Austria, 1938. Europe trembles under the shadow of Hitler and the spreading threat of Nazism. Though some Austrians welcome the idea of belonging to the Fatherland once more, many more fear such a day. The Steiners are one such couple that dreads that ultimate day.They have carved out a successful life for themselves in Vienna. 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.
| |||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Dr. William B. Stanford is a practicing optometrist in Southern California. He has been married for thirty-eight years and has two daughters. Lizzi and Fredl is the biography of Stanford's parents, Lizzi and Fredl Steiner. Dr. Stanford is currently writing his second book, a murder mystery taking place in Orange County, California. The murder mystery reflects the writing style and story lines that Rod Serling made famous with the tevevision series "The Twilight Zone". For more information visit Dr. William B. Stanford's web site at: www.drwilliambstanford.com.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lizzie and Fredl,
This review is from: Lizzi & Fredl: A Perilous Journey of Love and Faith (Paperback)
I immensely enjoyed this book. The characters were very well realized giving great depth to the book. The details were well researched. This kept me wanting to read more about these heroic people.
4.0 out of 5 stars
A beautiful, compelling love story,
By Holly (United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Lizzi & Fredl: A Perilous Journey of Love and Faith (Paperback)
I enjoy family histories and memoirs. So often reality is much more enthralling than fiction, and Dr. Stanford's story of his parents' experiences during World War 2 is just that: enthralling. At the beginning of World War 2, Lizzi and Fredl Steiner, along with Fredl's two brothers and their wives, flee Austria in hopes of finding peace in Paris and then immigrating to the United States. Forced from one place to another, Fredl is sent to a work camp and Lizzi is left on her own to find work. Through narration, letters, and chapters that alternate between Lizzi and Fredl,we learn of their experiences and struggles as they endure hardships and frustrations while they work to be reunited and immigrate to America.
Dr. Stanford explains in the preface that as his parents were sharing their story with him, there were many times when they discovered memories and experiences they had kept from each other in an effort to shield one another. The book is well researched and includes many personal photographs, as well as historical ones. Something that stands out to me is the portrayal of those many kind and thoughtful people who helped Lizzi and Fredl in their journey. I believe that most people are inherently good, and the Steiners were blessed many times over by the kindness of others. While the dialogue and narration are more formal and simple, the story is fascinating. Lizzi and Fredl were remarkable people and theirs is a beautiful, compelling love story.
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Incredible and Moving Story,
By
This review is from: Lizzi & Fredl: A Perilous Journey of Love and Faith (Paperback)
The author (who is the son of Lizzi and Fredl) writes in the Preface:-
"I wrote this book to honour my parents and their innumerable sacrifices and to share with the world how unconditional love and faith in God carried them through their darkest crisis." In August 1938 Lizzi (26) and Fredl (27) Steiner were happily living in Vienna, Austria when papers arrived for Fredl from the Republic of Germany demanding that he report in a few days to an aviation factory in Munich to work on delicate timing devices for bombs. Fredl, a Master Jeweller, and a Catholic, had no intention of working for a madman and they decided that their only choice was to flee Austria ...... this novel is the story of their 7 year odyssey to freedom. They first went to Paris to say with Fredl's niece but after just 3 weeks, they had to flee south as the Germans were getting nearer. This was just the beginning of their nightmare, of being moved from town to town while the Nazis were getting closer and closer. They then lived in Rouen for 14 months before Fredl was told to report to a military camp for the French Army which turned out to be a makeshift internment camp at Lisieux. Meanwhile, Lizzi was sent to an internment camp in Orleans before being moved to Nevers. This was the first of many separations they had to endure as Fredl was moved around France to different internment camps and Lizzi was left alone to find a new job and a place to live, all the while they were both worrying about each other and trying to remain hopeful of being together again. Each chapter alternated between Lizzi and Fredl so we knew what was happening to them both at the same time, which added another dimension to the story. In March 1940 there was a mass exodus from Nevers to the south and Lizzi was lucky enough to travel in a truck with some deserting French soldiers to the town of Bergerac which was high in the mountains, and where she felt safe for a little while making friends and finding work. She realised that there were many people in the same difficult position as her, displaced from their native lands, displaced from their families and friends, displaced from normal life in general. They had such unknown futures. They did keep in touch by letter throughout this time and Lizzi even managed to obtain a travel pass and visited Fredl in some of the camps. As Lizzi uses her courage and strength to survive we follow Fredl from one internment camp to another as the years went on, and "fear and distrust were emotions that needed to be heeded closely. Survival was of paramount importance, and misguided trust could prove to be fatal." Even when Fredl was at his lowest ebb, desperately ill with heart failure and pneumonia, while in a labour camp at Saint-Sauveur, near Bellac, cutting trees in the freezing winter, the thought of Lizzi and the end of the war kept him alive and having something to aim for - they often talked of emmigrating to America and starting a new life - this was their dream. We talk of being stressed today in our lives but what they had to endure must have been worse than anything I can imagine - they had to leave their family and friends behind, they lost their home and possessions, they never knew from one day to the next whether the Nazis would come and take them away, never trusting anyone - it was their strength and belief that carried them through such a terrible time. This is an incredible and very moving story and throughout it all it is Lizzi and Fredl's love for one another that helps sustain them, and one that I found difficult to put down.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
