Eternal Strangers

School Library Journal

Adult/High School-This is an account of how Bacon's parents met, fell in love, and eventually fled with young Ursula from Nazi Germany. The author's Shanghai Diary: A Young Girl's Journey from Hitler's Hate to War-Torn China(M Press, 2004) is set after that escape. Bacon's mother, Irene Burger, was the oldest daughter of Herman and Toni Burger, who ran an inn. She met Martin Blomberg while she worked in the family establishment. They were immediately attracted to one another, but Irene's mother insisted that her daughter marry a devout Jew, and her father questioned Martin's religious convictions. Neither World War I nor parental objections could stand in the way of the couple's love for one another. Eventually, they married, and Irene's life became one of privilege. However, Hitler was on the rise. Martin had an unwavering faith in the goodness of the German people, and the young family stayed in Germany when many other Jews were fleeing for safer lands. Strangersrelates their struggle to survive in a world gone mad. Bacon vividly conveys the sense of urgency and yet ambivalence that many Jews faced as they confronted the harsh reality that their lives were in peril. This book is a great resource for students of the Holocaust. The author's unflinching prose conveys the insidiousness of evil as she recounts the horror unleashed by Hitler's unthinkable plan.-Catherine Gilbride, Farifax County Public Library, VA