The City in Flames: A Child's Recollection of World War II in Würzburg, Germany

From the moment Germany ignited World War II, life changed radically for young Elisabeth, her family, and other residents of Wurzburg. When a fire-bombing near the war's end destroyed most of the city, earlier hardships turned into a desperate struggle for survival as the family took shelter in a cabin outside of town.

Through it all, Elisabeth found moments of humor and compassion, from a bungled midnight attempt to milk a neighbor's goat and a Russian POW risking his life to save her family to communion dresses sewn from the only material on hand--a dead soldier's parachute--and the baker who rewarded Elisabeth's mother's confession about stealing a loaf of his bread by giving her another. Together, the stories captured in this memoir provide a gripping picture of everyday life in a world gone up in flames.