Behind the Iron Curtain: Recollections of Latter-Day Saints in East Germany, 1945-1989

by Norma S. Davis (Editor)

Book by

Genres: History, Nonfiction

354 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me longer to read this than usual, but I'm thankful for the memories recorded by these stalwart, brave people. I learned so much about survival and faithfulness of these good people who endured so much.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have retained this book as reference for the unique perspective on how the Church of-Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has prospered and flourished under state-imposed repression. This is inspiring.

[Rabecca Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book brought tears to my eyes!! Ready all the thing the Believers when through! Their faith was so strong! Shows us how our faith should be!

[Jacob Lines · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Church has more of a history in Germany than I ever realized. Its growth was interrupted by the two world wars, of course, but there have been Church members there since the early days. This book is a collection of personal writings and interviews from members of the Church that lived in East Germany during the Cold War years. Their faith and endurance is astounding. I am especially awed by the story of Walter Krause, who served as a missionary after World War II and then as a counselor in the mission presidency and a patriarch. This book is full of stories of faithfulness in the face of poverty, government suppression, and suspicion. It covers everything from the isolation from the rest of the world to the construction of the Freiburg Temple to the fall of the wall. Because the book is a collection, it does not have a unified narrative that runs throughout. But that does not detract from the great stories told and the lessons shared. Reading this book makes me want to be a better Latter-day Saint.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was meaningful to me since I lived in Dresden for 10 months and I have seen some of the other cities that were mentioned in the book.

It was inspiring to read about how the Latter-Day Saints stayed faithful during WWII and during the Communist Era of East Germany.

They share stories of how they were blessed and some of the miracles they witnessed. i.e. It was a miracle that a temple was built in East Germany while the wall was still up!

I feel a love for these people and their stories, but as a book I give it a 3 star rating since it's not really a book for entertainment (although it is historically significant)

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting read about East Germany Latter Day Saints. The book is a compilation of personal histories and interviews. It covers a time period from about 1939 to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Stories of sacrifice, hard work, people working together and helping each other.
Very insightful. It was a slow read for me. I could only read a few stories at a time. The interviews were often long..and it seemed by the end of the book, I was just holding on to finish it!
But...I learned a great deal. I need to count my blessings more!!

[Kip · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not finish this book, but I did read more than half of it out loud to my 12 year old son, who encouraged me to continue reading through all I read. He found the contents and stories very interesting. It is not a page turner, but it does give a good sense of what life was like at the time, giving me more appreciation for my freedoms.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collection of interviews and recollections of members of the LDS Church in eastern German during the waning of National Socialism and the life of Marxist Socialism. As such, it is quite interesting but not great literature.

[Carel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Norma & Garold invested themselves in this project while on their first mission to Dresden. They interviewed each of these people and recorded their memories of WWII. I had also heard some of these stories from my husband. It's just amazing what people can endure when their faith is strong!

[Kirt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personally I was fascinated with this book because it was about places and people with whom I had become familiar on extended visits to Dresden. It offers a very revealing and accurate first-hand perspective of a religious people living under oppressive Communist rule.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very poignant experiences of many of the leaders and workers in the Church. Amazed that the people were happy they stayed there and grew stronger spiritually and saw miracles and blessings. The stories are unedited and some are tedious and repetitive but I wanted to read every detail.

[Kiesha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Evidently I'm not a big fan of reading a ton of compiled short stories. This book was o.k. It was a good history lesson and faith building but not really captivating.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Facinating book. These people had virtually no material possessions during WWII and then under communism, but they so happy and close as they served the Lord.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting stories

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating stories about the Gospel in Eastern Europe, a favorite subject of mine.