Berlin Diaries, 1940-1945

Don't listen to the review below. Yes, Missie did party and drink and dine, but only at the beginning of the book, when WWII was still called "the Phony War". She was a refugee from her country, a princess, who had to leave Lithuania because of Soviet rule. She can't seem to, at first, give up her lavish lifestyle of parties and such, but she never complains when it is time to give up that lifestyle. She and her sister run out of money, have to take care of their family, but they never complain. I would love to see a modern day aristocrat adapt the way Missie does. Also, the parties that Missie attends are hosted or attended by some of the most powerful and influential people during the second world war. Later on though, she is bombed out of house and home... the true reality of living in Germany under the constant destruction, fires, bombing, low flying "enemy" planes, and never being able to go back to how you once lived shines through. She is not a Nazi, she hates the Reich, and gives a great unbiased account of what it was like to live in Berlin during the war. It is a perspective that you've never heard before.She is friends and co-worker of many of those who attempted to kill Hitler, and supports them. She watches as people she loves and respects are thrown into jail and killed for being associated with those who tried to kill Hitler, and grieves that he wasn't killed. This is a great book. I've read as many books as I can about the holocaust experience from a Jewish perspective, and though Missie doesn't mention the Jews hardly at all (they shielded the Berliners from what was going on in the death camps) this is still a great book for me. The way the Jew were killed is horrid, and this sounds bad, I don't mean it, but WWII was more than that, believe it or not. She tells a different point of view. I've read it about 3 times, I am now on my fourth. It is fascinating to watch as Missie changes from aristocrat to a red cross nurse, trying to survive as best she can. get this book. You won't regret it. It is a true sotry of the death of everyone's lives in Europe because of the war.

This book offers an insightful look into life in Berlin during WWII. It also offers a look at a lifestyle which no longer exists in Europe. This is an "insiders" look into life with the Nazis. While most of us are fully familiar with the Holocaust and its results for the Jews and other groups, this book gives us another perspective of Germany and Hitler and his Nazis. Additionally, we get a view of life among the royalty of Europe as it no longer exists. Interesting and thought provoking.