Thank you to Clink Street Publishing and Kaleidoscopic Book Tours for the invitation to join the blog tour for this book based on a true story.
Synopsis:
Towards the end of the Second World War, a tragedy unfolded that many people are still not aware of.
The granddaughter of a Countess, Anita, learns not to follow the traditional way of doing things. Heavily reliant on her intuition, which ultimately saved the life of herself and her daughter. She guides her family as they make their escape from East Prussia as the Russians make their final advance.
In the coldest winter for decades, millions of refugees took flight from their homeland, and those who survived were unlikely ever to return.
Anita was known as Mutti to all her family, and she and her daughter Inge achieved their goal of reaching a ship that would take them to safety.
After spending a night aboard the ship, warm and safe at last, Mutti had a dream. Because of that dream, and amidst her daughter’s protestations, they disembarked the Wilhelm Gustloff. The ship was to set sail the next day.
In this unbiased account, hear about what happened next in this shocking true story of incredible proportions that knocks Titanic out of the ballpark.
My thoughts:
A fascinating story about a family caught in the middle of World War 2 in East Prussia, living between Germany and Russia. The story follows Mutti (Anita) from birth, through school, becoming a mother and trying to keep her family safe.
I had never heard of the Wilhelm Gustloff before and this tragedy is discussed towards the end of the book. A heartbreaking event that became just one more horrendous statistic during the War.
This book is an important record about what happened to one family, their friends and neighbours. We need to remember what happened and to work together to ensure it never happens again.
Author Bio:
Mutti’s Dream is Beverly’s first book. Never having the intention to write a book, she became compelled to write after hearing the story of what happened at the end of the second world war from her mother-in-law Inge on countless occasions.
As Inge grew older, her recollections became stronger, together with the desire for the story to be told to a broader audience. This became a burning passion within her.
Beverly wanted to record Inge’s words as far as possible, but rather than record an interview herself, and she thought it appropriate that her two sons be the ones to undertake the interview. Countless accounts of what happened and the video recording, and the many books and memorabilia assembled over the year formed the book’s basis.
Beverly and her husband met and married in Cheshire, where their sons Daniel and Adam were born. Beverly spent most of her business life working within the financial sector and now runs her own company and, alongside a team of tax specialists, supports businesses in claiming Research and development tax credits.
Beverly’s husband Dennis works at Leeds University, and they live in West Yorkshire with a son, Dan, and daughter-in-law Kirsty, living in Chesterfield with their two children Jack and Emily. Her second son Adam is currently living and working in China with his wife Luping, and they have a business called ‘House of VFX” working within the film industry.
Karen K is reading 