The Fall season of Medina Historical Society meetings begins on Monday, September 26 with a program (see below).
All are welcome to attend the library for this free presentation by the author, Marlies Adams Difante.
585-798-3430
Queen of the Bremen: the true story of an American child trapped in Germany during WWII
It is 1939 when five-year-old Marlies Adams travels with her family on a transatlantic journey from America to Germany so that her mother can visit her terminally ill father. As the SS Bremen leaves New York Harbor with Marlies and her family as passengers, Marlies has no idea that what is intended to be a three-month stay will turn into a seven-year struggle to stay alive in a living hell. No one could have predicted the events that are about to unfold as the Bremen docks in Bremerhaven, Germany six days later. As World War II begins, Hitler comes into power, and all borders and ports are closed; the Adams family is prohibited from leaving Germany-now a Nazi-controlled country. In her compelling autobiography, Marlies chronicles a little girl’s unforgettable journey through starvation, bone-chilling cold, prejudice, bombings, abuse, homelessness, and fear instigated by an evil dictator. With candor and many historical details that bring her memoir to life, Marlies shares the tragic yet inspirational story of how she endured a childhood in wartime Germany by relying on her own sheer will, faith, and the unconditional love of a most unusual, yet devoted best friend.