII. Remaining true to history, I can’t reenact as a soldier, but I can portray a female civilian or a member of the women’s auxiliary.

It is easy to see how this will infuse new life into my imagination. To be able to handle the things they used and the clothes they wore, to listen to stories of their tactical events, which, like combat, take place regardless of the weather, in sun, wind, rain, snow, heat, cold—you get the idea.

Reenacting makes everything tangible, which is something period photos, wartime footage, and war movies can’t do. Seeing and hearing the boys talk and joke with each other makes everything so much more vivid. Eighty-plus years later, it is the closest thing we have to real-time experience.

I have great respect for reenactors because many of them take their craft very seriously. The ones who

don’t usually don’t last too long. The ones who stick around are always learning, always improving their “kit” (accoutrements), and if they are soldiers, they are rising through the ranks, receiving awards, and being stretched in new ways. They strive to make things as real as possible, albeit with blanks in their weapons. It is an activity even some veterans enjoy, and from what I understand, when German WWII reenacting was in its infancy, there were even veterans of the war who wanted to participate.

Everyone has something to offer, and their knowledge or specialty differs from that of the person next to them. For someone like me, who does not have a specialty but desires a broad understanding of many things, I am grateful for their knowledge.

Some of the youngest reenactors are barely in their teens. They are not even able to participate officially, and yet they are willing to put their phones away for a weekend and sink into something completely different from what most kids their age are doing. (You have to know that many people who reenact as Germans receive pushback from their families or peers—and the younger reenactors are not exempt from this.)

This brings me to what I feel is the most important point. There’s still so much we don’t understand about World War II, and I am passionate about bridging these gaps. The younger generations are interacting with things differently than previous generations, and asking questions we cannot answer. They are willing to overlook the stereotypes, assumptions, and stigmas attached to the war. They know history has been written by the victors and are hungry for an objective viewpoint.

True, there is a concern that young people might swing too far in the wrong direction, but that’s less likely when the adults nearby have already worked through the uncomfortable questions and are willing to take the time to share what they’re learning. And the truth is, sometimes, the youths already see things clearly. We can learn from them as well.

As for my books, they don’t cater to a younger crowd. My hope is that they provide adult readers with food for thought, and facilitate more conversations about the things we still don’t understand.

About Sani: The German Medic (Second Edition):

Can a young man born in America navigate between his family’s fears and the enthusiasm he encounters as he returns to his ancestral homeland?

Raised in a German-American community, Frederick cannot resist the pull of the Fatherland. America is in the depths of the Great Depression, yet Germany is thriving under Adolf Hitler. A sense of opportunity draws him back to Europe, and together with his new friend Fritz, he volunteers for the German Army.

Though Frederick anticipates adventure and camaraderie, he experiences a continent plunging into war. His new friends say he can’t possibly understand their perspective. Can an army chaplain help bridge the gap? Or does the man hold a secret that will only devastate Frederick further?

About the Book: Maintaining the heart of the original story with updated text and a more comprehensive view of the period, Aubrey Taylor Books invites you to experience Sani: The German Medic again, or for the first time!

Links:

Website: www.aubreytaylorbooks.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aubreytaylorbooks
Substack: https://aubreytaylorbooks.substack.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/54029024.Aubrey_Reiss_Taylor
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Aubrey-Taylor/author/B0973KWXV8

Purchase Links for Sani: The German Medic:
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GZ8FTX1D
eBook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GKQ7MBY6

Photo Credits:

Author photo and book imager: Courtesy Aubrey Reiss Taylor

German soldiers/motorcycle: Pixabay/Cico Zeljko

German soldiers/truck: Pixabay/Southtree

Wartime Wednesday: Sweden During World War II

Wartime Wednesday: 

Sweden During WWII

Sweden (formerly the Kingdom of Sweden) is located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe bordering Norway, Finland, and the North and Baltic Seas. It is the largest of the Nordic countries and by area and population, the fifth-largest country in Europe. The capital is Stockholm, and intriguingly, a whopping 88% of the population lives in urban areas. Sweden’s history goes back thousands of years.

During World War II, Sweden declared its neutrality, but scholars argue if that is the case. Before the war commenced, Germany had over 130 corporations in Sweden, and there was some number of firms that were thought to be financed by German Corporations of German nationals such as Siemens and I.G. Farben. There were also almost two hundred Swedish corporation that had “an identity of interest” with German corporations such as patent and trademark agreements, contractual agreements, and representation of German companies through Swedish sales agencies. Two sources indicate that German “influence was significant in the following Swedish industries: iron-ore and mining, coal import and distribution, machine and machine tool manufacture, forestry, shipbuilding, and steel.

Germany was allowed to mine the Öresund channel which thwarted Allied shipping. Germans were also

permitted to use Swedish facilities and the Swedish cipher to send secret messages to its overseas embassies. In addition, citizens could volunteer to fight alongside German troops. On the other hand, Sweden aided the Norwegian resistance in many ways including the creation of training camps along their mutual borders, claiming the camps were for police training. In 1943, Sweden helped rescue Danish Jews from deportation to concentration camps. Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg and his colleagues also worked to save Hungarian Jews.

The Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union began in November 1939, and Sweden declared itself a “non-belligerent” in this conflict as well, however, sent financial aid, medicine, food, clothing, and weapons to Finland, and laid mines to deter Soviet submarines.

Both the Allies and Germany blockaded Sweden during the war, dropping trade with Britain by seventy percent and causing a dearth of food and supplies for its citizens. Rationing of fuels and food commenced, and fuel substitutes were created such as wood gas for motor vehicles and shale oil for bunker oil. The Soviet Union bombed Sweden, but by all reports, no one was killed in the events.

As a result of the bombings, the government ordered all residents to empty all contents from their attics to prevent large fires. Valuables from historic buildings were moved outside the cities, and the sculpture group Saint George and the Dragon was disassembled and moved underground.

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A Lesson in Love

He thinks he’s too old. She thinks she’s too young. Can these teachers learn that love defies all boundaries?

Born and raised in London, Isobel Turvine knows nothing about farming, but after most of the students in her school evacuate during Operation Pied Piper, she’s left with little to do. Then her friend Margery talks her into joining the Women’s Land Army, and she finds herself working the land at a manor home in Yorkshire that’s been converted to a boys’ school. A teacher at heart, she is drawn to the lads, but the handsome yet stiff-necked headmaster wants her to stick to farming.

Left with an arm that barely works from the last “war to end all wars,” Gavin Emerson agrees to take on the job of headmaster when his school moves from London to Yorkshire, but he’s saddled with the quirky manor owner, bickering among his teachers, and a gaggle of Land Army girls who have turned the grounds into a farm. When the group’s blue-eyed, raven-haired leader nearly runs him down in a car, he admonishes her to stay in the fields, but they are thrown together at every turn. Can he trust her not to break his heart?

Purchase Link:  https://amzn.to/3YHgUb0

Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden_during_World_War_II
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYXfUXOEhKI
https://www.archives.gov/research/holocaust/finding-aid/civilian/rg-84-sweden.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internment_camps_in_Sweden_during_World_War_II
https://wwv.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%206061.pdf
https://www.norwegianamerican.com/sweden-and-norway-during-world-war-ii/
https://www.historyisnowmagazine.com/blog/2017/12/18/was-sweden-really-neutral-in-world-war-two

Photo Credits:
Soldier: Courtesy History is Now Magazine
Map of Sweden: Google maps
St. George and the Dragon statue: By Ässet12 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Talkshow Thursday: Welcome Back, Aubrey Taylor

Talkshow Thursday: 

Welcome Back, Aubrey Taylor

The original German versions of our most well-loved fairy tales often end tragically, unlike the retellings we are used to. Happily Ever After isn’t my forte either, and as an author of German-perspective World War II fiction, there is only so much happiness one can scrounge up by the last years of the war, with hunger, devastation, disillusionment, and hundreds of thousands of German men in POW camps.

My novella Schneewittchen combines elements of the German fairy tale we know as Snow White with elements of more modern retellings. Then, it brings the story to Germany in 1944.

Snow White is a story about a girl with a pure heart who has been driven into the forest by terrible circumstances. In my version, Gerda Gatzke is sent from East Prussia, where the war draws ever nearer to her doorstep, to a smallholding in rural Bavaria, far away from the front. Her task? To provide help to six brothers and their ailing mother.

A threat on Gerda’s life soon causes her charges to become her protectors.

As the oldest of seven boys, Thomas Jodl is already away from home, serving his country. He has heard

of Gerda’s sweet spirit through his mother’s letters, and it is no surprise that he has already begun to fall in love with her. She, in turn, has heard about Thomas’s strength and kindness—and secretly adores the ever-present photo of him on the mantle.

One wonders what causes the hero and heroine of a fairy tale to fall in love (and often get married) so quickly. It is understandable, coming from modern readers, but it is also worth noting that quick marriages were not uncommon in wartime. People knew they were not guaranteed tomorrow. Though Thomas was not directly involved in combat, Gerda had every reason to believe that he would be taken as a prisoner of war eventually.

German POWs had different trajectories based on a multitude of factors. Most of the men who were taken into captivity on the Eastern Front (Russia) did not make it home. On the other hand, many who came to America were treated well, and some even moved to America after their release.

The Allies also made efforts to separate regular soldiers from those deemed to be unrepentant “Nazis,” and often, SS men were treated more harshly than members of the German Army, no questions asked.

Though Thomas bore a “blood group” tattoo under his arm indicating that he was a member of the SS, his character was evident, and there was no doubt about his innocence when it came to the atrocities for which the Germans were being accused. As a POW, he spent time in the USA and was then sent to England to help with rebuilding.

When Thomas and Gerda finally get their Happily Ever After, it doesn’t look like the sparkling endings we see in fairy tale movies. Rather, it is true to life. I hope that it reminds readers that finding happiness (or rather, joy, which has far greater value) is a choice, especially when everything around you has fallen apart. Thomas says:

[Gerda] shakes her head. “I’m all right, Thomas. What I went through was difficult, but what others went through was so much worse. If my experience makes me more sensitive to those around me, then it was absolutely worth it.”

Drawing her close with my free arm, I breathe a prayer and thank God for the woman He’s given me. If other people learn to love the way my Gerda does, there will be hope for us all.

__________________

Schneewittchen: A Retelling of the Snow White Story Set in WWII Germany

Gerda Gatzke is unsure whether life on a Bavarian homestead with six boys and an ailing woman is right for her, but she is determined to get away from her stepmother, and from the war that draws ever closer to her doorstep.

With little more than the clothes on her back and a treasured family heirloom, she arrives at the disheveled smallholding only to discover that she is no safer there than she was at home. The boys who were initially her charges soon become her protectors.

With his mother’s illness growing worse and his family in danger, Thomas Jodl determines to return home for the first time in five years. His heart is warmed by the kind-hearted young woman who has come to care for his mother and six brothers.

Thomas does not hesitate to place himself in danger, but when the threat neutralized, a new question arises: what will become of any of them once the war is lost?

Schneewittchen is one of four novellas in A Worthy Love: A Collection of Historical Fairytale Retellings, Part of Fairy Tale Frenzy from Beyond the Bookery. A Worthy Love also includes stories from Aliana Jane, Liz Chapman, and Rebecca Lange.

Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3I9i35T

About Aubrey

Aubrey Reiss Taylor unites a fascination for history with a passion for redemption, creating a unique brand of gritty, honest wartime sagas, written from the German perspective. She is the mother of three, and married to her best friend Brian. When she’s not writing or taking care of home and family, she enjoys making music, dancing, reading, and spending time with friends.

Connect!
Website: www.aubreytaylorbooks.com
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Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Aubrey-Taylor/author/B0973KWXV8

Photo credits:

Author and book images: Courtesy of Aubrey Taylor

Soldiers on Motorcycle: Pixabay/Istvan Karoly Bocs

Prison Camp: Courtesy Kansas State Historical Society

Talkshow Thursday: Welcome back, Aubrey Taylor!

Talkshow Thursday: 

A Guest Post by Aubrey Taylor

Almost from the beginning, fatherhood emerged as a central theme in my writing. In all four of my published works, there are young men who have grown up with a father who was either absent or abusive. I wonder if that has grown out of a perceived need for strong, godly men in our world today. How can a man grow up to be strong and solid when he has lacked that role model in his life?

As an author of historical fiction, of course, I am well aware that in every generation, there have been men (and women) who have had to face life without a strong father figure.

My Gott Mit Uns Series is a saga of a German and German-American family set during the first half of the 20th Century. In the first book in the series, Sani: The German Medic, we meet American-born Frederick Smith, whose father left to fight in the Great War and never came home. Frederick’s mother didn’t remarry until long after he had grown up and was himself caught up in another war.

The German branch of the family experienced something vastly different. Along with the political

Photo Credit: Pixabay

turmoil that plagued his homeland, Ernst Schmidt grew up alongside two older brothers who were heirs to the family name and tradition, while he was rejected by a philandering father and a resentful mother. By the time he came to understand the reason for their closed hearts, he had already passed the family legacy on to his son Jakob.

Jakob “Helmuth” Schmidt was raised by a doting grandmother. Still, he could not step out of the shadows cast onto his life by his father and grandfather. When finally he begins to bond with another relative who treats him with dignity and respect, that man deserts him as well, confirming to young, impressionable Jake that all Schmidt men are prone to avoiding their problems and abandoning those they love.

Jakob is not simply facing life without a father figure. He is coming of age at the beginning of the darkest years of German history. With other young adults, the once-shy piano prodigy rides high on the emotional tidal wave drummed up at Hitler Youth rallies, and he begins to realize that he can be someone different—someone with pride, prestige, and power. He basks in the status given him by his uniform, but underneath, he is falling into despair, alcoholism, and psychosis, carrying with him a deep hatred toward all the men in his life. The violence demanded by his career cannot satiate his need for catharsis or revenge.

The “sins of the fathers” is a thread woven through many family stories, and ultimately, it was woven into our stories as far back as Adam and Eve. That is why we are each ultimately responsible for our own sin: we all have it, regardless of its magnitude or visibility in our lives.

Pixabay/Gerd Altmann

Only one Person has ever held the power to break the chain of destruction, and that is why I could not leave Jake Schmidt without hope. In a moment that ties the entire Gott Mit Uns Series together, Jakob is reminded of the greatness of God’s love and mercy. He no longer attempts to justify his behavior by blaming others or faulting God for allowing evil into his life, but acknowledges his own sin and rebellion before God. When asked if he still believes Jesus is his Savior, he humbly acknowledges in repentance, “If He’ll have me.” The promise of Jesus is that, through His blood, God will always receive a truly repentant sinner.

______________________

About Sani: The German Medic

Can a soldier stand for his country without bowing his knee to evil?

American-born Frederick Smith has left everything he’s ever known to return to his German homeland. While he tries to remain uninvolved in the terror that surrounds him, his thirst for adventure and camaraderie draw him into the army of the Third Reich.

Spurred by the friendship of the Battalion Chaplain and a newfound faith, Freddie begins to find a new meaning in the words Gott Mit Uns (God with us). But as tide of the war turns, his closest comrades begin to fall. Will he live to serve Germany?

Whether you love resistance fiction or war stories, you won’t want to miss this story from behind German lines!

Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3t1Nw2p  

***

About the Series: The words Gott Mit Uns (God With Us) were used as a slogan of the German military for nearly 100 years. In this fictional family saga, you are invited to follow the Schmidt boys and the women who love them, as they try desperately to hold on to each other, to their faith, and to their love for Germany during the nation’s volatile 20th Century.

Connect!
Website: www.aubreytaylorbooks.com
Blog: www.aubreytaylorbooks.com/blog
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Talkshow Thursday: Meet Aubrey Taylor

Talkshow Thursday: Meet Aubrey Taylor

LM: Welcome! Congratulations on your upcoming release The Prodigal Sons, Gott Mit Uns, Book 2. I can't wait to read it. The premise of your book is fascinating – there don’t seem to be many WWII novels written from the German viewpoint. What was your inspiration for the story? How many books can we expect in the series?

Aubrey: Thank you, Linda! In March 2021, I was contemplating how I was going to reconcile my growing appreciation for our family’s German heritage with our upcoming homeschool study of the world wars. While these are not YA books, that’s where the inspiration began. It was almost as if God tapped me on the shoulder and gave me the concept for my first novel, Sani: The German Medic. I hadn’t written creatively in decades. Was I willing to take a step of faith?

In the process of writing that first book, there were characters whose lives ended during the war, yet I just wasn’t ready to let go of them. I had also fallen in love with the Schmidt family. As I prayed more about the whole concept, I knew that I was going to create a family saga. The Prodigal Sons (TPS) goes back to 1923, with a prologue set in 1915, and really sets the stage to allow the reader to better understand the Schmidt boys.

As far as books in the series, I’m hoping for at least 4, but I actually have concepts for Schmidts and close family friends all the way into the future. We’ll see what develops.

LM: What research did you do for the story, and is there a particularly intriguing tidbit you knew had to be included?

Aubrey: To truly understand the experience of the German people, you have to go back centuries.

Pixabay/Alexander Naumann

What a fascinating and sometimes tragic history they have. I began with a book called Germany: Memories of a Nation, and I continue to explore the more distant past when I have time, although most of my research for TPS centered specifically on the Weimar Republic and the origins of the Third Reich. I’ve read parts or all of memoirs written by former soldiers of the Wehrmacht, members of the Hitler Youth, and the SS, as well as The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich and various other in-depth histories. I do a lot of internet research, listen to podcasts and, most blessedly, talk to dear people I know who lived through the tragic past or who have researched it in-depth themselves. Also, my husband and I spent three wonderful weeks in Germany this past summer!

LM: In addition to writing, you homeschool and are involved in ministry. How do you balance your responsibilities?

Aubrey: I actually don’t homeschool anymore, though I did for six years. I loved every minute of it, but the Lord knows how much I can balance, and when He made it clear that He was calling me to be an author, he impressed on my heart that it was time for us to place our children in school. He’d whispered to my heart years ago that my oldest would attend school in sixth grade. That’s exactly when all this happened!

That said, there is not a dull moment. I do lead worship at church a few times a month, I’m involved in a German choir, and have also been learning a lot of German and popular songs to join my choir director for some of her other gigs (she’s an incredible singer and accordion player!)… I have to start each day bringing my priorities before God, and place special emphasis on the things I know He’s brought into my life. Sometimes it means saying ‘no’ to other things!

LM: Tell us about your road to publication.

Aubrey: Like many authors, I wrestled with the idea that I had to be formally published before deciding to go with KDP. What it came down to for me was feeling that it was more important to find ways to share the things God had placed in my heart, rather than wait in the hopes of gaining broader publication which may never come. I would rather do a little networking and legwork (which has actually been fun) and trust God to get the book where it needs to go. I’ve been amazed at how far it has gone. There are so many opportunities for authors online, such as your blog!

LM: What do you do to prepare for writing? (e.g., listen to music, set up in a certain place)

Aubrey: Most importantly, I try to spend time reading my Bible and in prayer before I write. That doesn’t always happen! When inspiration hits, I have to get it down, even if it means using the voice recorder on my phone. I carry my Schmidt family in my heart all the time. I used to play music while I was writing, but now that I know them so well, whenever I’m listening to music, even if I’m cooking, cleaning, or in the car, phrases will catch me and I can feel their hearts or their circumstances. I see them in my reading and in every period film I watch. In some ways, I live as much in their world as I do in my own. My 10-year-old thinks I’m weird, but I hope it makes the story better!

LM: What is one thing you wish you could do?

Aubrey: Someday, I would love to see some or all of the GMU books translated into German.

LM: What advice do you have for fledgling writers?

Aubrey: Just write, every day. If you’re working on a novel, just write. You can pull stuff out of the manuscript later (and don’t be afraid to – I have a separate folder on my computer entitled “Not Ready to Delete” where I put all the stuff I’ve pulled out!) Also, people need to read your story. Unless God has really made it clear to you that you need to seek formal publishing, indie publishing is an option and is not as hard as you think. Don’t worry about the size of your audience, or compare yourself with anyone else. Yes, there are a lot of books out there, but yours isn’t just white noise. If He’s given you something to say, He will make sure it is heard.

LM: Where can folks find you on the web?

Aubrey: I have a website at http://www.aubreytaylorbooks.com. It’s still very “homegrown,” but you can subscribe separately to both my newsletter and my blog, as well as access the first few chapters of Sani for free. When it releases, I hope to put an excerpt from TPS up there as well.

My social links are:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aubreytaylorbooks/
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/aubreytaylorbooks/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/aubtaybooks

About The Prodigal Sons:

Weimar Germany, 1923. A father, a son, and a cousin.

Ernst was born too late to fight alongside his brothers in the Great War. An alcoholic and brawler, he finds his place in Germany’s postwar struggle by throwing in his lot with the burgeoning Nazi Party. Yet the failed Putsch attempt brings him home to stay for the first time in years.

Jakob is a young prodigy and church musician who wants nothing more than to spend time with his childhood sweetheart and live a quiet life of service to God. Yet this is not the world he was born into.

Friedrich is a German-American who remained in Germany after fighting with the Allies in the Great War. After healing from a life-threatening injury sustained in October 1918, he’s become a devoted husband and man of God who is loved and admired by all. Yet can there truly be forgiveness for the sins of a past that continues to haunt him?

Written as a prelude to Sani: The German Medic, this book stands on its own or can be read in sequence, bringing the reader deeper into the history of the fictional Schmidt family as they wrestle through the tumultuous Twentieth Century in Germany.

Pre-order Link: https://amzn.to/3T4ovLD

Traveling Tuesday: German Resistance

Traveling Tuesday: German Resistance 

Photo: Pixabay/
Brigette Werner

Talking about the German WWII home front is tricky. Even after almost eighty years, the topic can produce strong emotions and opinions. But the bottom line is that the German people suffered, and many of them felt “sucker punched” by Hitler and the ensuing conflict. 

It can be difficult to imagine how Hitler made it into power, but one must study the surrounding circumstances. The German people were humiliated after The Great War (now WWI). They had been dragged into a war they didn’t want, and were embarrassed by the outcome. They were told they couldn’t build a military which made them feel defenseless. Millions of families had lost sons, fathers, brothers, and other relatives. Inflation was so bad that a wheelbarrow full of Reichsmarks wouldn’t buy a loaf of bread, and unemployment was at an all-time high. 

Rather than the two-party system common in the United States, there were multiple parties pushing their agendas in the decade and a half before WWII. Most touted their ability to solve the public’s financial troubles and rebuild the nation into a country its citizens could be proud of. Because of the number of parties in the election, the vote was splintered, meaning that a “majority” win by a particular party wasn’t truly a majority - they simply came out on top with the most votes. 

Like him or hate him, Hitler was a charismatic speaker, and he toured the country far and wide before the election, rallying the people to his party’s rhetoric. Knowing that food shortages had destroyed civilian morale and disorders and riots were factors in the Kaiser’s abdication, Hitler sought to convince the German people that should his party be elected, life would improve a hundred-fold. He even claimed he had no desire to go to war again, although anyone who’d studied his book, Mein Kampf, would have known differently. 

Once elected, Hitler stressed the successes of his party to regain the Saarland, remilitarizing the Rhineland, uniting with Austria, and reclaiming the Sudetenland. By 1939, he knew he could begin to execute his plans to take Germany into war and contrived a story that allowed him to attack Poland, setting off a war that would absorb nearly every country on earth. 

What many people don’t realize is that there was German resistance to Hitler and his nefarious plans. A group of young people known as the Edelweiss Pirates attacked members of Hitler Youth and sang anti-Nazi songs. They also managed to kill a Nazi chief. Nearly 800 of these youth were arrested and twelve were publicly hanged as a result. Another group, called The White Rose published anti-Nazi leaflets and protested at Nazi events. Wing Youth and Jazz Youth groups were formed as well. Adults also protested, hid Jew and other “undesirables,” and helped downed airmen to escape. Opposition also came from the church leaders such as Martin Bormann and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and interestingly, Hitler allowed them to denounce his activities until well into the war. 

Photo: WikiImages

There were two efforts to remove Hitler during the war. After plans were drawn up to attack France, Admiral Canaris staged a coup because he thought the attack would fail. Instead support for the plan fizzled, and Hitler remained in power. In July 1944, a group of Army officers tried to assassinate Hitler and replace him with a government led by General Beck. The bomb did not kill Hitler, and those involved were executed immediately. Field Marshal Erwin von Rommel was accused of being associated with the assassination attempt and forced to commit suicide as punishment. It would not be until May 1945 that Hitler would realize his Thousand-Year Reich would not come to fruition and killed himself.

________________

About Love's Belief

Midwife Pia Hertz and her mother Sabine have been delivering babies long before the Nazis came to power. Now, the Third Reich has implemented mandates that require Jewish babies and other “undesirables” to be killed as part of The Final Solution. Is Pia’s new faith in Christ strong enough to defy the laws of man?

Despite the agony of the injury at the Battle of Drøbak Sound that took his arm, Dieter Fertig is relieved he’s no longer part of Hitler’s army. He returns to Berlin and discovers Jews are being deported by the thousands. When he realizes the Nuremburg Laws require his best friend’s baby girl to be killed, he must find a way to spirit the child out of Germany before the Nazis discover her existence. 

Inspired by the biblical story of Shiprah and Puah, the midwives who saved Jewish babies during Pharaoh’s reign, Love’s Belief shows how one person’s actions can change the world.

Purchase Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QJ7VN9K