Summit Daily News, Friday, September 4, 2009

‘Abandoned and Forgotten,' one woman's tale
Evelyne Tannehill's book depicts the other side of World War II — what German children went through By Kimberly Nicoletti

Evelyne Tannehill never discussed her abusive past, growing up in Germany during World War II and losing her family. She tried, once, as a young wife who revealed a couple horrors of her past to her mother-in-law. The response: disbelief.

And so, she clammed up, until several years ago, when she returned to Germany when the Berlin Wall came down. As she sat on a bus with German tourists sharing experiences about growing up during Hitler's reign, she realized her story was unique: She had been caught under the abusive power of the Russians and Poles after the war ended and lost her parents in the process.

More to come!

Expulsion -- "not a humane procedure"

My story covers a little known slice of history. I am referring to the ruthless expulsion of all Germans from the country's lost territories after the war. It was not a humane procedure. But then what was humane about that terrible war, or any war. Few people knew how the German populace struggled for survival long after the war was over. Nobody realized outside of Germany how long it took the German people to put their lives back together. And as my Aunt Elsbeth said, we East Prussians lived in the wrong part of Germany and paid more dearly for the war. But that is the fallout of war, the innocent pay for their power hungry, and all too often evil leaders' mistakes and ambitions, especially the children.