Aug 11, 2009

Book Review: Lizzi & Fredl, A Perilous Journey of Love and Faith

Lizzi and Fredl is a detailed and touching memoir and history recorded by William B. Stanford of California, who wrote down and compiled information from his parents, Lizzi and Fredl Steiner about their lives before, during, and after WWII.

The couple left their home in Austria in 1938 to escape the encroaching threat of Nazism, only to find themselves in danger in France, the country where they had sought refuge. Lizzi and Fredl barely escaped with their lives and only much later revealed their full stories to their son, William Stanford.

The publisher's description:
"Twenty-seven-year-old Fredl is an accomplished master jeweler, while twenty-six-year-old Lizzi is a professional dressmaker. When Fredl receives papers ordering him to Munich, Germany, to serve the Nazis in their war preparations, the couple knows they have no choice: they must leave Austria. As Hitler and his troops gain force in their homeland and annex Austria, Lizzi and Fredl endure a harrowing flight to France, uncertain whether they will ever see their country again.

But France holds no safety for them. Fredl is captured by French Nazi sympathizers and must outwit his captors to survive in Vichy-controlled concentration and labor camps. Separated from Fredl, Lizzi evades arrest and relies on her guile and chutzpah to search for her beloved husband.

What follows is an incredible seven-year odyssey filled with danger and endurance. From their long, arduous journey to Paris to Fredl's unbelievable rescue from a train bound for a Nazi death camp, Lizzi and Fredl delivers a remarkable true story of courage, faith, and overwhelming love."
A news release from Kelley & Hall clarifies further the book's historical significance and the efforts that went into its writing:
"Awarded both Editor's Choice and Publisher's Choice by iUniverse, Lizzi & Fredl is a story elucidating that France had concentration, internment and labor camps thought mostly to exist in Germany. This memoir is also a love story of unconditional devotion and resilience between a happily married couple whose lives were disrupted by a seven-year nightmare. It took many years for Dr. Stanford to get his parents to share their stories, and once they did, it was apparent to him that they had not even revealed their individual horrors to each other over the years.... Lizzi & Fredl delivers a remarkable true story of courage, faith, and overwhelming love."
Publisher: IUniverse (April 17, 2008)
ISBN-10: 0595433111
ISBN-13: 978-0595433117

Book received from the author for my objective review.

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4 comments:

  1. sounds like an interesting read, thanks for stopping by.

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  2. I'm always looking for memoirs that contain that great human element!! Sounds like a good one!

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  3. I have this on my TBR list :) I like reading about this stuff and about WWII it's always an interesting read.

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  4. Good review....sounds like a wonderful book.

    I am reading Next To Love by Ellen Feldman...it is during WWII also.

    Check out the book...review will be forthcoming....if you like and also my giveaway.


    I am having a Father's Day giveaway on my blog if you would like to stop by.

    http://silversolara.blogspot.com/2011/06/fathers-day-giveaway-from-little-brown.html

    Hope you can visit.

    Elizabeth

    ReplyDelete

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