Editorial Reviews

"Incredible book...it's a page-turner, and the story just gets jucier and jucier. It's an amazing story, and a book everybody should read. I'll be reading it a second time."
—Eli Marcus, The Mayor of Times Square, and host of The Motivation Show  

"A harrowing story of survival...Posnien hopes her story will help educate future generations about the horrors of war and the importance of standing up to tyranny."
—ABC4 Utah nightly news  

"A Child In Berlin covers one of the darkest periods in history but proves that moments of light and hope shined through...The book is hard-hitting, crushingly emotional, filled with pain, guilt, shame, and often brutal details. But it is also stocked with moments of happiness, joy, and redemption. All this builds the poignant tale of Posnien and her mother's struggle to survive during the fall of Germany. Through Posnien's incredible story, her family is forever honored and will be an inspiration for years to come."
—Mike Ritchie, Covering the Scene  

"The book begins in 1939 when Posnien and her opera-singing mother moved to Berlin, the same month Hitler invaded Poland. The Germans were looking for so-called pure Aryans to sing for opera-loving Berliners. And Posnien's blonde, blue-eyed mother Käthe was a match. Even with the backdrop of a building war, Käthe considered it an honor to take up the offer, and she lived a heady existence — at first. She dated a Wehrmacht officer in the early days of the war and was once at a dinner party attended by Adolf Hitler. But things changed for her...and Posnien witnessed it all through the eyes of a child."
—Pamela McCall, Utah NPR host of All Things Considered  

"The most credible way to know history, largely, is to hear it from someone who was there. Rhonda Lauritzen listened to the stories of a little girl, Heidi, who grew up in Germany during the Hitler atrocities. She has written Heidi's story in the book called A Child in Berlin—breathtaking stories and pictures that take you into a time in our history most people would rather forget. But we know we cannot and should not."
—Dee Armstrong, ABC TV, Columbus, Georgia  

"You might call this biography an introduction to another side of World War II...it captures the horrors of war and its transforming impact on some of the civilian adults and children."
—Donald H. Harrison, San Diego Jewish World  

"Rhonda Lauritzen is a writer and a woman who can listen deeply and then put a story into print for generations to come...This is such an important story because it reveals history that has rarely been heard. It also attests to the strength of the human spirit and living life well into later decades."
—Kate Daniels, 106.9 Warm, Seattle