This memoir tells the story of a wrong place at the wrong time when a little girl visits relatives in Germany as WWII begins. The memoir continues as she tells of her journey back to America years later. Considering the author is a WWII survivor the amount of detail, personal stories and even drawings the author was able to include is truly amazing. First hand accounts of stories like these are going to be harder and harder to find and I really believe this one is a unique and important read! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this beautiful book.

In 1930 Rosemarie Lengsfeld, affectionately called Rosel by her family, was born in New York City to parents who had emigrated to the United States from Germany and were awaiting their final citizenship papers. Despite that, they decided, in 1935 when Rosel was four-years-old, to return to Germany to visit family in Breslau. It was to be only a short stay, but lasted longer than expected, so when it came time to return to the US, the family discovered that their tickets would not be honored. Adolf Hitler, then Chancellor of Germany, had closed the borders so that German citizens could not leave the country. At first, Rosel enjoyed being with her extended family in Germany, and her parents soon welcomed baby Eleonore into the family. But when the war began, the family found themselves struggling to stay alive without enough food to eat amid bombing by the Allied Forces.
Finally, in 1946, with the war over, Rosel received a letter telling her she could return to the United States. Convinced that this would include her parents and now nine-year-old Eleonore, the family showed up at the American Embassy and were told only Rosel, 15, could return home, since she was the only American citizen - her parents and sister were German citizens.

Making a snap decision to go it alone and hopefully find a way to bring her parents and sister to the United States, Rosel finds herself traveling across the ocean on a 10 day trip aboard the SS Marine Flasher, a former troop transport ship along with other American citizens who were stuck in Germany and "surviving Jews and other displaced persons..." On board ship, Rosel meets the mysterious Liesel, another American with German parents, a few years older Rosel, who is traveling with her brother Kurt. She also meets David, a talented musician who lost his entire family in the Holocaust. As the ship gets closer and closer to the United States, Rosel begins to fear that no one will believe that she is American, that she will be branded as a Nazi because of her German accent.

It is during this journey at night when she is alone in her bunk bed that the reader discovers what life was like for Rosel, her family and others living under the horrors of Hitler's dictatorship before and during the war. Interestingly, she never talked about her experiences until she was 85 years old and therefore it is all based on her memories, but told in the first person from her 15 year-old perspective, and, in my opinion, making her something of an unreliable narrator. Even so, it's hard to imagine a 15-year-old making the kind of decision Rosel was forced to make that day in the Embassy, leaving her parents and sister behind, traveling alone to who knows what future, and at the same time, dealing with the trauma of the war as it returned night after night on the trip to the US. But Rosel's story is definitely one of courage and a different kind of true WWII story in that it is told from the point of an American child. It is often not an easy book to read, but I found it hard to put down.

American Shoes is a book that will appeal to readers interested in WWII, the post war experience, especially the experiences of Americans can in Nazi Germany, and war-related trauma. Back matter includes maps, a glossary, an author's commentary on WWI, WWII, and the Holocaust, and thoughts by the author's son about writing this book, as well as extensive Discussion Questions.

American Shoes is an extraordinary story of a young A,Ericsson girl, trapped inside Germany for ten years. The story flashes back and forth as she journey home to America, by herself at 15. People born in the interwar years, I think, we’re made of the sternest constitutions and run circles around contemporary people. Rosemarie grabbed her brass ring chance and didn’t look back. It’s a great story!

Based on the true story of the co author, Rosemarie (Rosel) is the daughter of German immigrants. She is born in New York; an American citizen. In the 1930s, the family returns to Germany to visit her dying grandfather. After World War II breaks out, Hitler will not allow German nationals out of the country, so Rosemarie and her family must wait out the war there. After the war, the United States would only allow American citizens and Jews into the country, so fifteen year old Rosemarie is separated from her parents and younger sister as she returns to the US to live with a distant aunt and uncle.

As Rosel embarks on a journey across the Atlantic and back to America aboard an ocean liner redesigned for troop transport, the horrors of the Nazi Germany of her childhood are revealed through her daily nightmares, an effective literary technique.

The perspective of this book is a bit different; it is of the German citizens who did not support Hitler and the toll the madman’s actions took on their lives as they lost their homes, were displaced, survived bombings, forced conscription, refugee camps. Rosel must be particularly careful to hide the fact that she is actually an American.

Beautifully written by Rosemarie and her son, American Shoes exposes the evil that can exist in the world, as well as the heinous aspects of war. I had the feeling the book was written with teens and YA readers in mind. It is a tough story but there is so much to learn from it.

The past two years I have read a lot of books that focus on the effects of World War II; I have enjoyed all of them and think they are giving us a message for our times. If only we would heed it. As I was reading, certain passages resonated:“lies spreading for years….like a plague” “people were quick to believe anything that explained their misery or lessened their fear””people were quick to blame anything and anyone””how can people succumb to such blatant lies”. Without spoiling too much, when I read the postscript, I found some of the same feelings: “If we are not careful, what happened in Germany could happen here”.

This memoir was certainly a perspective I’ve never seen before in WWII writings and it was fascinating. With the benefit of modern day hindsight it seems remarkably rash that Rosel’s father would risk their status in the USA by leaving the country to go to Germany where the political situation was at best worrying and at worst frankly terrifying.
I liked the way Garrett decided to tell the story as a first person narrative while ghost writing his mother’s memories. The foreword seems to imply that this is a Young Adult book and I think this approach is definitely the best way to engage youngsters. I thought using the nightmares Rosel had each night about the ship as a way to take her back to reflect on her terrible war memories was very clever as I was equally interested in the 15 year old unaccompanied young girl alone aboard a ship facing an uncertain though hopeful future.
I would have liked a bit more clarity as to whether the other characters in the book were composites or actual people, specifically Liesel and Kurt. I also would have liked the book to include her leaving her aunt and uncles house and the arrival of her family later on. The book seemed longer than it needed to be and I think it could probably have been streamlined and had space for those later parts of the story to be part of the memoir itself and not just in a post script.
All in all though a very enjoyable (if that can even be the right word) book with a very different perspective.

Depressing, uplifting, informative and entertaining describes "American Shoes". At the end I wanted to learn more of her life.

American Shoes
A Refugee's Story
by Rosemarie Lengsfeld Turke; Garrett Turke
Pub Date 15 Feb 2022
Beyond Words Publishing, Beyond Words
Biographies & Memoirs | History | Middle Grade



I am reviewing a copy of American Shoes: A Refugee’s Story through Beyond Words and Netgalley:



American Shoes is set against a backdrop of Adolf Hitler’s rise to power, the reign of Nazi Germany, and the entire course of World War II in Europe. It recounts the tumultuous childhood of a young American girl and her family trapped within a country that turned against itself, where human decency eroded and then vaporized. American shoes portray the breakdown of a society from a child’s point of view, deep inside a land where millions of law-abiding citizens were targeted as threats, and then removed for extermination.




American Shoes is the story of a brave girl who, despite not being Jewish, was perceived to be one of those threats and was compelled to keep her American identity secret for fear of her family’s arrest, concentration camp placement, or worse. Fighting to see through a relentless barrage of Nazi lies and propaganda, caught within a nation where resistance or opposition meant incarceration if not certain death, American Shoes illuminates one family’s struggle to survive against impossible odds as a cataclysmic world war marched closer and closer until it was upon.



This story is told, I’m vivid detail for the first time in after seven decades of a family’s collective silence, American Shoes reveals the story of a brave and spirited young girl named Rosel who refused to accept the new order of a world gone mad, inside a society that became more sinister and macabre than any childhood nightmare could ever be. Driven by the faint memories of the land where she was born a hazy beacon that guided her toward freedom and a new life this is the story of Rosemarie Lengsfeld Turke.



I give American Shoes five out of five stars!



Happy Reading!

A WWII story from a very different perspective, one of ordinary German citizens who are not Nazi sympathizers and how they experienced the war inside Germany. Three year old Rosel, born in the US to German immigrant parents, returns to Germany with her family to visit relatives in the 1930s. They are trapped in Germany as Hitler closes the borders. This is her memoir of the years trapped in Nazi Germany throughout the war. It's a fascinating and difficult story, hard to put down. It should be on all middle and high school library shelves. Highly recommended.

This is one of the best WW2 memoirs I’ve read.
Rosel is just a little girl when she and her parents travel from New York to Germany to visit relatives. While there, WW2 breaks out and the family is trapped when the borders close, for several years. Rosel is fifteen when she gets the chance to return to New York, but alone, because she is the only American citizen in her family. Her experiences on the transport ship and back home in New York are described in vivid detail.
Incredibly, Rosel was in her 90’s when she and her son collaborated to write this book. The text is accompanied by actual sketches drawn by Rosel of her adventures. There are also extensive author’s notes at the end, which made the foreign words and historical events easier to understand.
I think this book should be in every classroom. So many valuable lessons could be learned from the insights of someone who lived through possibly the most terrible time in our world’s history.
Thank you, Netgalley, for a digital copy! All opinions are strictly my own.

This was such a well written and compelling book that told an aspect of World War 2 history that I have barely heard about let alone read about. I couldnt out it down and it has left a firm imprint in my heart it was wonderful

Book 51 of my 2021 Reading Challenge

American Shoes by Rosemarie Lengsfeld Turke

Summary (via Goodreads)
expected publication date: February 2022

Set against a backdrop of Adolf Hitler’s rise to power, the reign of Nazi Germany, and the entire course of World War II in Europe, American Shoes recounts the tumultuous childhood of a young American girl and her family trapped within a country that turned against itself, where human decency eroded and then vaporized. Forced to grow up in the midst of endemic fear stoked by a ravenous madman, American Shoes portrays the breakdown of a society from a child’s point of view, deep inside a land where millions of law-abiding citizens were targeted as threats, and then removed for extermination.

This is the story of a brave girl who, despite not being Jewish, was perceived to be one of those threats and was compelled to keep her American identity secret for fear of her family’s arrest, concentration camp placement, or worse. Fighting to see through a relentless barrage of Nazi lies and propaganda, caught within a nation where resistance or opposition meant incarceration if not certain death, American Shoes illuminates one family’s struggle to survive against impossible odds as a cataclysmic world war marched closer and closer until it was upon them.

Vividly told for the first time after seven decades of a family’s collective silence, American Shoes reveals the story of a brave and spirited young girl named Rosel who refused to accept the new order of a world gone mad, inside a society that became more sinister and macabre than any childhood nightmare could ever be. Driven by the faint memories of the land where she was born—a hazy beacon that guided her toward freedom and a new life—this is the story of Rosemarie Lengsfeld Turke.

First Impressions/Judging a Book by Its Cover
I chose this book while browsing on NetGalley (full disclaimer below). The cover and title intrigued me enough to look at the description. Based on the description, it appears to be a perspective I haven't heard much about - an American family living in Germany at the time of WWII and how they had to avoid drawing attention to themselves.

It's listed as a biography geared to middle grades so I'm not sure how detailed it will be. I'm anticipating this would be one my daughter would be interested in reading as well.

My Opinion
4 stars

**I received an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley and would like to thank the author and/or publisher for the opportunity to read and honestly review it**

Since this book is marketed to younger readers it starts with "precautions for parents and teachers" about the contents of the book. In my opinion, this book is an accurate representation of her memories. She didn't sugarcoat the tough stuff but also didn't use graphic descriptions in an exploitative way. While each child's sensitivities are different, if a child is interested in reading about the Holocaust and the adult feels they can handle the information, this book would generate interesting discussions.

The book is digestible for a young reader but reading between the lines as an adult and especially a parent, my heart was in my throat the whole time. The text was simple and emotional. It made my heart hurt that she was so stoic since it was probably a form of protection. She made a good point about the difficulties for children to find any sort of consistency to rely on; their development would be stunted if they survived because of all the unpredictable changes and breakdown of society.

It was a viewpoint I hadn't read before. As a young child, she was an American citizen who ended up stuck in Germany for years with her parents (who had immigrated to America but were still German citizens) when the borders closed while they were visiting family. Her father ended up getting drafted and another child was born in Germany so when the war ended, she had to travel home to the US by herself as a teenager; as the only American citizen in her family, she was the only one who qualified for the evacuations.

I'm not clear if these are her sketches or not but I assume they are and they add a nice touch.

Three-year-old American-born Rosemarie was taken to Germany with her German-born parents to visit relatives in 1933. They stayed too long and were trapped in Nazi Germany, experiencing the Nazi’s intimidation and brainwashing, bombing, privations, and Rosemarie’s father’s induction into the volkstrum. At age 15, looking like a 12-year-old, she is allowed to sail for America alone with no guarantee her aunt will take her in. Her German experiences are told through nightmares she suffered during the voyage.
I found her to be an unlikeable character, too full of herself. She admits to being headstrong. Her own grandmother turned her, her mother and sister out during the war because she couldn’t stand her granddaughter’s unruliness. Other children hadn’t wanted to be friends with her because of her bossiness and need to be in control. Rosemarie was dismayed by the former troop ship for the voyage, it not being the luxurious ocean liner she felt she deserved.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
I've read many WWII books but one written from the perspective of Germans who wanted no part of Hitler and Third Reich is something for me. I love this book. It is very well written. I felt like I was there right along side Rosemarie and all she was experiencing.
It seems like writing this book (with others including her son) was also healing for Rosemarie. She is absolutely wonderful for bringing her story to light.

American Shoes is the story of a little girl born in the USA to German Immigrants who return to their homeland after the Nazis come to power. They find themselves unable to return home and rather than the peace and liberty of the USA they are forced to experience the horrors of Hitler's tyranny. The book starts two years after the war has ended with the family forced into another division as Rosemarie, being the only American Citizen in her family, faced with a choice to either remain or get on a transport ship returning to New York. She chooses to get on board leaving all that is dear to her and we then get to hear a series of recollections of the past 10 years interwoven with new characters and adventures on what proves a harrowing voyage to "freedom".
What makes this book unusual is that it gives a German perspective of civilian life during WWII including the pressure to conform and support a regime she despises, the persecution of those who do not fit the Nazi ideals, the terror of allied bombing raids, flight from advancing Russian troops and the hopelessness of life as a refugee. It is also written through the eyes of a young girl who is naturally inquisitive and optimistic but who has to mature quickly when the world and those around her do not match her ideals.
The story on its own captures your attention but the skill of the Authors really brings the characters to life and makes this a real page turner. This is one of those stories which we all need to read in our lifetimes if only to remind us of how precious are the many things we take for granted living in a free democracy.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Beyond Words Publishing for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

I just absolutely loved this book. It is so evident how much care went into presenting Rosemarie’s story. The story alone is riveting, but the way it is structured is so tantalizing that you won’t be able to easily put it down until you reach the very end. When you reach the end, you’re going to be thinking that you want to read even more! But the authors did not leave us in suspense and you do get a sense of how Rosemarie’s life has been. I am so so so very glad that she has shared her story with us. It’s an unusual one and a must read for anyone who interested in the effects of war on children. This is a real story by a real person. It will give you all the feels. Thank you, Rosemarie! PS. The title is perfect!!