Thorns and Roses

When I was fifteen I had serious concerns: Who would take me to the Sophomore Sock Hop? Should I cut my hair or keep my ponytail? Why do I have to study Latin? As I read Thorns and Roses, by Almut Metzroth, I looked back on my relatively uneventful teen years and wondered what I would have done had I found myself in the same situation. When Almut Finger was fifteen she was hiding in the hayloft of a German barn as Soviet soldiers occupied her country. By this time she had experienced the rationing of food and other material goods as supplies were diverted to support the war effort. Almut vividly recalls escaping air raids and the firestorms that often followed. What she was unable to escape was the violation of German women and girls by the Soviet troops. For those who wonder how the German people could have supported Hitler's regime, we see one answer through her experiences: "We had lived with propaganda, rumors, and wishful thinking as long as I, a fifteen-year-old, could remember. Positive slogans encouraged the German population to work for victory." Almut tells of surviving those years to go on to college where she met her future husband, Rupert (Bert) Metzroth. Almut and Bert eventually leave Germany and begin a new life in America; a life which was not without its thorns. There were challenges and sorrow to overcome as well as victories to be celebrated. I would recommend the book to anyone who has the courage to 'walk a mile' in Almut's shoes.