Wildflowers of Terezin
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Wildflowers of Terezin is a sweeping historical novel set against a backdrop of danger. A Danish Lutheran pastor's complacent faith is stretched to the breaking point during World War II when he meets a young Jewish nurse Hanne Abrahamsen and becomes deeply involved in Resistance efforts to save Denmark's Jews from the Nazi prison camp at Terezin, Czechoslovakia—also known as Theresienstadt. Challenged by his evangelical brother and swayed by his own attraction to Hanne, Pastor Steffen abandons his formerly quiet, uninvolved life and hesitantly volunteers to help smuggle Denmark's Jews out of the country before a Nazi roundup. Steffen finds that helping his Jewish neighbors is the most decent, spiritual thing he has ever done. As he actually does God's work, rather than just talking about it, Steffen's faith deepens and he takes greater risks in his sermons. When things go terribly wrong and Hanne is sent to Terezin, Steffen finds his heart fully engaged. He undertakes protests and rescues that are more and more dangerous, never imagining where it will lead him, or the ultimate cost of his decision to get directly involved.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With combined sales exceeding a half a million books, inspirational author Elmer has transitioned nicely from his previous vocations as a pastor, reporter, and an ad copywriter. Elmer s (The Duet) newest subject focuses on the Danish perspective of the Nazi takeover and extradition of the Jews. Written in quick-step style, Elmer does a fine job mixing a bit of joviality to help balance out the weighty and disturbing subject matter of this particular period of Danish history. The text centers on a burgeoning romantic relationship between Jewish nurse Hanne Abrahamsen and Danish Lutheran pastor Steffen Peterson. With a casual, impersonal faith, Pastor Steffen is challenged by his younger brother Henning s commitment to the Resistance. Similarly, Steffen finds himself drawn to nurse Hanne and her courageous zeal to help the afflicted. Circumstances throw the two together and each begins a deeper, more introspective search for truth amidst life, death, and rampant suffering. Elmer s work is so unaffected and genuinely heartfelt that readers find they are willingly reawakened to the horrors of genocide.
