Customer Reviews

Lizzi & Fredl: A Perilous Journey of Love and Faith

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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.

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.

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.

"Lizzi and Fredl" is the memoir of Frederick and Alice Steiner, Austrian Catholics who fled Austria in August, 1938, months after the Anschluss (the annexation of Austria to Nazi German). Fredl - a skilled jeweler -- had received orders to make timing mechanisms for bombs in a German aviation factory. Neither Lizzi nor Fredl can bear the thought of assisting the Third Reich wage war against the world, so they escape to France and try to begin a new life there, hoping to eventually emigrate to the US.

Days after the German invasion of Poland begins, while France and Germany declare war on each other (but don't make a move against each other for months during what was called the Drole de Guerre or "Phony War"), Fredl and his brother - who both had cheerfully signed a document stating that they were anti-Nazi -- are notified by French officials that a special division of expatriated Austrians, called the Austrian Legion, is being formed as part of the French armed forces.

It turns out to be a ruse to get Austrian refugees (who might just possibly be Nazi spies) safely imprisoned. The Steiner brothers are forced to live in French internment camps where Fredl, always fragile in health, becomes dangerously ill. Lizzi does her best to help him, while simultaneously moving from place to place, trying to make ends meet, and always attempting to stay one step ahead of Nazi officials who would severely punish both of them if they discovered that the Steiner's had deliberately left their Nazi-occupied homeland.

The memoir is something akin to the James Cameron "Titanic" film in that a massive catastrophe provides the backdrop to an appealing love story. Lizzi and Fredl's love for each other seems to grow stronger during their enforced separations, as documented by their letters, such as this one from Fredl to Lizzi:

"Yes, my love, life is very hard and difficult. But I will endure and will continue to endure through this to be with you again. You are everything to me . . . You are the only reason I have to keep living. Life for me is really meaningless and I don't really care about anything besides you. I have no freedom. I have no joy for anything. I've lost my homeland and my parents. . . . Please don't be angry with me, my love, that I am writing you this way, but I have no one to talk to or express my feelings. I find it necessary to tell you how I feel because I am so alone and forgotten here."

Lizzi, very concerned about Fredl's dark mood, writes back:

"I have no fear of being alone as long as I know you are okay. Whatever happens to you happens to me too. If I lose you then I will have lost everything in the world. You are my life! I don't want to live in this world without you. I beg of you not to give up hope. Mutzie, everything will work out. You will see. We will have our life again. With God's help we will be together again . . . Try not to be so forlorn and frustrated. I am sending you a kiss- that will bring a smile to your face . . ."

The book is 424 pages long and is filled with a myriad of detailed descriptions and entire conversations which don't always seem completely necessary to the narrative flow of the story; occasionally, the inclusion of these details seems like overkill but more often, they make the time and place come to life before the reader's eyes and clearly delineate several things. For one, they show the tedium of red tape forced upon refugees in France during the war. Every time Lizzie and/or Fredl moved to a new location, they had to present a ream of paperwork to local officials.

The details also reveal quite palpably the fear that the refugees faced almost every moment: the fear of a knock at the door in the middle of the night, the fear of catching the attention of a Nazi official in the wrong way, or the fear of an apparently innocent question from a soldier on the street, the answer to which would reveal an incriminating Austrian accent.

Another item clearly delineated in this book is the simple decency and humanity of many Frenchmen who were willing to go out on a limb in order to help a young Austrian couple trying to steer clear of the Nazis. For that, and for the compelling love story at the book's core, "Lizzi and Fredl" is well worth the read.

"Fredl whispered, `Gehma'...They joined hands and ran as fast as they could until the searchlights circled close...Lizzi and Fredle threw themselves on the ground and lay motionless...They waited for the lights to pass ahead of them and then sprang up from the ground and began to run again."

In 1938 a young and idealistic couple flee their home in Austria to escape the dominion of a madman named Adolf Hitler. Arriving as refugees in Paris, they believe that they have put the Nazi threat behind them, only to suffer the torments of war when Germany invades France. Suffering and surviving poverty, bigotry, work camps and even concentration camps, these two spirited individuals hold onto their dream of the peace and prosperity found on the shores of America.

Fredle and Lizzi had only been married for a few years when Hitler strongarmed Austria into merging with Germany. Even though they were Catholic, they feared the Nazis and opposed Hitler's political agenda. When Fredle received notice from the German government that he must report to a munitions factory in Berlin, he and Lizzi knew they had to leave their home and families before being forced into fighting for a cause they didn't believe in.

In France, the young couple is constantly confused for being German and for being Jewish. Fredle, a victim of "foreigner fear," (brought on by the Nazi invasion) is locked up in work camp after work camp by the Free France Government. Lizzi, constantly on the move to stay ahead of the Nazi infiltration, makes many friends among the French and foreign refugees; many of whom help her keep track of where her husband is incarcerated. Once all of France falls, Fredle finds himself in the custody of the Nazi's while Lizzi befriends the French Resistance to help Fredle escape certain death in a concentration camp.

Lizzi & Fredl is the brave and true account of Dr. Stanford's parents, their flight from Nazi persecution, and their eventual emigration to America. Dr. Stanford spent two years recording his parent's stories, translating their letters, and verifying the historical context in order to present as an accurate memoir possible of events that are over 70 years old.

Dr. Sanford, whose birth in Paris is chronicled in this biography, tells a heartening story that honors both the victims and survivors of World War II with Lizzi & Fredl.

"Lizzi & Fredl: A Perilous Journey of Love and Faith" by Dr. William Stanford chronicles seven years in the lives of his parents from Vienna, Austria where they escaped the clutches of Hitler's reign and relocated to France. Unfortunately, Fredl is imprisoned by French Nazi sympathizers and although Lizzi eludes capture, she still has to try and survive with little money or food. I applaud Dr. Stamford for capturing the experience of his parents before it was too late and detailing here for the rest of us to read. It is truly a remarkable tale of two regular people caught up in the chaos of WWII. I tried to have my grandmother (who lives in Germany) record her life but she does not want to relive her past. Thank you, Dr. Stanford for sharing your parent's story.

This review was originally posted on my review blog : Falling Off The Shelf.

The story of Lizzi and Fredl is a real account of their journey to freedom from the Nazis. They start out in the their home country of Austria, and make their way to America. They bounce from town to town, and are put through the horrors of a war they should never have had to endure. Lizzi had to sit back and watch as her husband was arrested multiple times, and thrown into labor camps where he nearly died. All she could do was wish, and hope that he would be strong enough to survive so she could spend one last day with him.

I had a hard time reading this book without crying. I have always been intrigued by stories of the Holocaust, not because they are something that we should be intrigued about, but because they are stories that we should remember. All of those innocent lives lost, because of a man that was prejudice. It pulls at my heart to know that these people went through what they did.

I was honored to have been able to read and review a copy of Lizzi & Fredl, thanks to Bostick Communications for being the middle man in this wonderful exchange. The author, William B. Stanford, was very kind, and even stopped by to let me know he was anxiously awaiting my review. It was a wonderful, wonderful read, and I would like to thank him as well. I would highly recommend this memoir to those of you who like to read about the history of the Holocaust, but beware, you will need some tissues to get through the ride.

This book interested me because it was about a Catholic couple and the horrors they encountered in Europe during WWII. It is a very different story than that told in It Happened In Italy. I am thankful to William Stanford for nudging his parents to tell their stories before they died so that we can know more about this horrific chapter in our world's history.
Lizzi & Fredl is a well written book. Stanford's use of alternating chapters between Lizzi and Fredl's accounts worked well to tell a unified story even when they were living apart which was much of the seven years described. I loved this book and am thankful to Bostick Communications for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

The events of the years leading up to and during WWII are a fascination with historians and history buffs still today. It is a sort of morbid curiosity; how could such evil ever exist and how could whole nations fall under its sway? In truth, many people in the occupied countries did not agree with Hitler and they had no choice but to run for their lives. This book tells of two such people.
Alfred and Alice Steiner, Fredl and Lizzi, were living normal lives in Vienna, Austria when the Nazis came and destroyed everything. Fredl was a master jeweller and Lizzi was a talented seamstress and their life had been going well. When Fredl received orders to report to a Nazi factory to help build timing devices for their bombs, they knew they had to leave. They would never assist the Nazis but there was another issue. Lizzi's family was Jewish. They didn't practice their faith, but that didn't matter to Hitler. In the end, Fredl and Lizzi along with his two brothers and their wives fled Austria.
However, they didn't run far enough. They made it to France, but it was taken by the Nazis as well. For the next seven years, Fredl was kept in various work camps as Lizzi struggled to free him. There was always danger, the Nazis were hunting down people who had fled the occupation in other countries to force them back to be interrogated and killed. Many times Fredl and Lizzi almost died and were saved in the last moments.
This is a wonderful blend of novel and history book rolled into one. It is an accurate account of the trials of this couple as they fought for survival and not at all fiction. But; it is not at all dry. Stanford creates the real life characters of his parents with such vibrance and tenderness that the reader can not help but become as involved with these two as they become with the couple of a well-written fiction.
As a historical account it is very detailed. Here is not a general focus of what battles happened at what time. Instead, readers are given an account of the daily life of people caught in the middle of the hell. Everyday issues like having to register at every address change, learning a foreign language while keeping your true nationality secret, and continually walking past soldiers that could send you to die in a concentration camp are explained. Often historical accounts leave out the life of the common man but this story is centred not on the war but on the survival of two determined people.
This wonderful book gives readers a chance to relive the bravery of people caught in this hell. They are not called `The Greatest Generation' lightly, it is a honor they earned.

Lizzi & Fredl was one of the most intense books I have read in a long time. It is the story of Lizzie & Fredl Steiner. Born and raised in Austria, they fled to France along with Fredl's two brothers and their wives to escape helping Hitler in his war. For years Fredl and Lizzie were separated. She and her sister Elise would escape or be forced to leave one city in France for another. Often they had no jobs or had to perform work they were not used to. Their husbands on the other hand were put in work or interment camps or detention centers. They fought long and hard to make their way to America to start a new life. This is their story. The atrocities the French people and those living in their country were terrible. I learned so much from reading this book that I had never known before. Near the end of the book they talked about the emotions they felt when they saw the Statue of Liberty and I cried. I felt the emotions they felt. For me that part was very realistic. Ten months after 9/11 my husband, daughter, and I found ourselves in New York. We took a trip around the island. I remember seeing the Statue of Liberty. I had to sit in my seat as I was so overcome with emotions. I felt what she stood for in my heart. I was able to relate my feelings to what the Steiner's felt. This is a must read. Especially for anyone who loves this time period in history or loves reading memoirs. I gave this book a rating of 5 out of 5.