Eleanor's Story: An American Girl in Hitler's Germany

by Eleanor Ramrath Garner

During the Great Depression, when Eleanor is nine, her family moves from her beloved America to Germany, from which her parents had emigrated years before and where her father has been offered a job he cannot pass up. But when war suddenly breaks out as her family is crossing the Atlantic, they realize returning to the United States isn’t an option. They arrive in Berlin as enemy aliens.

Eleanor tries to maintain her American identity as she feels herself pulled into the turbulent life roiling around her. She and her brother are enrolled in German schools and in Hitler’s Youth (a requirement). She fervently hopes for an Allied victory, yet for years she must try to survive the Allied bombs shattering her neighborhood. Her family faces separations, bombings, hunger, the final fierce battle for Berlin, the Russian invasion, and the terrors of Soviet occupancy.

This compelling story is heart-racing at times and immerses readers in a first-hand account of Nazi Germany, surviving World War II as a civilian, and immigration.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Holocaust, World War II, Memoir, Biography, War

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Eleanor Ramrath Garner, author of Eleanor's Story: An American Girl in Hitlers Germany, is a Boston University graduate and retired editor. A longtime student of Jungian psychology, Eleanor has written fiction and nonfiction articles on religion and psychology and has exhibited her artwork.

Garners presentations, which focus on the Holocaust and other WWII issues, include Practices for Teaching Memoirs in the Classroom Reading Real Life Survivor Stories as a Rich Source of Learning, where the author suggests ways for students to integrate a memoir into their own lives, to encourage reflective critical thinking, and to better understand history. The Anatomy of a Memoir: How Eleanor's Story Was Written, is a presentation about how Garner accessed memories and kept the authentic voice of a child, while still allowing reflections of an older woman's point of view to come through in the text.

Excerpts from her journal help illustrate the awesome process of self-discovery and the difficulties and triumphs in writing an authentic memoir. Elements of discussion also include making a story jump alive, by using active verbs, sound words, metaphors and figurative speech and dialogue. Children in War: A Human Rights Tragedy, is another discussion about how children were affected by Hitlers regime in World War II, comparing their experiences to today's conflicts in the Middle East and Africa. Garner also has a specific program for teachers Facing History: Stories of the Past that Inform the Present and the Future.

Garner lives in San Diego, California.

Reviews

[Ria Giegel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book brought back the horrors of the war to me. I too was an American child born in Germany with a slightly different twist. my father was an American seaman who married a German girl, and my birth at the end og August 1939' changed their plans forever. My mother and I had to remain in Germany thru the war years. We lived in Hamburg which was also horribly bombed in 1943. Eleanors details of the bombing brought back memories of waking up nightly and running for the bunkers or the cellar, not seeing daylight for days. Even though I saw death I was too young to understand it. We were also evacuated out of the city, where we were overtaken by the Russian Army. it was exactly as she described, plundering and rapes, and we hid in a storage closet in the attic. In 1947 my father was finally able to get us passage out of Germany, and we also went the same way as Eleanor! Berlin to Bremerhaven and waiting in a barracks for our turn on the ship. Except for our age difference we had similar experiences. I gave it 5stars.

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this several years ago.
Enjoyed the book of how one family got stuck in Nazi Germany and survived.
Rare look at Germany from Americans who lived the entire war there.

[Paul Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone should read this book! Eleanor Ramrath was 11 years old when her family moved to Germany in 1939. They were originally from Germany but had long since immigrated to the United States. When a prominent German firm offered her father a very good job, it was hard not to accept. This was Eleanor's second trip to Germany and she arrived with beautiful memories of spending time with her grandparents in the country. Instead, they moved into an apartment in Berlin just as Adolf Hitler begins a series of invasions that will erupt into World War II.

The book gives an excellent description of living within the Third Reich both in good times and in bad. It really emphasized how most Germans were in the dark concerning Hitler's actions. Consumed with day-to-day survival, little things like joining the scouts--in this case the Hitler Youth--seemed completely reasonable.

But the book really becomes compelling when the Allies start bombing Berlin and the perfect, ideal life in the Third Reich starts to fall apart. Ramrath spares us nothing. Her life deteriorateed as the bombing escalated to both night and day. She details the difficulty of simply finding enough food to eat every day, of constantly running to the basement and then praying that none of the bombs would hit their building, watching as her school friends die, and ultimately trying to evade the murder and rape that came with "liberation" by the Russian soldiers.

This book is a real picture into that chaotic and brutal world that I most sincerely hope we have left behind for good. Although it is technically a Juvenile Autobiography, I highly recommend it to absolutely everyone!

[Willow · Rating 2 out of 5]

This memoir was very well-written, and I love reading the stories of those who lived through hardship and terror. Their stories need to be told.

That said, there was a bit of foul language and several descriptions that I felt were inappropriate and unnecessary for the story, especially considering the young audience for whom this book is intended.

This is another heartbreaking account of history as told by one girl who survived Hitler's Germany. The subject matter is emotionally difficult and the circumstances hardly likeable, so books like this are always hard to rate. This wasn't a book I feel like I must have on my shelves; it was a good book to borrow (which is what I did).

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! I highly recommend it. Eye opening and also heart-breaking to learn about a young girl's life in Germany during Wld War II from her non-Jewish perspective. It's a story of suffering, love of family, and their day by day sacrifices in order to survive.

[Daniela Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daniela Hernandez
English 10 Hagan
05/05/18
Eleanor's Story: An American Girl in Hitler's Germany
Are you interested in history, especially WWII? Then you'll love this memoir from a girl who actually experienced that dark time My book for this trimester was ‘Eleanor's Story: An American Girl in Hitler's Germany’ which is about a girl, Eleanor whos family moves from America to their native country Germany because her father was offered a good job opportunity. But as Eleanor and her family are on their way to germany by crossing the atlantic war breaks out and they become trapped in Germany for the duration of the war. Written in a diary, she explains how she struggles to keep her American identity around the German nationalist ideology surrounding her. Throughout the book she expresses her hopes for an Allied victory (United States Of America, British Empire, France, Soviet Union, etc) yet trying for years to survive Allied bombs shattering her neighborhood in Germany. She also talks about threats of separation her and her family faced from the Gestapo, starvation, bombings, the terrors of soviet occupancy, and the final fierce battle for Berlin. At the end her family is finally able to return to the United States in 1946 when Eleanor is 16.


I personally love this book, I’m really interested about WWII and love learning about it in history class and even outside of class so I would definitely recommend this book for a history lover. I also love how the book was written and how the writer really emotionally connects with the reader by explaining her earlier years in America with the contrast of earlier years in Germany separated away from her parents, I feel as if this already sets the scene or displays her being torn between both countries and her trying to keep her American identity in Germany. This book is also a memoir, which I love because it shows the authors fears, childhood conflicts, triumphs, and losses over time during such a tragic part in her life. One of my interest in the book were her exchanges with her harsh and sometimes cruel father. The characters in the book are her father, mother, and her brother Frank and at times i feel as if i can relate (not totally relate because my father isn't under the stress of nazis) of having a father who is trying his best for their family but at times comes off cruel.

in conclusion, i love this book and how much it emotionally connects with the reader with such tragic stories and identity issues during a time of life where identity is so important.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eleanor’s Story is the autobiographical tale of a young American girl who lived in Germany during the blackest part of Hitler’s reign and for the duration of World War II. Garner begins her memoir by telling the reader the reason she decided to record and share her experiences with the world:

“Statistics are numbers, but numbers represent individual lives, people who lived and breathed, who laughed and cried, who loved and suffered. Each one of the millions who died and every person who miraculously survived had a story. Mine is only one of them. This war lives on in infamy. It must never be forgotten, lest we forget our humanity” (x).

The book begins at Garner’s childhood home in Stratford, New Jersey in 1938. Garner, who was eight at the time, is the child of immigrant parents from Germany. The family was in a precarious financial situation following the Depression and considered moving back to Germany. Although the situation in Germany was a bit unstable at the time, the family did not believe it was serious enough to turn down a lucrative job offer. On the ship during the departing journey, the captain announces that Germany has invaded Poland. Shortly thereafter, he announces that Britain and France have declared war against Germany, and the Ramrath family knows that they are in trouble. Luckily, the ship arrives safely. But when the family immediately tries to return to the United States, they are distressed to discover that they will not be allowed to do so. They realize they will be stuck in Germany for the duration of the war.

Life does not begin too poorly for the family, with Eleanor and her brother making fast friends with their peers, and enjoying the sights and scenery in Berlin. Eleanor has a difficult time adjusting to German schooling, and must quickly learn to read and write in German. She and her brother also suffer a sometimes strained relationship with her parents. Strict guidelines are placed on the children’s behavior, and punishments are often severe. In this manner, the book also explores some of the more normal aspects of growing up, becoming a teenager, and dealing with family problems.

As the war progresses, the reader sees how normal, everyday life in Berlin is drastically changed. Bombings and air raids become frequent, and the family must make a nightly trek to the cellar to ensure their safety. One of the book’s most chilling moments occurs when the apartment building next door is reduced to a pile of rubble. For days afterwards, Eleanor must deal with listening to the nightmarish knocking she hears from people trapped underneath the debris.

When Germany really begins to feel the effect of the war, the family must survive multiple separations, relocations, and the birth of two more children. Eleanor is caught between the two countries – she and her family secretly support the Allies but must deal with being under attack from the very countries they support. The following passage deftly illustrates her predicament:

“America’s involvement with the war sent me into a tailspin. How bizarre! I thought. The soldiers of the country where I was born, the country I love, will be told to kill me, my family, and my new friends. And the soldiers of the country of my ancestry, of my beloved Omis, the country where I live, will be told to hate and kill Americans. Where do I stand in all of this? Who should I be loyal to?” (68).

The family is greatly relieved when the war is finally over, but then must deal with the post-war Russian occupation, and the constant danger of potential rapes, robberies, and beatings. Finally, in 1946, the family is allowed to return to the United States and their nightmare is over, though the psychological after effects never fully dissipate.

Booklist calls Eleanor’s Story a “powerful coming-of-age tale…told with intensity and also the freshness of teenage years remembered: there are repeated brutal bombings and countless brushes with death; there are also friends, holiday celebrations, and two babies born to the family during the war, who engage Eleanor’s love and protection…It all coalesces into a must-have memoir about an aspect of wartime survival not often written about in children’s literature” (Amazon.com 2004). Garner’s writing style is fresh, simple, and straightforward. She does not shy away from describing difficult and embarrassing moments from her teen years, thereby solidifying the human aspect of her story. The people that populate the pages of the book are varied and diverse, but as in many memoirs, some are more memorable than others. The most interesting aspect of the book is the description of daily life during the war, which not only enlightens the reader about German history, culture, and heritage, but also shows real people dealing with the horrors of war with bravery, resilience, and dignity. A number of gruesome incidents illustrate the horrific nature of war and hit the reader with a heavy impact. Still, Garner is never excessively explicit in her descriptions, allowing a sense of horror to come from the reality of the actions and events themselves rather than her description of them.

In addition, the book includes maps, photographs of important people and places, and poems – some written by herself while in Germany, others from the likes of such writers as Emily Dickinson and Sylvia Plath. A number of letters written back and forth from Eleanor to her family and friends are also included, giving insight into the feelings and thoughts of some of the key figures in the book. These extras provide the reader with a more rounded reading experience and add artistic depth to the account.

This book is highly recommended for teenagers and children who are mature enough to handle reading about the more difficult aspects of war.

[Eleanor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I collect books with my name in the title and this was my best find yet. This is the story that I was hoping to read for years. My grandparents were born at the end of the war and don't remember anything, and the people in my family who remembered are deceased already.
Eleanor's account of her life in germany is so vivid, so detailed and candid. I could not help but cry multiple times while reading her story. Many situations that members of my family went through or places that I know were spoken about, which makes it quite personal for me. Also, I live in Berlin today and am always curious to hear stories about people who lived here before me.
I can only recommend this book warmly to anyone, whether you like wonderfully written accounts of history or just like a heartwrenching story, that will make you sob.

[ILIANA Q · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eleanor’s Story; An American Girl in Hitler’s Germany is a great book. I highly recommend it. Eye opening and also heart-breaking to learn about a young girl’s life in Germany during World War II from her non-jewish perspective. it's a slow paced story but it gets good. It shows a different perspective on WWII and how hard it was for the residents and for German people living in America and you see the young girl go through quite an adventure when she arrives in Germany from the start to the very end of the war. This is the first time learning what it was actually like during that time within Germany itself. I didn’t think that the kids from Germany that were not jewish went through a lot through the war, I thought it was only the jews suffering but this gives a new highlight on everything her and her family went through and a different side of the story about the war.

[Stratia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book that showed a different perspective of someone who experienced World War 2 as an American living in Germany. Even though the main character, Eleanor, did not face the hardships that those in prison camps faced, she still faced the hardships of trying to survive the bombings and lack of food. She was forced to join Hitler’s Youth even though she did not believe in what Hitler was doing. Eleanor went from living a life with no worries in America to living a life in Germany where her family’s main concern was survival. This book gives an account of what life was like for her during World War 2.

[Bjipson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be fascinating. Eleanor Ramrath was an American youngster whose German parents had emigrated to the U.S. after World War I, in order to find employment. When our economy collapsed in the Great Depression, her father was able to land a job back in Germany, and the family moved to Berlin. When war broke out, they were not able to leave, and this book is the story of the many deprivations that Eleanor's family survived and the horror of the war, first hand. She had kept diaries and so remembers many small details that make the experience all too vivid. She also talks about the trials of readjusting to life in post-war America, a jarring story as well.

[Lori Ruthford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never read a WWII story from the point of view of someone living in Germany who was not being hunted by the Nazis. While Eleanor's family was not Jewish, they were not in agreement with anything the Nazis were doing and thus had to watch their words and actions.
I was appalled at the way the German government treated its own citizens. I was equally angered at how the Soviet soldiers treated the German citizens when they occupied areas. The murdering, raping, robbing, etc. that they terrorized the civilians with was as atrocious as the way the Nazis treated those they targeted.
I'm glad I read this first-hand account of a young lady whose family survived harrowing circumstances.

[Peyton-Leigh Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so detailed about what was happening inside Germany during WWII. The things the people had to live through (those who were lucky enough) was horrific. It certainly gives a specific viewpoint of what was happening then, as I’m sure many people had varying experiences based on location/age/status/ethnicity. The details were so graphic that I won’t let my daughters read it until they are well in their teens, but I’m glad this book is out there. It is information that I never knew, and it is information we should know, so this point in history never repeats itself.

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping first-hand account of life in Germany (mostly Berlin) from 1939 to 1946. At the age of nine, Eleanor moved from the United States to Germany with her parents and older brother because her underemployed engineer father had been offered a good job in Berlin. Almost immediately they realized their mistake, but there was no going back. Eleanor grows up in the frightening world of Nazi Germany, facing starvation, fear, separation, death, uncertainty and more. Highly recommended.

[Holli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. No matter how many of these stories I read, I am still in awe. It is unbelievable the situation they were in, the things they saw, the challenges they faced. It is inspiring to hear the ways they cope through family, through friends, through dreams they hold on to, through something as simple but beautiful as signs of spring coming despite the bombings and misery they are surrounded by. Another great story I would recommend.

[Cassondra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read so much about WWII it's almost boring to read anymore, but this was a unique take on the subject. An American girl of German heritage having moved back to Germany just before the war broke out now left unable to go home in the midst of the war. She endures the suffering of the German people and shows us that non-Germans weren't the only ones who suffered at the hands of the Nazis. Good read, sad story.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually read light-hearted books for an escape, but not this time. This book was often difficult to read, but I’m glad I had the experience. Eleanor provided me with a glimpse into what life was like for real people who had to live in the midst of Hitlers’s Germany. We think we have it bad now with the pandemic, but they lived through and endured so much more. I learned far more about this time period in our world from this book than from any history class I ever took.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honest account of the horrors of war and it's long reaching affect on the lives of innocent civilians; the atrocities that occur as a result of cold hard hearts. The author's parents left something to be desired, there was some swearing, and immorality reported in a matter of fact manner. This is not a book for young children - late teens would be more appropriate.

[Lana Del Slay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eleanor is engaging but this was clearly a misfile on my library shelves -- or else they've decided not to have a separate YA nonfiction section. Yes, you get a sense of the horrors but they're scarier if you don't know a thing about what happened in Hitler's Germany to Germans. And for the purposes of this story, Eleanor counts.

[Emma Ramaley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I did not enjoy most of this book, but I did find it to be valuable and worth my time. This book gives the reader a clear picture of what war looks like for the average citizen. Eleanor had a few small heroic moments, but most of her experience was simply trying to survive in a war torn country where she did not have freedom of speech.

[Betty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story of a family that left the US when the father got a job in Germany in 1039. They did not expect the war. Their experiences as seen by a young girl who grew into a teenager during the war years. Excellent.

[Katie Squires · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this in 8th grade for a project and have never forgotten it. So well written and easy to follow along. The themes of war, family, and oppression all while Eleanor comes of age. One of the best books I ever read through school.

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book shows WWII through a child's eyes and how alike 'the enemy' is to us when at war. I feel this book should be required reading in schools. Certain images will remain with me forever. Maybe the current situation between Russia and Ukraine made it more poignant

[Smoore · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite memoirs is Jeannette Walls' The Glass Castle. Eleanor Ramrath Garner's memoir, Eleanor's Story: An American Girl in Hitler's Germany (Peachtree, 1999), is just as incredible.

This memoir tells the story of nine-year-old Eleanor, an American girl of German immigrant parents. Unable to find work during the Depression, Eleanor's electrical engineer father is finally offered a good position working for a German company. Decent pay, a chance to return and visit family. Eleanor's parents decide to take the job--just for two years, they tell her.

On August 29, 1939 Eleanor's family--her mother, father, and older brother Frank--board the SS Hamburg, a German luxury liner, and head to Berlin. On September 1, the captain announces that Germany has declared war on Poland. Two days later he reports that France and Britain have declared war on Germany. The nightmare known as World War II has officially begun and Eleanor's family is heading straight into its center.

During the Atlantic crossing, the ship stops so the crew can paint over the ship's German flag, first to French then Norwegian colors. Eleanor's family makes it across the Atlantic without being torpedoed but is trapped in Germany. Return passage is available only for those with US dollars-Eleanor's father has already traded their dollars for marks. Another chance to return fails because Eleanor's mother lacks US citizenship. The rest of the family could leave but that would mean abandoning their mother. Eleanor's family is trapped in Germany for the entire war.

Eleanor's Story offers a different perspective on World War II, a sort of flip side to Anne Frank. The dichotomy of being both German and American conflicts Eleanor. As the US enters the war, she thinks, "The soldiers of the country where I was born, the country I love, will be told to kill me, my family, and my new friends. And the soldiers of the country of my ancestry, of my beloved Omis [grandparents], the country where I live, will be told to hate and kill Americans. Where do I stand in all of this? Who should I be loyal to? (p. 68).

Ironically this dual status also protects her family. Her father and brother are not drafted into the German Army. As Berlin falls to the Russians, American passports save Eleanor's family from execution and save her and her mother from rape. When US soldiers enter Berlin, Eleanor's father gets a job as a translator for a colonel in the American Command Post and these connections ultimately help the family return to the States.

Be aware, this is a pretty adult children's book. Although Eleanor's Story has won several children's book awards, you should read it yourself before handing it to your precocious second grader that just finished Twilight. The book is explicit. Face it, you really can't write about the horrors of war and leave out all the horror.

Death and violence surround Eleanor--a soldier who beheads himself on the train tracks rather than get sent to the front, bodies stacked in piles in cellars because there is no time to bury them during bombings, a girlfriend shot randomly by Russian occupation soldiers.

Eleanor waits in terror during bombings:
Lights in the cellar suddenly flickered, followed by a piercing whistle and a deafening blast. I placed my forehead on my knees and wrapped my arms around my legs. Screaming bombs and explosions erupted all around us. The whole foundation of the building shook. Plaster rained from the ceiling, enveloping us in ghostly white. The pole in the center of the room shook. It had just been pushed under the ceiling and wasn't attached to anything. Please, please, I begged the Invisibles, [the angels to whom she prays], let it hold up the ceiling (p.106).

Through it all, Eleanor's mother remains the stable force that holds the family together. Mother insists they sweep and clean after each bombing. She makes them bathe and use a tablecloth, and it is precisely these small, mundane routines that anchor the family through the terror, chaos, and uncertainty of war. Little things comfort Eleanor tremendously: a small Boticelli Madonna that hangs above her bed, images of her peaceful home in Philadelphia that she replays one by one in her mind during bombings so she doesn't go crazy.

As a teenager, I vividly remember aching over my inability to have the fancy house, designer clothes, and cool vacations that it seemed like everyone else got. Eleanor's Story is important for its history, but it will also give your teen (and you) some perspective. There are a lot worse things in life than being the only one at school who doesn't have a real Coach purse, Ugg boots, and a car. Many people long simply for a safe home and enough to eat.

Eleanor's Story also offers compelling proof of the strength of the human spirit. People are able to endure unbelievable pain and survive. It made me reconsider my own challenges, trivial by comparison. Eleanor's Story's offers readers both the worst and best of what it means to be human.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stirring. Just when you thought you'd covered every angle of WWII. Thanks for sharing.

[Ruth Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an extremely interesting first-hand account of the fall of Berlin at the end of WWII. I couldn't put it down.

[christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

O

[Jackie Wayman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Play of the same title done by her granddaughter at the Maverick Playhouse in Fullerton nov. 2014 (Ingrid) It was a memorable and most powerful production.

[Keisha Colson]

memorable story !!

[Lucinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.