The American Woman Who Led the German Resistance Movement Against Hitler: A True Story of Overcoming Adversity in Troubled Times.

D. Moschgat: I've read a few works in resistance groups and I'm always left with a feeling of respect for how these individuals took on such impossible tasks for justice. This book is written well with facts and reality and without unnecessary gloss. It pulled me into the resistors lives hard as it was. I was moved. It was a huge undertaking of research and info that hearing to provide the intricate details of the lives of the individuals. I was pulled into their cause.

United States on Sep 02, 2023

Lynda J. McManus: I’ve learned more from Rebecca Donner’s book about the evils of Hitler and his nazi regime than any other history book. It should be required reading for all high school and college students. Sadly none of that is taught anymore.
History does and can repeat itself. Thank you Rebecca Donner.

United States on Aug 26, 2023

Scott: I listened to this as an audio-book and was so blown away by the story and the people -some of whom I’d read about before and others I’d not- that I bought a hard copy. I’m encouraging my kids to read it as well.

United States on Jul 25, 2023

Lorraine Devon Wilke: There are obviously many, many books on the topic of WW2, covering every aspect of that horrific event from every angle, yet I always find myself drawn to new stories, new angles... this book is not only one of those, but one that has stayed with me like no other.

Perhaps it's the personal point-of-view involved: author Rebecca Donner is not writing about some distant, if heroic, figure, but about her own great-great-aunt, Mildred Harnack, the young American woman who's been identified by historians as the only American in the leadership of the German resistance.

Imagine, at twenty-six, being ensconced in a PhD program in Germany, only to watch the insidious and terrifying rise of Hitler and the Nazis. While many Americans, and others, absconded back home, or to other locales deemed as safe, Mildred had created a life and community in Germany, and opted to stay. This led to her growing activism (she held secret meetings in her apartment), which ultimately evolved into a full-blown resistance movement, replete with all the dangers, near misses, small triumphs, and the relentless, harrowing experiences endemic to the time and place. Mildred, though begged by family to...

United States on Jul 10, 2023

Amazon Customer: This book completely blew me away. I've read countless books about WW2, many of them true, others based on true stories, and I find all of them interesting. This one really stands out. It is like reading a history book in school, only so much better because so many of the details are "fleshed out" with stories of the people behind them. The author is the great, great niece of the woman this story is about and her research was meticulous. Better yet, she knows how to weave all that detail and research into a story where you come to deeply admire many of the characters being written about. When Mildred was facing death, I felt it. I was inspired by the strong and dignified way she conducted herself at that time. This book should be in every library and should be taught in every history class that covers WW2. It doesn't seem at all usual to be deeply moved by a history book, but that's exactly what happens with this one. The author and her family have my deepest condolences in their great losses from that time.

Canada on Mar 08, 2023

Mainer: What I remember about the rise of Hitler and the Nazis is that they took over Germany in the early 30s and invaded somewhere in 1938 or 1939. There hasn't been much that describes in detail what happened during that gap. I had to pause when I finished that section. The style of writing and organization of sections is unlike typical histories and biographies. It doesn't march through the history. It focused my attention on these individuals and their roles in the Resistance.

I'm a boomer born in1948. My dad was a Navy pilot and served in the Pacific. He, like so many others, didn't talk about the War. He told me it was his job. We watched Victory at Sea. He passed away in 2010 and was buried with Navy honors. I didn't know until my mother's burial service in 2018 that he was in one of the major Pacific island campaigns - which one we don't know. They didn't talk about it.

As I've aged over the years my interest in WWII has expanded. This book provides a profound description of what was happening out of sight and out of mind as individuals resisted the horrors unleashed by Nazi Germany. Dad knew he would be drafted so he enlisted in the Navy. Now I understand more...

United States on Dec 06, 2021

Amazon Customer: This is an amazing book that describes the determination of individuals who want to make a difference to change the world. This book is a wonderful tool to better understand what life was actually like under Hitler.

Canada on Oct 19, 2021

Jill K. Andrew: An unusual book, full of interesting facts & a very gripping read.

United Kingdom on Sep 28, 2021

G. James: This work suffers a little form a lack of identity; it reads like a novel but not quite. It certainly has a lot of in formation packed into it and it feels also like a nonfiction book. It is in fact a true story. Rebecca Donner has done her research well. However, there is so much materiel in there that we don't quite get to know the main characters well enough. A dreamy present tense narrative gives it some immediacy. ASnd we do after all, feel some empathy for Mildred and Don to whom the book is dedicated.

United Kingdom on Aug 22, 2021