Memoirs of a Girl from Berlin

About the Book

Many children of World War II have stories to tell. Memoirs of a Girl from Berlin is the compelling story of one young girl’s strength, courage and will to survive during the changing political scene of 1930’s and post war Germany. Gisela Becker lived through many tragedies and near-death experiences during Germany’s harsh Nazi regime and the cruel Russian occupation that followed.

Written in her own words, with the help of her daughter, we follow Gisela Becker’s history and memories through some of the worst experiences of war during her childhood. Gisela’s greatest fear of abandonment became reality many times. She witnessed atrocities that most of us cannot even imagine. People were starving to death, slaughtered because they weren’t the right nationality or raped just because they were female no matter what their age.

While the people of West Germany began to rebuild their lives, the people of Berlin and East Germany continued to suffer at the hands of the Russians. Memoirs of a Girl from Berlin will take you through a time you hope you will never see yourself.

About the Author

I am the little girl that my mother was pregnant with when she left Germany on the ship Italia. I was born nine weeks premature in Detroit, Michigan. Life was still hard for my mother. She was in a new country, she didn't speak the language, and she had just given birth to a baby two months early. Her memories of the baby girl who had died just two years prior in Germany were still fresh in her mind. My parents took me home after signing a paper saying that they were taking me home at their own risk. They put me in an open drawer in an old dresser and used it as my bed.

I am now in my sixties. I had no intention of ever writing a book, nor am I a writer. But I have felt compelled to tell my mother's story. One day while I was living in South Africa, my mother came to visit. We watched a World War II movie, and after the film I went to bed. My mother stayed up and told my daughter many stories about the war. The next day, my daughter got up early and ran to my room. She asked me if my mother had ever told me any of these stories. I was in complete disbelief. When my mother woke up, I asked her why hadn't she told me any of this. She said, "You never asked." I quickly told her to write down all she could remember. She told me that she had a diary where she kept all her memories. Well, the rest is history. Here I have documented the story of my mother's life. I feel it's a story that needs to be told. There are many young girls that have went and are going through war. They all have their story to tell. This is one of the girl from Berlin.