Review: "A World Elsewhere" by Sigrid MacRae

Sigrid MacRae never knew her father, he was killed at the Russian front while she was still in the womb, but through a box of letters that her mother gave her, she was able to finally meet him. She was also able to get to know her mother, the young, carefree girl before Hitler and World War II changed her life forever.

This book tells of the lives of Sigrid’s parents as discovered thru the letters. It follows the young American girl, Amiee Ellis who falls in love with the Baron Heinrich Alexis Nikolai von Hoyningen-Nuene, whose family was part of the Baltic German aristocracy. They marry and have an idyllic life as they build their life and family on their farm in western Germany until it all comes apart under Hitler. It opens a world and a side of her parents that Sigrid has ever known.

I really liked this story and recommend it. It showed the terror and the hardships normal German citizens endured during the war. I was constantly amazed at how Amiee held her family together thru hardships that would have brought many people to their knees. When a problem arose, she found a way around it and moved bravely on. It also showed not all who fought for Germany believed in the evil that Hitler was perpetuating.