Customer Reviews

Eleanor's Story: An American Girl in Hitler's Germany

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Eleanor, an American citizen, faces the troubles of the second World War at a young age that continue through adolescence. As a foreigner in Germany during the war, she must remain silent about her own political views and opinions. Her family struggles through each day trying to survive Hitler's world with one another's love and devotion as American citizens. Garner does an excellent job of setting the tones for both the German and the American citizens as they continue their lives full of poverty, anguish and fear under the ruling class of Germany during that time. As a child torn between loyalty to both Germany and America, Garner recreates the constant dilemma of her childhood. The novel shows the life of a German during Hitler's reign, a life full of anxiety, terror, and hunger. It also shows the confusion to its full extent with bombings from the British and other Allied countries, long lines for small rations of food, deaths of many loves ones, and constant anxiety about the Gestapo taking away loved ones. Garner takes her audience on an adventure full of truthful disturbances and historical reality.

I am amazed that at almost 70 years of age, Eleanor Garner could so coherently and deftly capture the details and feelings of her life from age 8 to age 16. The author manages to retain the innocence and freshness of young Eleanor's experiences without contaminating them with the rationalizations and/or excuses that we as adults conveniently use to explain the actions of ourselves, our family and our friends -- especially in retrospect.

In addition to being a good storyteller, Eleanor captures the essence of being a stranger in a strange land -- especially a young stranger. With equal clarity, she graphically demonstrates the up-tight, strict, and conservative attitudes of parents and educators in the decade of the '40s.

Although Amazon has chosen to place this in the "Young Adult" category, I found that it was just as relevant for me; an adult who remembers what it was like growing up in the 40's.

"Eleanor's Story: An American Girl in Hitler's Germany" provides a new view of Nazi Germany from a child's perspective, a much needed text in the Middle/High School Curriculum. It strips away the propaganda of the times to show how the German people were caught up in the war, many against their wills, how the young were instilled with Nationalistic fervor in carefully programed school and community activities. The disillusionment and destruction of an entire generation of Germans is played out in the pages of Eleanor Ramrath Garner's moving narrative. I recommend this book as required reading for all ages.

Rosemarie Dion, Reading Specialist

Eleanor, the child, is courageously present in this story of growing up in the midst of chaos and uncertainty. What must it be like to be awakened from sleep, in fear, night after night for months on end! Even though the setting is WWII, the story can give us a glimpse of a child's life under the bombs today, in places like Bosnia, Chechnya and Kosovo. I would highly recommend this book to adult readers, as well as high schoolers.

This book really blew me away. It was very easy to get into and I could not put it down. I never even considered the idea that someone would move back to Germany during WWII until I read this book. Elanor's insights were extremely interesting because it allows us to see a first hand American view of what was occurring in Germany at this time.
Elanor was a very brave girl and should be considered a role model for children everywhere. This book should be a school assigned book because of its historical value and literary merit.
Elanor's Story is definitely not your typical Holocaust/WWII book. It digs deeper and touches you on a different level.

A wonderful, historical, thought provoking, true story that everyone should read. All ages will love this book. I think all young people will get insight and knowledge of what life was in Germany during World War ll. Adults will be astounded to read a perspective of the unique circumstances that this family lived through.

This was an extremly good book. I have read numerous books that are from a paritisan's perspective, a survivor, a prisoner, etc. But NEVER have we considered the emotions that went on actually inside Hitler's Germany. This is a must read book for all WWII buffs, and other people besides. Eleanor went through hunger, starvation, and always fearing for her life as well as the lives of her family. We Americans seem to have the forever present thought "this could never happen to us! We're Americans!" But alas, it at least happened to six of our people, and boy do they have an awesome story to tell!

Complete with B&W photos of a time gone by, Eleanor is a sensitive storyteller and captivated me from Chapter 1. She holds nothing back, describing feelings and painting pictures with words about life as an American Child forced to move back to Germany just as WWII breaks out. This autobiography keeps you glued to the pages to see how she will cope as the next drama plays out. Although this book is geared toward young adults, I recommend this memoir to all adults.

This book tells an important story that is not familar to most Americans. It is particularly valuable for young adults to read about the horrors of war from all angles--that all the citizens on both sides suffer. I found myself reading about the night bombing raids on Berlin and getting angry at the British for such brutality--and then I remember that, of course, the British were among the "good guys" in the war. It is also good for teenagers (especially Americans, who are relatively priviledged) to learn about the extreme hardships others their age have had to face. The book is well written, thoughtful, and extremely interesting, and I enjoyed it as much as my 13-year-old daughter.

Eleanor's Story is a terrifying biography of the author Eleanor Ramarth Garner's life, growing up an American trapped in World War 2.
When Eleanor was nine her family moved from America to Germany, where her dad gets a great job. The war breaks loose while her family is crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
Eleanor tries to keep her American identity, she hopes for a victory. For years she must try to survive the bombs destroying her neighborhood.
I would recommend this book because it explains what civilians go through in their lives growing up as a young children.