Date: Sunday, May 19 2019

Time: 2:00-3:30 pm

Location: Parkhill Room

Age Groups: Adults and teens ages 18 and over.

Copies of book will be available for purchase ($15 cash)

Description of Book: Born in Germany’s East Prussia, life’s challenges struck Gerda Braunheim’s family early. The deaths of her mother and sister, and her father’s induction into Hitler’s Wermacht regime in World War II, forced her aunt, grandmother and two other siblings to become part of the twelve million homeless refugees fleeing the Russian invasion. Their nine month flight of approximately 900 miles through bombardments, a brutal winter and the abandonment of their grandmother landed them in Denmark. They were incarcerated behind barbed wires with more than 250,000 other refugees, where more than 7,000 infants and young children were starved to death. The scars of war’s brutality heal only slowly, but the human spirit of survival, forgiveness and gratitude soar higher than human conception.

Author Bio: Gerda Braunheim was born in East Prussia-Germany near the borders of Lithuania and Russia. She lost her mother and sister early in life, and then saw her father drafted into World War II, leaving her and her siblings in the care of an aunt and grandmother. Fleeing her home with millions of other refugees filled her with experiences and memories worth sharing. An American Citizen for 58 years, and married for 60 years, Gerda’s life and memories are preserved in her small book. Today, we are privileged to hear Gerda’s personal testimony of survival and triumph.