Daughter of the Reich

Born into an ordinary family on the edge of the Baltic Sea, Louise Fox grew up to a life dominated by Nazism. As a teenager she was drafted into military service for the Nazis and sent to Berlin, where she unexpectedly found herself working as Herman Goering’s secretary, organising supplies for the Luftwaffe. In the last days of the Reich, Louise ended up with members of the Nazi elite administration in Berchtesgaden where she was arrested and interrogated by the Americans. She escaped and walked across a Germany fully ravaged by Nazi deprivations, Allied bombings and the destruction of invading armies. After numerous adventures, including further arrests and black market dealing, she made it to safety in the north.


Later Louise accepted an offer to travel to Australia and lived happily for many years in Tasmania, selling Volkswagens for a living. But when tragedy and illness struck, Louise was driven to desperation and lived on the streets of Launceston, sick and penniless. Finally rescued by a perceptive nurse, she received the treatment she needed. Her recovery was followed by an introduction to the man who was to be the love of her life: Ron Johnson had a surprising secret but he and Louise were to stay together for the next twenty years until his death. Now in her eighties, Louise has rebuilt her life and enjoys a quiet lifestyle on Australia’s Gold Coast.


In ‘Daughter of the Reich’, for the first time, the full story of Louise’s extraordinary life can now be told. Her experiences of living under one of the most appalling yet fascinating regimes in history have a fresh authenticity, and she offers first-hand observations of leading Nazis, including Adolf Hitler himself.


Cindy Dowling is an experienced journalist who has woven the historical context into Louise’s story to create an unforgettable tale of one woman caught up in the Nazi war machine, only to endure a further experience of hell on the other side of the world.