During the Berlin famine of 1946/1947, two 16-year-old girls attempt to forge an unusual friendship: in a displaced persons camp for Holocaust survivors, Lotte, a German girl who cleans the camp, meets Estera, a Polish-Jewish girl. Lotte grew up with the lies of the Nazis; she lived through the bombing of Berlin, and her father is a prisoner of the Russians. Estera’s father was murdered by the Nazis; her mother died during their many journeys fleeing through Eastern Europe; her little sister is missing.
Lotte and Estera could not be more different – yet both are united by a longing for a better future. Holly-Jane Rahlens recounts their attempt to bridge the divide in atmospheric, vivid language. A powerful testimony to the times – well suited for shared discussions about history and humanity.
