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A Different Kind of Courage: Gretel's Story
 
 
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A Different Kind of Courage: Gretel's Story [Paperback]

Claudia Strachan , Gretel Wachtel
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
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A Different Kind of Courage: Gretel's Story + Clara's War + A Garden of Eden in Hell: The Life of Alice Herz-Sommer
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Product details

  • Paperback: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Mainstream Publishing (6 Aug 2009)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1845965108
  • ISBN-13: 978-1845965105
  • Product Dimensions: 15.3 x 2.1 x 23.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 253,753 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gretel Wachtel
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Product Description

Book Description

The amazing true story about the life of a young German woman during the Second World War

Product Description

A Different Kind of Courage is the spellbinding account by an attractive and feisty young woman who witnessed personally Hitler's racist spite at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, and had to endure the shock of the disappearance of her best friend and her family during Kristallnact, the night of atrocities against the Jews. She allied herself to the German resistance fighters, passing on secrets learnt from her work on the Enigma decoding machines, and she received all the conflicting messages coming in on the day of the attempted assassination of Hitler in 1944 by Stauffenberg and his co-conspirators, many of whom she knew personally.

Gretel stayed in Hamburg throughout the war, suffering the constant bombing of the city by the Allies, helping the local Catholic priest to protect those being hunted by the SS, and was almost exposed by a 'house spy', when hiding her Jewish doctor in the coal cellar of her own house. Arrested finally by the Gestapo in 1945 and taken to an internment camp, she was liberated by the British Army.

When the Allies march towards Hamburg, the camp is dissolved and Gretel returns home. She falls in love with a handsome British officer, living life as best as she can in the ruins of Hamburg, until he asks her to come to England and marry him.

Destined to be a classic in the tradition of The Diary of Anne Frank, A Different Kind of Courage is a story of indomitable spirit and determination that will inspire and enthrall.


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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It was good to read a war story about a far from ordinary German citizen who actively fought against the Nazi regime in her own small way. Gretel believed that even the smallest act of sabotage or smallest contribution (in her case, her involvement in the black market) could help in the fight against the Nazis. Anything she could do to throw a spanner in the works of an evil system gave her immense satisfaction. You can only marvel at her courageous acts of defiance and bravery as she went about her daily life, never sure who could be trusted and always mindful not to draw attention to herself and those she sought to help. She lived a life fraught with danger and it's good that her story has been told.
A compelling, wonderful story.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Excellent read 16 Sep 2009
Format:Paperback
This book had me hooked from the start. What a life this woman had. Would recomend this to all. Very easy to read and you just can't wait to find out what happens to her next. What a life!!
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
A monumental moment! 19 Aug 2009
Format:Paperback
I am biased, it is about my mother but the stories told to me as a child are all the more remarkable when written in this way by Claudi. A moving story, one I am personally proud of and grateful to the Author for her efforts in making it public.

Read it, it's good!

A Different Kind of Courage: Gretel's Story
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Thought Provoking
Mrs Mahoney's Secret War is based on facts and interviews with Gretel Mahoney by her friend, Claudia Strachan. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Love Reading Love Books
Gretel Wachtel: A Tiddler in a Small Pond, with representative Middle...
Gretel Wachtel, aged 24 in 1939, from Hamburg, was a very ordinary young girl. She was very social, and particularly flirty. Read more
Published 12 months ago by mangilli-climpson m
Gretel's story
This is a brilliant account of live in Germany during world war 2. I had just finished doing this period in history and this book cleared up so much about the time. Read more
Published 18 months ago by History Angel
Fascinating
An interesting slant from the usual books surrounding the second world war period. Gretel Wachtal provides a fascinating insight in to the life and suffering of the German people... Read more
Published on 25 April 2010 by N. Evans
a recommended read
A fascinating insight into how the german people were affected by Hitler's rule, well written in a style that kept me hooked from the very beginning. Read more
Published on 5 Oct 2009 by Karen Gavaghan
A wonderful insight into real life in Germany during the war
This was a beautiful book, written in a way that made it easy to read but highly informative. I had just gone to see the Collaborators at the theatre so this book about a person... Read more
Published on 28 Aug 2009 by Adrienne
A fascinating read.
The blurb promised this book to be spellbinding and it certainly was; I was not disappointed for one moment. Read more
Published on 20 Aug 2009 by Mrs. Heidi McGuinness
A stunning story !
I was aware of the extent of the French Resistance during World War 2, but not the strenghth of resistance to Hitler and what he was doing in Germany. Read more
Published on 20 Aug 2009 by Cindy
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