To Cope and To Prevail

Using a tradition in German culture called the "Stammtisch" —a group of fictional characters resembling the lower and higher middle classes—Dr. Warg writes an enjoyable and not-so-conventional memoir filled with well-known and lesser-known facts about Germany's history and culture during the turbulent years of the 1930s to the 1950s. As the "Stammtisch" and the actual relatives and friends of a young eyewitness discuss politics and economics, the reader learns first-hand how people coped with those chaotic times by holding on to their customs. Through their eyes, we see how Germany's culture survived despite the 12 years of Nazi regime, the war with its bombardments, evacuation, separation of families, occupation by armed forces, the Cold War, and dodging bullets when attempting to cross the Russian border that split Germany into East and West.