BOOKS
We Chose Survival
Paperback - April 13, 2021
"This memoir was written to inform my children, grandchildren, and anyone else who might be interested, about my recollections as a Jewish child in fascist Europe. I also want to relate the experiences I had during my first ten years in the United States of America."
Thus, Ruth Lindemann prefaces her book, (We Chose Survival.) Chapter by chapter, Lindemann does just that. In her earliest memories, Ruth had lived in Austria, a country torn apart by social injustice and, eventually, the annexation to Germany. Which resulted in the destruction of Jewish life and culture.
Ruth, her mother and her father found refuge in the United States and made several moves across the continent before settling in Oregon. But the move to the U.S. did not end the prejudice, the persecution, or the pain. Ruth and her parents were knocked down figuratively and literally as Jewish immigrants. Being refugees from Austria, Ruth's family was treated more and more as the enemy by schoolchildren and their parents. The paranoia and suspicion escalated as America was swept into the war following the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
(We Chose Survival) is a personal, first-hand revelation of an atrocious era in the history of our country and the world. This is Ruth Lindemann's story, but it is the story of all of us. Can we make a better future by learning about the past?
They Will Not Be Forgotten
Kindle & Paperback - September 12, 2018
In 1910 Estanza an adventurous Greek girl of 18, with a deep interest in German, classic literature is lured to Berlin by a highly placed German diplomat who loves her. Konrad joins her in Berlin and they consummate their forbidden love. Their daughter, Konstanza, whom Konrad refuses to acknowledge, is born in Switzerland. At eight years old, Konstanza is sent to a prestigious German boarding school where she learns about the brutality that lurks beneath the veneer of German culture. After her parents are murdered by the type of thugs who soon will rule Germany, Konstanza travels to Poland, to work for a loving Jewish family.
When Poland is occupied by Germany, the family is ripped apart and Konstanza is forced to become a housekeeper for a unit of German officers. Risking her life on a daily basis, Konstanza becomes instrumental in a plan to save Jewish children from certain death. They Will Not Be Forgotten reveals inconceivable cruelty by a population gone criminally insane and memorializes the brave people who have the courage to resist evil.
To Survive Is Not Enough
Kindle & Paperback - August 15, 2016
Snatched from a near certain death in a concentration camp, Hedy is taken to a totally strange environment in an opulent villa in Berlin. This is the residence of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, and she is forced to live in his harem for nearly 3 years. Here the rules were unknown but the punishment swift. In a twist of events she is helped to escape by the Mufti's trusted secretary, the mysterious Omar. As a very young man Oskar Menkes becomes Omar Amadhi, a private secretary to the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, one of the most evil men of the 20th Century. In that capacity, he risks his life on a daily basis to save the lives of countless Jewish children and help to further the Zionist cause. Overcoming the precarious situation of an illegal immigrant in pre-Israel Palestine, this indomitable young woman finds life is worth fighting for.
