A World Elsewhere: An American Woman in Wartime Germany

by Sigrid MacRae

The extraordinary love story of an American blueblood and a German aristocrat—and a riveting tale of survival in wartime Germany

Sigrid MacRae never knew her father, until a trove of letters revealed not only him, but also the singular story of her parents’ intercontinental love affair. While visiting Paris
in 1927, her American mother, Aimée, raised in a wealthy Connecticut family, falls in love with a charming, sophisticated Baltic German baron, a penniless exile of the Russian revolution. They marry. But the harsh reality of post�World War I Germany is inescapable: a bleak economy and the rise of Hitler quash Heinrich’s diplomatic
ambitions, and their struggling family farm north of Berlin drains Aimée’s modest fortune. In 1941, Heinrich volunteers for the Russian front and is killed by a sniper. Widowed, living in a country soon at war with her own, Aimée must fend for herself. With home and family in jeopardy, she and her six young children flee the advancing
Russian army in an epic journey, back to the country she thought she’d left behind.

A World Elsewhere is a stirring narrative of two hostages to history and a mother’s courageous fight to save her family.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, World War II, Historical, Germany, Memoir

320 pages, Hardcover

First published September 4, 2014

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many years ago I latched onto a quote I found by Sydney J. Harris: "When I hear somebody sigh, 'Life is hard,' I am always tempted to ask, 'Compared to what?'" The tribulations that Sigrid MacRae's mother Aimée endured would have brought most people to their knees--yet this incredible account of her fortitude and determination to build a life for her family shows us that perhaps human frailty is simply a personal choice.

I was lucky enough to win this book through Goodreads First Reads, although it took me two entries to get it, I'm glad I did! I expected to read an impressive and heartrending story about a family surviving WWII Germany, but it was more than that. The beginning of the book sets up painstaking context from post WWI and the Bolshevik Revolution, to the collapse of the Weimar Republic, and finally the rise of Hitler and the reformation that came with him. The history might be a little overwhelming for readers solely interested in a memoir, but I found that the context helped me better understand the key players in this book and why they made the choices they did.

I began and finished reading the book in a weekend, which should demonstrate how gripping the narrative is. Without giving much away, I'd thought that when Aimée finally returned to America her luck would improve, but from beginning to end she doesn't seem to catch a single break. Normally, I recommend books that I like to people interested in the particular subject discussed, but this is one of those rare stories that everyone, EVERYONE, should read. MacRae says it best and sums up my own feelings in her Epilogue: "This book taught me that there is not one history, but many; that context is everything, and life is far more complex than we ever imagine."

[Joel U · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible and unusual portrayal of life in Nazi Germany, but so much more yet. Sigrid MacRae, with absolute generosity, has opened the story and soul of her family to the world. The book is initially enjoyed for the quality of composition and depth of detail, but this subsides as the characters of this resilient family develop, and their tale becomes ever more harrowing and personal. Having previously read Erik Larson's "In the Garden of Beasts," portraying the experience of an American diplomatic family in pre-WW2 Germany, it delighted me to read of the people on the "other side." Truly this book leaves us with a few important and timeless lessons, however the most salient to me is the reminder that humanity lives on both sides of every conflict.

[Angela Ryser · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so glad I was the recipient of this wonderful book as a Goodreads First Read Giveaway! Sigrid MacRae has a beautiful, descriptive writing style that brings her family and their surroundings and circumstances vividly to life. To learn of World War II and Hilter's Nazi regime from the accounts of those who experienced it first-hand was enlightening. The courage, grace and dignity with which Aimee persevered to bring her children through harrowing times is inspiring. Read this book! I do not have the words to describe the experience.

[Jeanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whew, this woman's history is something. Originally, up to past mid-read I wanted to give it 5 stars, although there was substantial choppiness during the courtship, letter writing, marriage phase of the book that did not have smooth transitions and became difficult to follow. But then with the harrowing and tense last quarter, I began to have mixed feelings. Not only about the writing, either. I do believe it deserves a full 4 stars for honesty and the level for absolutely documented "eyes" and testimony. Sigrid's task of incredible genealogy detail was 5 star. That's for both branches of her ancestry- on both continents.

It is the story of Aimee, a privileged American girl of the "after finishing year" travel through Europe who meets a deposed Russian Baron's heir of Baltic German ancestry, falls in love, and switched home continents. Heinrich von Hoyningen-Huene- a young man whose charm, affection, style of language, sensibility, dedication to family and tradition, all come through in his letters and through Aimee's & his meanderings to stay with friends and meet up, again and again. She of the motherless but trust supported option, he of the impoverished gentry entry to any of 6 or 7 "circles" including those of Paris.

This is the 1920's and moral options have changed for educated females. For Aimee, she feels her distant Father and America deserve to be left behind.

No one else seems to have noticed this- but Aimee and Heinrich, deeply in love, seem to have the strong essence of a much earlier version of the "hippie" rural, joy kind of ideology/ philosophy. Much occurs, but they end up buying a farm in Blumenhagen. The photos that came with this book are truly awesome. This kind of "poverty" translates poorly to me. But I still gave Aimee her full do. Her spirit, level of aptitude for work and innovation (constant), her gift of having a knack for giving joy to Heinrich and her children, teaching them- she excels. I thought her a marvelous Mother and a tremendous friend.

But the level of naïve context she tends to assume?

No spoilers. In the entire last quarter of the book, I was so terrified for Frederick (her oldest son) that I could not understand how she STILL, would let him proceed to answer the dictations sent to Blumenhagen.

Well, her quip said in youth when asked when she would return to the USA- was "never". And that was about as realistic as her concepts of good intent and believability about the transports of missing neighbors. And when it got to the point of the chase into the West to more friends and relatives and her kids were eating oranges and chocolates- my stomach turned a bit. Not that they did not deserve them through this dangerous and traumatizing rush before the Russian invasion. But just because I knew much of other children at that same time, and quite close. Sometimes I felt as if Aimee did not perceive of the evil until it was on her own lap, and did not acknowledge what didn't fit into her own little idealistic square. She thought good intent could always overcome. I find the parallel to a denial of evil in action today, just incredible. And Aimee was wrong. But also lucky in her connections out.

This is a 5 star for details of transport and housing for combined groups during the 1944-47 periods in war torn Europe too. But the photos reveal as much as the print. What outfits! What circumstance is there to be able to do portrait photos in a line every year! Her children's outcomes testify to her skills and working diligence, that's for sure. My book has a aftermath piece which gave information all the way up to 1984 for Aimee herself and all her offspring.

This book says more between the lines in letter writing and photography alone, than most fiction novels of this period portray- despite 900 pages.

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary:
"If I set out to understand my parents, I learned that we never completely understand what makes people who they are, and that who they are in fact changes." Page 276.
Sigrid MacRae had been given a beautiful "mother-of- pearl inlay" box which held letters from her father, Heinrich von Hoyningen-Huene. She did not open the box to read its contents until after her mother Aimee passed away. Reading the letters began a quest to understand her parents, as well as the Germany that had been her birth home, her mother's adopted home, and her father's defeat. MacRae shares her father and mother's heritage and lineage. A history course through her father's family is given on World War I and Russia during the Bolshevik Revolution. Post-war Germany is shown through the story of MacRae's family.

My Thoughts:
I read A World Elsewhere in one day. I had been drawn to the story because I'd wondered if American women had married German men and then stayed in Germany during the war? I'd wondered what their life had been like? How they'd survived? How their in-laws had treated them? And what post-war Germany had been like? A World Elsewhere answered all these questions and more.
I am pleased the story takes an honest approach, there are no added dreamy dramatics, after-all there should not be as the war is dramatic all on its own. MacRae does not make excuses for her parents. She allows the story to share their lives.
I feel MacRae's depiction of her parents is well-rounded. From their dreamy romantic youth and young love, to the reality of marriage and children, the worries of making a living to feed and provide for children, unmet dreams, betrayal, long-suffering, and the ability to endure.
MacRae's mother is not a larger than life heroine. Yet, she is a heroine. At first glance through the photographs in the book, MacRae's mother appears to be meek. How wrong for me to think this.
I love stories where I am changed. Changed in my laxity, or changed in my prejudice, or changed in my preconceived idea of what "I thought" life was really like. The older I am the more I realize what I don't know, and that until I have lived in another persons shoes I will not know.
Source: Free copy from Viking in exchange for a review. All reviews expressed are from my own opinion.

[Kelly W · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a voracious reader. This book is one of the best I've encountered in several years. I'm writing this review without spoilers to encourage people to read it. If it were fiction, I would have lost interest by thinking it could never have happened that way. Not only did it happen, it is meticulously documented. In this case, truth surely IS stranger than fiction.

The author's mother, a wealthy American heiress, travelled to Paris with a friend in 1927. She meets a German/Russian Baron who grew up with wealth and privilege. Handsome and well-educated, he has nevertheless lost his title and wealth in the Russian revolution. They fall in love and are married. I wonder if they would have if they could have seen their future. The storm clouds of World War Two are gathering.

I cannot praise this book highly enough. It is unlike any war story I've read. I'll be buying copies of this book for several friends I know will be fascinated by it. I received my copy gratis from Goodreads which didn't influence my review.

[Holly Cline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this through first reads giveaways. It's interesting with a neat angle of storytelling, and we all know I'm a sucker for war stories. That being said, this was just ok. I'm glad I read it, and it would be a worthwhile read for anyone curious about the subject matter. However, there were multiple times throughout the narrative where the chronology got confusing. Or the people. Something about the structure lacked clarity, and this made it difficult for me to really grab on and take hold of the story Sigrid MacRae was trying to tell. There's a great story about an American woman surviving World War II in Germany within this book. You just have to dig a little more than you should have to in order to find it.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really quite well done. Well written, and a very good tale to have reconstructed from fragmentary recollections and the occasional letter and diary.
Once or twice the sequence of events gets slightly confusing as some of the family history is retold later by aid of letters discussing conversations, and those conversations themselves are part of the family history. And I'd have welcomed a bit more - just one chapter-- on the central character's old age and demise. Some closure in the end was wanted because we have come to care quite a bit for her.
But those proved infrequent minor transgressions in a great story. I would have given a 4.5 if I could.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well written book about a rare piece of history. The second half of the book had me on the edge of seat. It could have had a little more detail in some places, particularly the epilogue. I can see this as a movie, so that more people would be exposed to this part of history.
I received this book from Goodreads FirstReads. It's a keeper!

[Ali · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading a book shouldn't feel like a chore and this one did. The story and characters never pulled me in enough to make me care about them enough to enjoy reading their story. I kept plugging along and eventually finished but it was a bit of a drudgery. There are holes in the timeline depending on what letters and correspondence the author (the title character's daughter) had and she filled those with accounts of war battles and events. This moved the book closer to a textbook feel, rather than a personal account which I wasn't expecting and didn't really want. Other readers have and could enjoy this, just not for me.

[M.F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A World Elsewhere: An American Woman in Wartime Germany begins with the gift of a wooden box from mother to daughter. “Your father’s letters,” Sigrid MacRae’s 85-year-old mother tells her. Too moved for words, MacRae takes the locked box, but can’t bring herself to open it immediately. When she finally does, after her mother’s death, she meets the father she never knew....

Through intimate letters and diaries, we learn the story of two passionate lovers, the author’s parents, whose romance was doomed by time and place: Germany on the brink of, and during, World War II. MacRae’s mother, Aimée Ellis, came from a wealthy Hartford, Connecticut family. On a trip to Paris in the 1920s she met a penniless Russian nobleman and they fell in love. Baron Heinrich Alexis Nikolai von Hoyningen-Huene was of Baltic German lineage but his family had lived in Russia for centuries. However, when the Bolsheviks came to power after the 1917 revolution, Heinrich’s family, like many members of the nobility, were forced from their home and homeland. They moved to the family’s country estate in Latvia leaving behind most of their possessions, hoping (vainly) to be able to return to St. Petersburg some day. From being in the highest social position, with servants to wait on them, they were now impoverished and forced to do menial work to survive. Later on, they would lose everything: the Reds took over the part of Latvia where they were living and they had to move on, to Dresden.

Despite these losses, Heinrich believed that, while it was natural to mourn for the past, you should not dwell there. At the time when Aimée met him he was energetic, hopeful, ambitious for a career as a diplomat. The two of them married and bought a farm north of Berlin. They began a family that would grow to include six children, of whom the author was the youngest.

But the peaceful life they planned was not to be. Germany was headed for World War II. Inflation, unemployment, poverty and hunger were sapping the morale of citizens and providing a fertile field for Hitler to sow his message of hatred and fanaticism. MacRae’s father, who had thus far been unable to find the diplomatic position he had dreamed of, joined the Nazi party in 1933 as nearly everyone did when Hitler came to power, reasoning that otherwise they would never get jobs. He hated Hitler’s extremism, however; idealistic and optimistic, he believed that he could bring a more moderate perspective to the government and help to build a better future for his adopted country.

This hope was not to be realized. He was drafted into the army when war broke out, and was shot and killed on the Russian front. Aimée, pregnant with her sixth child, Sigrid, faced a frightening future alone in wartime without the man she loved, having to make every decision about the running of the farm and the raising of their children. To make matters worse, conditions in Germany had grown even more dire. As the Nazi war machine began to fall apart, the Russians began advancing into Germany – toward Aimée’s farm. Knowing the Russians’ brutal tactics, and fearful for her oldest son who, at 16, had been drafted by the Nazis and faced the threat of being sent to war, she had no choice but to flee. She packed her family and a few treasures into an old farm wagon, concealed under rugs, and headed in the direction that she thought might bring her to the Allied lines. Her hope, though it was far from a certainty, was that she would find someone sympathetic to the plight of an American widow and her family....

A dramatic story, beautifully told, as readable as a suspenseful novel. It offers a rare perspective in WW II literature in its revealing portrait of “a good Nazi,” a fascinating counterpoint to family sagas from the Jewish perspective such as The Hare with Amber Eyes. It also deserves a place among epic tales of strong women surviving the worst that fate and humanity can inflict.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I won this book in ARC form in a Goodreads giveaway. My review has not been shaped in any way due to receiving the book gratis.

This book took me a little time to get into as the writing style was not one I was used to. Once I got into it though, it really shook me.

A lot of history is given on both of the parents of Sigrid, including her father's childhood flight from Russia due to the revolution there. He was part of the nobility, which was not a good thing to be back then. Ever since then, he and his family had a tough time of it. His childhood flight mirrored the flight of his own children from Germany to escape the advancing Russians after WWII was over. He was dead by then, taken out by a sniper's bullet on the Russian front, but his family lost their home, again.

When watching the nightly news, watching refuges fleeing their homes, some of them passed down in the family from generation to generation, it's distant. I don't know the people, they don't know me. It's happening "over there" somewhere.

But in this book, you get to know Aimee and Lo and Marta and the children, affected by the war and it's aftermath. Fleeing for their lives, taking what little they can carry on a wagon drawn by horses, all of which they were lucky to have. It becomes more real when you are emotionally invested in those fleeing. When Aimee goes back to her home and crosses the Russian lines, the place was in shambles. Windows and doors ripped off of hinges, things destroyed for no reason at all other than destruction. She salvaged what she could, but there was precious little left. Even the garden was dug up and the silver she had buried found and taken.

This story is important, not just because of the historical aspect of it, but for the TIMELESSNESS of it. This is still going on today. Wars happen and innocent people, who just want to live, work the land and love with their family by there side, are displaced. No money, no way to make it, looked at as outsiders, with suspicion dogging their every step because they are "different". Becoming second class citizens, nomads, who wander because they have no home, not because they chose to move.

Even when Aimee came back to the States and managed to get all of her kids over here, her problems still didn't stop. I won't get into it, but let's just say the Government made it harder than it had to be. Thank goodness for a smart and kindhearted Congressman who took up her cause and helped her out.

I'm giving this book 4.5 stars because I wasn't in love with the way the book was written. The diction and tone were just a bit off and kept me from 100% enjoying this book. This is a personal thing and not something that is make or break for reading this book. I recommend this as reading for everyone, because the story is so important. If the book deals with WWII at all, I'm there. This was MORE than I expected. It tied the past to the present for me and really made me understand the plight of those fleeing their homes because of violence.

I highly recommend this book to everyone. It is incredibly brave for Sigrid to show her parents the way they were, warts and all. Though Aimee was STRONG. It just goes to show you just what limits a person can reach and surpass when life, and the life of their family, is on the line. Aimee was an incredible woman.

Final verdict: read this book. You will not be sorry.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a narrative of the author's parents that she pieced together through letters her mother gave her. Sigrid discovered a very different snapshot of the parents she knew and put their choices and circumstances into a different perspective. It was also a different perspective for this reader. Sigrid paints a picture of her mother's lonely, motherless childhood, feeling exiled and apart. Although affluent, she lacked connection with family beyond an uncle that gave her much love and laughter. It is not difficult to understand how Aimée makes her decision to join the big, wonderful family of Heinrich, a displaced Russian living in Germany, and add to their family and love.

Heinrich's family history is much more difficult to grasp as my Russian history comprehension is spotty, at best. Yet understanding this history is key to understanding Heinrich's decisions. The short version is that the family were tsarists at the time of the Bolshevik Revolution. To survive they had to leave their beloved family home and settle in a new country, leaving nearly everything behind. They were displaced and hungry yet grateful to be together. Papa, highly educated and experienced, took a menial job in a toothpaste factory. Heinrich was sent to Sorbonne as a hope for the future where he met and married Aimée, eventually earning a Ph.D. Fluent in four languages, greatly educated and highly driven, he was unable to find work. Unfortunately, the Great Depression was in full force. Politically, the Versailles Treaty had left Germany impotent and the people helpless and hopeless, the perfect breeding ground for a man like Hitler.

Heinrich was driven to reclaim his ancestral home in Russia which led him the Russian front. The man was a cock-eyed optimist and go getter with the solid belief that it would work out. What he discovered in Russia was also eye opening. Conscripted Russians were little more than men and boys with no idea why they were fighting. Russia was far from unified and they only soldiered up to not be shot as traitors. On the German side, it became clear that Nazi was a political party but that the Germans on the Eastern front were not Hitler advocates. Their objective was not to take over the world or Aryanize Russia. They believed in Germany and her future but already knew Hitler was a crackpot. Yet reclaiming ancestral land was a noble objective. Driving closer to Moscow was taking it too far but they were already in too deep. The rest is history, as they say.

The second half of the book had me completely hooked. I much preferred the narrative of Aimée and her plight to save her six children and herself. Finding herself on the potentially Russian side of Germany, she had many obstacles to overcome. Her American citizenship gave her no reprieve. Worse, to many she was a traitor. This was interesting since Aimée's life consisted of little more than caring for her family, her farm, and wearing herself out at home. Politics were peripheral to survival. Yet this woman, who began as a somewhat spoiled girl , who found solace in extended family, joy in creating her own family, showed grit that in the worst of circumstances with an eye single to protecting her children.

A very good book. Second half much more engaging but first half is necessary for author to understand her father and her parents' early relationship. Beautifully written.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the pre-published copy of this book in two days!

Loved:

The characters were awesome, especially given the fact that they are real people  I loved the wedding photo on the front cover, and referred to it continuously throughout the book to stay connected to the characters and who they really were. I loved the transformation Aimee goes through, and it seems that she lives 10 different lives within one. In some ways we all do, but she truly spans multiple worlds within one lifetime. The transition into, through, and out of each is fascinating. The view of Nazi Germany from the inside from a private citizen trying to survive, is both intriguing and enlightening. It allows us to remember that in wartime, even now, there are people just like us everywhere, in every country... and that there is never a real black and white to good vs. bad. I like how the transformation and information is very real and doesn't try to illustrate a happy ending. It doesn't hide the flaws of the father, which were deeply disappointing given the rest of the story. This lends itself to the credibility and enchantment of the story overall. We are all flawed humans, and the grave disappointment of his behavior in Berlin makes you want to hate him, but you also love him through Aimee's love for him. Wonderful story, told very well. Great writing.

Disliked:

I wish that Heinrich's fate wasn't posted on the back cover of the book. I would have found the war-time view from his perspective much more intriguing had I not known what his fate was going to be. I actually didn't read the back cover until I was part way through the book, and it made the war-time narrative from him less interesting and more cumbersome. I didn't give this story 5 stars because I felt that the war-time view from Heinrich's perspective was too long and too focused on facts of the war, rather than the characters themselves. He made friendships that I would liked to have known more about. Perhaps all that is in the book is all that is known, and the author didn't want to create false truths. I can respect that, but still felt that the focus on historical facts in that section took away from the momentum.

Overall I would highly recommend this book. There are probably other real stories out there like this, but this particular story is simply fascinating and very well written. The author should feel proud of her accomplishment, honesty and contribution. I will be passing this on to others to read.

[Nicole Overmoyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sigrid MacRae’s A World Elsewhere: An American Woman in Wartime Germany is the true story of her parents and her family during World War II. Her father was a German baron born in Russia and left penniless after the 1917 Russian Revolution. Her mother was wealthy American born to privilege in Connecticut. Both of parents had wandering spirits and they met in Paris in 1927. It wasn’t long before they were married.

As everyone should know, Germany wasn’t the best place in the world to be during the 1930s when Adolf Hitler was consolidating power and spreading his reach beyond German borders. For a poor baron who wanted nothing more than to work in diplomatic circles, it was bound not to turn out well. With few options and six children to support, Sigrid’s father joined the German army and was soon killed on the Russian Front.

The rest of the story belongs solely to Sigrid’s mother, Aimee. Having supported her family on her inheritance, she finds herself cut off as war rages on. And as it ends, she dreams of going back to America, of taking her children to the safety of their home. The Soviet advance on Germany makes getting out all the more important. American laws get in the way, though, and prevent her from taking all of her children home. So she spends years struggling to survive, years struggling to put her family back together, and finally years more struggling to find her place again as an American woman.

There’s a lot to be learned from this book, things you won’t hear on documentaries or see in books. Through the eyes of Aimee and her husband, Heinrich, you can see how it was for an American in Germany. That’s a rare thing, for an American audience.

The only negative of the book is that the details of daily life in some places can get a little heavy but it’s important to bear in mind that it is the story of one family and it is therefore important that the details be there for the descendants of that family. For the wider audience, the history of the family and how the times affected them are what are most important.

A World Elsewhere is available for purchase now.

(I received a copy of A World Elsewhere through NetGalley in exchange for an honest, original review. This review will be cross-posted on NetGalley, Goodreads, and my blog.)

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read! Being a history buff and one of my main periods of interest being the Second World War, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A very well told story of a woman's struggle and survival through incredibly difficult times and the determination of the human spirit. Though there are countless similar stories, the narrative is such that you become one with the trials and tribulations that are experienced by everyone in the book. An instant favorite for me.

[Elizabeth Wix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly fascinating and gripping.
Reviewed in the NY Times. How the world was turned upside down by World War Two...
This very vivid true story of an American woman with six small children in Germany is beautifully written.
I was also interested in what happened to the family in the aftermath of the war.
An excellent read. Highly recommended.

[World Literature Today]

"With the help of her parents’ letters, Sigrid MacRae’s A World Elsewhere has shown us that there are other stories that need to be told if we are ever to fully understand the Holocaust." - Charlie Canning, Georgetown, Maine

This book was reviewed in the March 2015 issue of World Literature Today. Read the full review by visiting our website: http://bit.ly/186pmUU

[Calli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This came in the mail the other day and surprised me, because I hadn't seen notification that I had won it in the giveaway! This looks like a fascinating story.
I thoroughly enjoyed this glimpse behind the scenes in WWII. From personal letters and in-depth research, Sigrid MacRae weaves a wonderful story of her parents' experiences. Her mother Aimee, a wealthy American girl exploring Europe, meets her father Heinrich, a refugee from the Bolshevik Revolution and an heir to a barony and an estate in Latvia. The estate was confiscated by the Bolsheviks and he and his family fled to Germany. Aimee and Heinrich marry and start a family in Germany. (Aimee speaks French, but now struggles to learn German.) It is interesting to watch the gradual build-up of the Hitler regime from this angle. After being drafted into the war, Heinrich survives the push into France, but then volunteers to be part of the invasion into Russia. He sees this as a chance to defeat the Bolsheviks, and possibly recover the family home that holds so many wonderful childhood memories. Unfortunately, he dies on the battlefield, and Aimee is left a widow, pregnant with their sixth child, Sigrid. She and her family and friends struggle to survive the war. The Allies do not arrive in time, and they flee just ahead of the Russian troops. Once again, a beloved family home is lost. Eventually, they go to America, which brings new struggles. This is a wonderful story of family love and perseverance, and a fascinating glimpse into history. The author has done extensive research, and written an interesting, easy-to-read account. The letters were fun to read. They were very descriptive, and often very poetic. These days when people write letters, they tend to be much more prosaic. My one complaint is that I would have like to have learned how the author acquired some of the letters written to friends. I enjoyed, and definitely recommend A World Elsewhere.

[Meg - A Bookish Affair · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A World Elsewhere" is the story of an American woman in wartime Germany. This book takes place during the second world war and a little bit before and after the war. What makes this book especially interesting is that it is written by the daughter of the woman that the stories surrounds. The author never knew her father, a German who fought on the side of Germany during World War II but she receives letters from her mother that had been sent between her parents during the war and before. From those and other research, and the author is able to put together a very vivid picture of her parents intercontinental love story and what life was like for normal everyday people in Germany during World War II.

I really like the way that the author was able to bring the story to life. I think that it can be really difficult to write about a subject that is both intimately familiar but at the same time foreign to you. I think that the author does a really good job with this. She never really got to know her father but is able to re-create the man that he was through reading his letters and talking to different family members. Her descriptions of life in Germany during or times are really good and quite interesting. It was really fascinating to read about through war from the perspective of those living in Germany at the time that may have not been necessarily targeted by the Nazis but were still wrapped up in the way that the Nazis were changing the country.

If you are interested in not just the big names of history but the everyday people who also took part in history, this book would be an interesting read for you. As somebody who likes to read about World War II a lot, I really appreciated they different perspective int this book and the rich details that the author inserted in the book in order to really make the story pop.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I was chosen a First Reads winner, and received an advance uncorrected proof copy of A World Elsewhere: An American Woman in Wartime Germany by Sigrid MacRae, who was the daughter of
Aimée Ellis and Heinrich Alexis Nikolai von Hoyningen-Huene. They had met in 1927, on holiday in France, and the book is their story.

Shortly before her death, Sigrid’s mother, Aimée, gave her youngest daughter a beautiful inlaid Moroccan box of letters from wartime Germany. Not until about ten years later did Sigrid open the box, read the letters, and begin the search for her roots: no small feat, considering she had never known her father.

MacRae does an amazing job of telling her mother’s story and delving into her father’s life, writing in beautiful, lyrical prose. I truly felt that I got to know all of the members of the family through this amazing story of endurance. I am grateful that I was able to read this moving family memoir and would recommend it without reservation.

Note: This is scheduled to be released on Sept. 4, 2014.

[Fran Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I read the book and then I read the Prologue. Then I read the Epilogue. Then I read the Endnotes. I just didn't want the book to end. The author, who is Aimee's youngest chid, never knew her handsome, educated Father, as he died on the Russian front during WWII. Aimee met Heinrich in Paris and they fell in love. He was an impoverished nobleman from the Baltic states whose family were refugees from Russia. Aimee was a pampered, financially secure daughter who longed for a warm caring family. She found this warmth in Heinrich's family. He was educated and charming but could not find work until the War when he joined the Nazi Army in trying to overcome the Communists in Russia.

When the author's Mother gave her the letters her Father had written to her Mother, she found not only her Father that she didn't know, but she found another side of her Mother. The book tells of the harrowing journey of Aimee and her family escaping as the Russians invaded their home. It also shows the happy, carefree Aimee before the war. An Aimee that the author had never seen.

[Tavia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this through first reads giveaways.

Some parts of this book were really great & some slogged along. Overall, the book is about Aimee, an American, and her Husband Heinrich, a German. They fall in love, get married and have 6 children. However, Heinrich dies in WW2, a Nazi soldier. Aimee is forced to fend for the family through difficult times.

Overall I thought the book was good, not great. At times, I thought the author was stretching for information when Aimee and Heinrich didn't have enough letters to sustain the novel. Once Heinrich dies, it is just Aimee's life and her reminisces.

This book is interesting, especially from the perspective of an American living in Germany during WW2 and the aftermath of being married to a German. It's not easy!

It's a nice little time capsule novel.

[Jan Polep · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is no "Sound of Music". Sigrid MacRae's book, based on letters found after her mother's death, trace her American mother's life before/during/after WWII. Part history, part family memoir, it really takes off when Sigrid's mother, Aimee, marries a penniless baron and moves to Germany. Classification as an enemy alien, 6 kids, a dead husband, invading Russians, refugee living, and struggles to return to America, make for a great read all overlaid with easy-to-understand world history. The extra surprise for me was that Aimee's brother lived in my hometown. Every night, Aimee would include his name and town in the kids prayers, in hopes that if they got separated, they might all try to wind up in Lake Forest. Small world. 4.5 stars.

[RACHEL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sigrid MacRae set out to discover her father and the full story of who her parents were and ended up giving us a wonderful gift in “A World Elsewhere.” The story of her father starts in Tsarist Russian to exile in Germany. While her mother raised to live a predictable life of society wife and mother took a very different track. Their lives merged in Europe between the world wars. “A World Elsewhere” gives readers a look into life in Germany during and after WWII and what was lost.

As this volume focus on just one family’s experience it is a narrow lens into the time, but there is treasure bringing history alive and connecting past generations to ours. Thank you Sigrid.

My copy came through Goodreads First Reads.

[Don O'goodreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

A World Elsewhere by Sigrid MacRae and the recently reviewed The Underground Girls of Kabul are both non-fiction about strong women in extraordinarily difficult situations. The current book is about the author's mother Aimee living in Germany during World War II.

We need more history books that are not about politicians and generals, both that chronicle the lives of families, parents, and children. This is an excellent addition to the canon.

For more see: http://bit.ly/1Bx9Wku

I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway on August 6, 2014. I received my copy on August 13, 2014.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book as part of the Goodreads Giveaway program, and I can honestly say that it is excellent. It's rare that you get to see inside the "enemy" mind; I've never read a book written by or about a rank-and-file German soldier from World War II before. A World Elsewhere is a unique historical piece giving readers a rare look at what was happening on the "other side" to a standard citizen in Germany during this time, but it is also a period piece about an upperclass American woman in the post-World War I era. I really enjoyed reading this novel; it is written in such a way that it will be a favorite of both nonfiction lovers and historical fiction readers alike.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as a First Reads winner. I found it challenging, and I vacillated between three and four stars. I finally rounded up to four, as I believe the shortcomings to be on the part of the reader (me) and not the author.

The military history and politics was slow going for me, and I found myself skimming only to lose an important thread and have to go back and reread. Could it have been more gripping? Yes, but it is, after all, a memoir and not a novel. I did feel that it was written with impressive honesty and integrity.

[Catherine Stickann · Rating 5 out of 5]

“A World Elsewhere” is an essential addition to any library about WWII Germany. The story of the author’s parents- her mother an American – her father a German living in Germany at the outbreak of the war. It is an intimate look at life within the Reich for the everyday, country people. A new look at behind the lines Germany. This book, with its passion and suspense makes a great read. Not to be missed by those who love history.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of an American woman living and raising a family in Germany was amazing. So many new perspectives. This woman hit problem after problem, and kept going. The story, written by her daughter after being gifted a box bearing her parent's letters, was moving, thought-provoking, and so interesting.