(Reviewed by Christopher J. Lynch)
To Steal a Moment’s Time is everything you could want from a memoir: personal observations, emotions, actions and consequences – all in the most challenging of circumstances.
In her own words, (and translated and compiled beautifully by her son, G. J. Berger) Katharina Berger, offers us a glimpse into the chaos and despair of a single mom trying to survive in 1945 Nazi Germany near the end of the war.
Along the way she must try to protect and care for her newborn son against the backdrop of nightly bombing attacks, dire shortages of everything from basic food stuffs and everyday items, to electricity, and even accurate information about the war’s progress. Her husband has been conscripted and, against his will and wishes, must leave his wife and newborn son to fight the war for the Nazis.
As opposed to narrative fiction, the story is told in diary form, which really works as it brings to life the moments of terror, desperation, and even brief periods of reflection that Katharina experiences on almost a daily basis.
I would highly recommend To Steal a Moment’s Time if you would like to read and feel the raw emotions of a woman who survived bravely through one of the most trying times in history.