Waltraud: A True Story of Growing Up in Nazi Germany

A true story of love, loss, strength, and resistance through the eyes of an ordinary German girl turned courageous young woman named Waltraud.

The Nazis tried to break her. But her very name means strength.

Germany 1937. Waltraud’s life in her small German village is heartwarmingly simple yet fraught with uncertainty as Nazi ideologies grow ever more radical. Then, war. Her beloved father is forced into Hitler's army and she must cope with the battles raging on her homeland’s soil and in her heart as her family is torn apart.

Bombings, hunger, and gut-wrenching horrors bring Waltraud to the edge of defeat. But she promised her father she’d be strong and daringly resists the Nazis by keeping a treasonous secret. Heartache persists when the war ends, but the love of a young man with a dark past holds the promise of a better future. To secure it, she must cross forbidden borders. Can Waltraud leave her haunting past behind and take hold of the life she’s dreamed of, or will she lose everything trying?

Engaging and evocative, Waltraud: A True Story of Growing Up in Nazi Germany captures in vivid detail what life was like during World War II as a German citizen—the indoctrination, fear, and profound loss. Follow Waltraud’s journey of courage and resilience in this captivating true story of hope and survival.

Author’s Note:
Author, Tammy Borden, is a first-generation American who grew up hearing her mother, Waltraud’s, first-hand accounts of coming of age under Hitler's regime and the cruelty inflicted by the Nazis on their own people. Through the years, she secretly recorded her mother’s extraordinary life experiences, fully intent on writing a creative nonfiction WW2 novel, even taking several trips with her to Germany to walk the cobblestone streets where recollections were shared in their actual settings. In-depth research combined with her mother’s vivid memories allowed the author to weave her story into a compelling WW2 historical fiction novel based on a true story, making it both historically accurate and incredibly moving.