Items related to No Path Home: Katerena's Story
Synopsis
A true and inspirational story of survival. Aged just 15 years old Katerena is a naïve but high-spirited young girl whose small world, a traditional rural village on the Ukrainian/Polish border, is turned upside down by the Second World War. It is invaded in turn by Germany, then Russia, then Germany a second time when the German-Russian Alliance breaks down. Her only comforts are her family and village, but she loses both when she is taken to be a forced labourer in wartime Nazi Germany. No Path Home begins with a look at Katerena’s ancestral history in the region of Halychyna (Galicia); a geographic and historical region at the crossroad of Eastern and Central Europe. We see how different life was in the pre-war years, and how it had remained constant for generations with progress often passing them by. Katerena, in her own words, describes her childhood, growing up in a hard-working but vibrant village with recollections of family, the scrapes she got into, the rich traditions and customs, and the colourful characters surrounding her. This harsh but peaceful existence disappears when her homeland becomes a victim to 20th Century tyrants Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler. We follow Katerena as she is taken from her family to face forced labour in Germany. Despite her childhood being cut short, this teenager, with perseverance and humour, is determined to survive the carnage surrounding her. She gives a detailed picture of life in German labour camps, as we share her trials and tribulations but also the colourful characters and camaraderie. She survives the war with the desperate desire to return to her family and her village, but at war’s end, returning home is not as simple as she had imagined. There is seemingly no path home to the life she had once known. Katerena’s recollections were recorded and translated over several years. She has a gift for telling her story with colour, simplicity and emotion. No Path Home is an informative and enthralling account of the Second World War from a different perspective. To this account I add the historical context every step of the way. This story holds special appeal for those descendants of Eastern European immigrants eager to gain knowledge of their parents’ and grandparents’ wartime experiences. Many spoke little of the horrors they endured to their children, keen to leave the past behind them and start afresh in new countries around the world. This is a troubling yet fascinating tale of resilience, the power of family and friendship and of the evils of war faced by ordinary people who lived through extraordinary times.
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