I really enjoyed following Hilda as she attempted to discover what happened to her family in Berlin.
The story showed how bureaucracies were put in place during the war to control income and family litigations. It's also an example of the many different ways one can exclude and discriminate others.

The writing felt slightly off at places, with many descriptions that were perhaps more suitable in fiction. The plot is slow at times, with breaks in the timeline that the writing was not clear on.

This is a true story of Hilda who decides to find out more about her mother’s life in Germany and what really happened to the family home during WWII. With Hilda’s family being Jewish she goes on a quest to figure out what really happened. Following many delays and the frustrations of getting information a picture started to emerge.

The book is rather dry and at times I felt like there was some repetition. Fortunately it was a short book but I did not find it to be a fast read as it was difficult to get through. There really were no surprises hidden in the story.

This is a compelling story, but it has the feel of a book being written in haste, or without a second, third, or fourth go-through.

Hilda is brought back to Berlin to see her childhood home, owned by her Jewish family for decades and from which they fled in 1936 to avoid Hitler's initial clampdown, then removal, imprisonment, and systemic genocide of Jewish families that were living in Germany. She is encouraged by the building's inhabitants and other Berliners she meets to find out the building's history, both during and after the family's residence there.

Cammidge does a good job of describing the labyrinthine process of working with government records management bureaucrats - we've all been there, sitting through commands to essentially "hurry up and wait." When she finally does begin to chip away at the story of what happened, it's not until many weeks later, when Hilda is back home in California. And she doesn't like what she sees.

Having lived in Berlin for eight years, I felt at home with the brief descriptions of Hilda's and John's travels through the city as they tried to find the building, then toured the various sites. I empathized with her difficulties trying to get by without being able to communicate with any fluency in German. I also understood the complexities of life in a government office and the frustrations of the visitors and the employees, having visited many and having myself worked in more than a few. I felt the author captured these aspects well, but still wish they had been fleshed out a bit more. I also felt we missed out on a great opportunity to get more backstory to the main characters we encountered.

There will be no surprises in this book when it comes to how a government and its staff are able to appear cold or even hostile to the efforts of their victims, even separated by decades or centuries, to seek answers or remuneration. We need look no further than the US treatment of this country's indigenous peoples or the treatment of indentured servants and slaves, and its refusal to meaningfully address the same.

A fine and very quick read, fast-paced because of the topic, but also - unfortunately - because of the absence of additional material that could have fleshed out the story much better. Three and a half stars.

Sincere thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for making this available to me through a free advance reading copy.

Hard to read due to the tragedy of this period in history. I hope we never forget. An excellent read.

I was not a great fan of this book as it didn't move along smoothly for my taste.
The gist of the book was what happened to wealthy Germans in the 1930's.I
The book mainly centered on one daughter trying to find out what happened to her families,property.She dealt with Attorneys,German consulate, and many others.
I want to thank Netgalley for the opportunity to Read and review the book "Abandoned in Berlin." by John R Cammidge.

Abandoned in Berlin
A True Story
by John R. Cammidge
Gatekeeper Press
Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles
Biographies & Memoirs , History
Pub Date 05 Sep 2018


I am reviewing a copy of Abandoned In Berlin Through Gatekeeper Press and Netgalley:


Hilda was born in San Francisco but is horrified to learn the way her Jewish family was treated in Berlin not only before and during the Holocaust but in the 1950’s as well!


Hilda began her investigation on her family after a June 2016 trip to Berlin and she lear of collusion, discrimination and persecution and a failure in West Germany to admit to former crimes.


I give Abandoned In Berlin five out of five stars!

Hilda is Borneo in San Fransico. She wants to find out more about her family when they her mother lived in Berlin as a child plus the home they lived in. Hilda had gone to Berlin once before with her mother but it was a painful journey for her mother. Hilda and a friend help her navigate and slowly discover much about the treatment of her relatives and what happened to the property they owned. Sadly, much was still to be discovered at the time this book was written.

My interest was in what Hilda had to do to find out what she could. This is a historically accurate story. I think it was amazing that Hilda didn’t give up. This is a book that one may want to read for history or for their own family search of those who lived in Berlin at that time.

As you all already know, I am a little bit obsessed with WWII history. Therefore when I saw the title of the book - I knew I had to read it. The book is based on the true story.

The story itself is heartbreaking. As we already know the history, prior and during the WWII many Jewish owned businesses were eliminated by German laws. In this particular book, we are introduced to a wealthy family that eventually were forced to sell their business and home and run away to England, Japan, and the US to avoid Nazi concentration camps.

Unlike many others, Hilda's family were able to survive and built better life outside of their homeland. And one fine day, Hilda uncovers the truth of why her mother and grandmother were forced to leave their family home. Will she be able to get back the property that legally belongs to her?

"Abandoned in Berline" is a short novel, great for a great any history lover. Thank you John Cammidge for a lovely read and NetGalley and Gatekeeper Press publisher for a free copy of the novel.

This book is a true story about Hilda trying to find out what happened, to her Jewish mother's property in Berlin during WW2.
I found that the story was very drawn out and tedious to read. There were alot of things and information to follow up about the property and not enough information about the characters.

This was nothing like I thought it would be. This is about a woman who researches her family's past. I found the story stiff at times. They author occasionally put in descriptions that didn't add to the story. Sadly this book had some interesting facts but I felt like Hilda, the main character, where I waited a lot to find out there was going to be more waiting or the information was not relevant. I think the family history was interesting and I wish I knew more about how they escaped the horrors and life in Shanghai. This book was a skeleton of what could of been.

This is a really interesting and informative read.

The true story follows Hilda's investigation into her family and what happened to the property they had owned in Berlin. It was interesting and harrowing to learn about how these people were persecuted during WWII.

I read this book in one day as it keeps you gripped, wanting to find out what happens and whether there is any justice for this family.