German Girl - American Woman, Mosaic of a Life

Born in Berlin, in 1934, Adelheid "Heidi" Stryker spent the war years as an evacuee in the Alps, escaping the bombing devastation and perils in the city. Hunger ran rampant, as the evacuees learned to supplement serious food shortages by turning to edible plants in the wild and learning to grow potatoes and vegetables. When the war came to an end, rumors as to whether the French or Americans would reach and occupy the valley spread like wildfire. At age 22 the author emigrated to the United States, where she had neither friends nor relatives. She survived a very dangerous first few days in New York, where she eventually met her first husband, raising four children, finding tragedy and excitement with her new life in America.