Heimat

By Paul Marzell

Karma was a guiding force for four young German immigrants who left post-WWI Germany in 1929 to seek a new life in America, hoping to return to Neisse, their Heimat, as successful Americans. Their journey took an unexpected turn at Berlin's busy train station, where they rescued an American diplomat from the tracks, forming a friendship that weathered broken promises, misunderstandings about the American dream, the Great Depression, and their efforts to fit into American society. But as World War II began, their paths split: Matthias ended up at a shipyard building vessels meant to destroy Germany, their homeland. Feliks joined the US Army, fought in the Pacific against Japan, and later supported the Polish resistance. Josef, on an unexpected visit to Neisse, was drafted into the Wehrmacht, taking part in invasions of France and Russia, and fought Americans during the Battle of the Bulge. Meanwhile, Edo was involved in the Nuremberg trials, helping in the effort to bring Nazi war criminals to justice.
When the war ended, their Heimat was virtually erased with a single stroke of the pen at the Potsdam Conference in 1945, which redrew Poland's borders eastward, and Germany lost twenty percent of its territory. This action displaced twenty million Germans and ethnic Germans, including Matthias' family, who lost their home and migrated west with only what they could carry.

Their story is a tapestry of loyalty, betrayal, and the relentless grip of fate, weaving a compelling saga of friendship tested by war, ideology, and the quest for identity in a world coming undone.

This is more than a tale of four immigrants; it is a poignant exploration of the human spirit caught in the tumult of history

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0578841193
• ISBN13: 9780578841199
• Release Date: September 2021
• Publisher: Us ISBN Agency
• Length: 518 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 9.0"