No Escape: My Young Years Under Hitler's Shadow [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

W. John Koch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2004

58 years after Hitler's demise, controversy continues to reign. Attitudes towards Hitler among his contemporaries and their descendants range from adulation to hatred. They are influenced by ideological stance, personal memories, guilt, and denial. Born into a German middle class family, John Koch remembers the world around him from Hitler's ascent to power to the end of World War II, which John Koch experienced as a soldier and a prisoner of war. He reports on the horrific post-war years and the birth of a democratic Germany. From hundreds of remembered events, discussions, arguments, and episodes of risk and danger, John Koch creates a mosaic that blends into a composite picture of a country hurtling towards the twelve years of Hitler's dictatorship over Germany and much of Europe. John Koch was blessed with growing up in a family that saw Hitler as the destroyer of Germany. It was a Germany from which there was NO ESCAPE until Hitler's suicide. At a time when the history of Hitler and his Third Reich is once more questioned, revised, or romanticized, John Koch presents his reminiscences as an autobiographical narrative that serves the reader well in understanding what happened in Germany under Hitler's shadow.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Once in a while one comes across an intricate story of survival of the human spirit. Mr. Koch's tale of life under Germany's dictator, escape from a Soviet-ravaged Europe and renewal in Canada is truly inspiring. As an expert on European history, I have nothing but praise for this jewel of a book. Kudos to Mr. Koch's spirit of survival! Arturo Beeche, Publisher, Oakland CA, USA "It is the most amazing book . . . an overwhelming book: a masterpiece. John Koch has walked a bridge that all of our generations have feared to cross. His own story of his induction into the army of Adolf Hitler and his family life in Germany and the events those realities brought to a young innocent are more powerful than any history book can be. The torture of creating this wonderful and profound work is deep in every paragraph.He is a brilliant writer and we are wiser for his success." Tim Coates, writer, London. "W. John Koch provides a rare look at growing up and daily life in Nazi Germany. Through Koch's observations of its impact on him and his extended family in Silesia, it's insightfully clear how Adolf Hitler was able to mould a nation for his evil purposes. That Koch resisted and survived the Nazi brutality, flourished in its aftermath and now recalls those oppressive years so others might reflect on them is a testament to his strength of character and will." Ray Djuff, Calgary author, journalist, historian "I have read John Koch's extraordinary book. I feel that the picture projected of the eastern borders of Germany and of Silesia is something quite out of the ordinary. . . . It also gives an exceptionally vivid picture of how normal, intelligent people reacted to Hitler's propaganda. [For] its skilful blend of historical background and everyday observation, Mr. Koch is to be congratulated in getting his story down on paper while still hale and hearty. I would judge that in years to come it will form an essential source for those studying one of the most traumatic periods of recent Central European history." Paul Minet, Bookseller and Publisher, UK. "The book conveys to the reader a gripping sense of what Nazi ideology and concrete political events meant to the average person in everyday life as Germany slid gradually into tyranny. This book is a frank personal statement with remarkably detailed, vivid and sensitive descriptions of events, persons and feelings by a very articulate man. Koch's insightful, sensitive portrayal of the life of a young German growing up, living and fighting, during the Third Reich and its immediate aftermath make reading NO ESCAPE an educational, moving, and up-lifting experience." Manfred Prokop, Professor (emeritus) Edmonton.

About the Author

John Koch was born in the German province of Silesia. Following World War II, John studied history at the University of Wurzburg before emigrating to Canada in 1954. After graduating in 1960 from the University of British Columbia with a Master's degree in social work, he worked in the social welfare and health care field in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and, from 1964 to 1987, in Alberta. Since retiring, John has devoted his time to writing. John has published articles in professional journals in Canada, the United States, and in Poland. He is the author of the illustrated volume Schloss Furstenstein (since 1945 Zamek Ksiaz). He also wrote the German version of the biography of Daisy Princess of Pless, Daisy von Pless, Furstliche Rebellin. Both books were published in Germany in 1989 and 1990. In 1995, John and his wife Maria completed To the Town that Bears Your Name, a previously unpublished story by the German-Canadian pioneer and financier Martin Nordegg, written for his daughter Marcelle in 1912. Translated from German by Maria with a brief biography written by John, this book was published by Brightest Pebble Publishing Co. in 1995. It was followed by the German edition, Zur Stadt, die Deinen Namen trqgt, in 1996. In 1997, Brightest Pebble published John's biography of Martin Nordegg, Martin Nordegg, the Uncommon Immigrant. In 2003, John opened his own publishing firm, BOOKS by W. JOHN KOCH PUBLISHING, located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. In the same year, he published Daisy Princess of Pless - A Discovery, the English version of John's earlier biography Daisy von Pless, Furstliche Rebellin. Published in March 2004, his most recent book NO ESCAPE - My Young Years under Hitler's Shadow, has been translated into German by his wife Maria and awaits its publication in Germany.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 293 pages
• Publisher: Books By W John Koch (July 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0973157917
• ISBN-13: 978-0973157918
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,612,544 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A vivid portrait of how normal, intelligent people reacted, February 6, 2005

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Escape: My Young Years Under Hitler's Shadow (Paperback)

John Koch grew up in an anti-Hitler German family and watched with increasing horror as Jews were demonized by the growing and eventually overwhelming power of the Nazis. Those Germans who were not pro-Nazi faced ever increasing and onerous restrictions on their movements, their possessions, the friends, the courses of study as their nation edged ever closer to war. No Escape: My Young Years Under Hitler's Shadow is a personal memoir that provides contemporary readers with the perspective of an ordinary German trapped by events and philosophies he despised. Conscripted into the German military, Koch saw combat on the Easter Front in what is now Belarus. He was taken prisoner by the U.S. Army in April 1945 and, 13 months later, escaped from a french POW camp. A deeply personal and candid recording of an extraordinary time, No Escape provides a vivid portrait of how normal, intelligent people reacted to Hitler's propaganda, daily life under the German dictator, escape from a war-ravaged Europe, and an inspiring renewal of life and freedom as an emigree to Canada. Deftly written, No Escape is a welcome and valued contribution to the growing library of World War II era biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs from a generation that is now passing all to rapidly from our midst.