Butterflies and Bullets

Download or read book Butterflies and Bullets written by Laura Levy and published by Upso. This book was released on 2007-05-01 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Laura was born in Berlin, Germany, at a time of growing political violence imposed on the confused nation by Adolf Hitler. Laura's father was then thrown out of work by eager new members of the National Socialist party, although, mercifully, her mother was still allowed to work. The little family was finding it increasingly hard to make ends meet. On the 9th November, 1938 Laura's mother decided to go visiting, but she picked the wrong day to do so. She and Laura got involved in the 'Kristallnacht', the day when the Nazis invaded numerous business addresses and private homes of Berlin Jews, to steal Jewish belongings and set fire to them publicly. It was a shattering, dangerous experience for mother and daughter. Next day, Laura's father left his home town for good, having decided that both his spouse and small child were then too fragile to survive the long and nightmarish journey he must undertake. There were tearful farewells.. The family was destined to be separated for 11 long years. In 1940, Gertrud escapes to eastern Europe, while Laura, now aged 7 years, was taken to a tiny village on the borders of old Czechoslovakia. Laura swiftly fell in love with the poignant, if medieval beauty of this remote part of central Europe. She also grows to love her caring foster parents, as well as the many, quirky, ancient customs dating back thousands of years. Several happy years pass, but, in 1943, Laura became very sick. In the dead of night, a truck drew up outside the school and Laura was then taken half-way across Europe, to be spared Nazi persecution, presumably. She was dumped, not in Berlin, but back in the village. Dire shortages of food and the necessities of life followed in 1944, as the Allies begin to close in. In the belief that Laura and her mother could now be parted permanently, Laura's foster mother insisted that Laura be taken 'home' to Berlin. Rejecting all thoughts of personal danger, Gertrud collected her child, and embarked on a nightmare journey back to the near destroyed capital.