Barefoot in the Rubble

My grandmother is the kindest lady as most of them are and she was also a German refugee taken into a concentration camp by the Russians during WWII. Growing up I never quite understood how my grandmother was in a concentration camp since she and we are not Jewish. Until I listened to her story a few weeks ago, at the age of 22 and about to graduate from college, I had no clue about Germans who had nothing to do with the war that were treated so horribly and punished for crimes they did not know existed let alone had any control over. How could one fight for the Jews to stop being persecuted and then persecute others! How hypocritical and inhumane. It makes me sick but I felt as though I needed to read this book because my grandmother said Elizabeth Walter's story is similar to her own and my grandmother does not want to have to tell the gruesome details to me and my family. I hope eyes are opened by this book but I hope that people are not too disgusted like I'm afraid I have been. It makes me extrememly appreciative of all that I have!

A family is awakened in the middle of the night as strangers with guns and knives burst into their home. The Father is not there to comfort them, he has been taken away and shipped off to Russia. The Mother is alone with her children. The strangers make demands in a foreign language and indicate they are forcibly taking the family away from their home. The family is terrified and they have no choice but to obey, leaving all of their possessions behind. And so begins this shocking story of concentration camps, starvation and death - all taking place as World War II was ending - and when these atrocities were supposed to have ended. It's the story of the Expulsion, a period of time after WWII when Tito came to power in the then country of Yugoslavia, and proceeded to kill over half a million* Danube Swabians (ethnic Germans). Hundreds of thousands of ethnic Germans were killed by Tito's forces and thousands of others were locked in concentration camps and starved. Their only crime? They were German. This story is told through the eyes of a child. The author, Elizabeth Walters, was only 4 years old when these events began. After 3 years, her family eventually escaped the camps and they walked by foot across Hungary and halfway across Austria. They scaled a mountain range to reach safety in the American Zone. Most of the Western Media, and even our history books have neglected this horrific time in history, and some officials even deny that the action against Yugoslavian citizens of German nationality ever took place.That's why the book, Barefoot in the Rubble, by Elizabeth Walters is so important. She dares to speak the truth about a period of history that remains largely unknown. Ethnic Cleansing is not limited to one country, or one time period in history. For centuries this has been going on and continues even to this day. This is a story that must be heard. Source: *"Nemesis at Potsdam" - Alfred M. de Zayas

An excellent telling of a horrible thing. Ms. Walter, an excellent accounting. Thank you. You have helped me see what family members went through.

This book describes the atrocities ethnic Germans endured in Yugoslavia during the Marshall Tito regime from 1944 - 1948. Adults and children were put into concentration camps, just because of their ethnicity. Told through the eyes of Elizabeth Walter, who lived through the ordeal as a child, it tells of the courage and will to survive. This is a story that should be read by adults and children to learn about a part of history that has never been discussed. My prayers go out to those who died during the "ethnic cleansing" in Yugoslavia and my heart goes out to Elizabeth Walter for having the courage to share her story.

Ms. Walter's memoirs of growing up in post war Europe is an excellent addition to anyone's library that focuses on the incredible history of WWII. Written from a child's perspective, it serves to remind us that there are always many more who suffer from the actions of our leaders, and continue to live the trauma of memory and the difficulties in resolving the whys and hows of experience. For anyone who would like to dismiss the subject of this book based on the German ethnicity of the author, I would suggest some research into the history of Yugoslavia and the current events of this dismantled country and think again about our perpetual need to label others according to their religion, ethnicity, language and skin color. Ms. Walter offers an empathetic hand to all victims of group identity and particularly to the children who always suffer the retributions doled out to the adults.