Escape into Danger
The True Story of a Kievan Girl in World War II
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- £37.99
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- £37.99
Publisher Description
Escape into Danger tells the remarkable story of a young girl’s perilous adventures and coming of age during World War II. Born in Kiev to a Catholic mother and a Jewish father, Sophia Williams chose to be identified as Jewish when she was eligible for a Soviet passport, mandatory at the age of sixteen, little realizing the life-changing consequences of her decision. Only seventeen when Germany invaded Russia in 1941, Sophia left Kiev, unwittingly escaping the Babi Yar massacre. On her journey into Russia, she fled from flooding, dodged fires and bombs, and fell in love. At Stalingrad, Sophia turned back in a futile attempt to return home to her mother. Stranded in a Nazi-occupied town, accepted as a Russian, she found work with a sympathetic German officer and felt secure until a local girl recognized her as a Jew. Within days, Sophia’s boss spirited her to safety with his family in Poland. Soon, though, Sophia was on the run again, this time to Nazi Germany, where, befriended by Germans and Hungarians, she somehow escaped detection through the rest of the war. She met and married a like-minded German soldier and started a family and business. The business thrived in post-war Germany, but the marriage deteriorated. She divorced her adulterous husband, but the vindictive, even homicidal Guido continued to dog her steps. Throughout, Sophia maintained her grit, charm, and optimism, the qualities that saved her as she time and again made her “escape into danger.”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Williams' story is an intimate look at her survival in Russia and Germany during WWII. The daughter of a Roman Catholic and a Jew, at age 16 just a year before Germany would invade Russia in 1941 Williams unwittingly chose to list her nationality as "Jewish" on her passport, "an easy choice to make," but one that would change her life. Williams spent the entirety of the war narrowly escaping the grasp of the Nazis, eventually immigrating to the U.S. in 1952. While laden with the expected drama of a WWII survival story, Williams' tale is primarily a lengthy list of men who helped rescue her again and again, from Aleksandr, whom she adored; to the sympathetic German officer whom she insists was a "father protector;" to Guido, an officer with the Luftwaffe. For all her looking back, it seems like Williams' most memorable incident involves getting caught trying on her benefactor's wife's lingerie. While likely fascinating to friends and family, clunky dialogue and not enough editing will limit the book's appeal to a general audience. Photos.
