The war of Europe continues to rage on and mass destruction has resulted impacting families and countries. The Long Road Home is the awaited sequel to The Road to Uelzen.

The Road to Uelzen ends with the Eschmann family having been torn asunder. Fredrick, son of Karl and Helga Eschmann, has left the homestead to rescue his wife who has been imprisoned at the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp. Unbeknownst to them, their daughter Katharina who is with child, has also been discovered and arrested due to her Jewish heritage, and is sent to the Ravensbrück Concentration Camp. While there, she manages a daring escape with the help of her closest friend. A massive search ensues. Unable to return home, the two flee to Czechoslovakia across Nazi controlled Germany. They find refuge that they hope will last through the duration of the war.There she delivers a baby girl.

Once again their temporary home, is but a brief respite, as tragedy occurs necessitating Katharina to once again flee. The Long Road Home starts with Katharina retreating, this time with her daughter. Days pass as she travels by foot in an attempt to get to one of the few people she believes she can trust to hide them from the enemy. As she witnesses the destruction that rains down upon her and her country, her hope begins to falter that she will ever find the love of her life who had promised he would return after the war.

Miles away, her parents are in hiding from the very people that her father fought for in the previous war. A kindly Pastor assists them in their dire circumstances as they face a fateful decision.

John has once again been reunited with his troops and is anxious to resume the fighting against Germany realizing that the only chance he has of finding the one he left behind is to assist in defeating her country. To achieve his goal of once again finding her, he accepts every mission that is offered, even one that he is unaware of that will put her own life in peril. His efforts result in having to pay a personal price.

As the story unfolds, the ongoing tragedy of war on both the victor and the vanquished occurs. Throughout the saga, despite mass destruction, the kindness and magnanimity of both sides is displayed. Allies become enemies and enemies become allies as the years pass. Through it all is the undying love of two people who once knew and lost each other. They finally give up hope and move on with their lives on two different continents and yet dream for a day long ago.

Barely more than a decade after The Great War, the seeds of discontent are rising amongst the German population. The reparations exacted by the Allies, from the Treaty of Versailles, become untenable for the defeated country. Precious land and resources have been removed, monetary sanctions have been implemented on an already asset poor country, unemployment is rampant and the country has experienced over seven million estimated casualties, not counting civilians. Political infighting has erupted resulting in severe food shortages and hyper-inflation with families struggling to exist.

Prior to the war, the Eschmann family settled outside the town of Uelzen, Germany establishing a farm to assist them in raising their family. Fredrick, the oldest son, has been sent to live with his grandparents in Brandenburg to receive a formal education. While there, he meets and falls in love with Christina Rosenberg. The challenges of an inter-faith relationship ensue yet the couple decides to marry and return to the Eschmann homestead in Uelzen to live. Shortly thereafter, he is conscripted to serve in the German army to fight in World War I.

At the conclusion of the war, the family tries to pick up the pieces as they mourn their loss and try to care for family and others going through the same experience. Upon returning home to a defeated country, Fredrick and Christina struggle to put their lives together but manage to start a family. Nearly twenty years pass and they find themselves once again experiencing the germinating seeds of war, but this is different. The flames of war rhetoric are fanned with blame and hatred toward many of their own German Jewish citizens which now jeopardizes Christina and any children that she and Fredrick have. Once again the family will face the trials and suffering they thought they would never have to relive.

As the story unfolds we witness how the generations of one family have been forever impacted by the political machinations and aspirations of a few as we relive the amazing era of the 20th century that crossed generations and continents in a world of unrest – a world that faces death, destruction, hatred, sacrifice, love, and hope.

Volume one of this two-volume series will chart the Eschmann family from the time of World War I to the middle of World War II illustrating their personal journey as they travel to Uelzen. “The Road to Uelzen” will take the reader through a historical perspective of a fictional family opposed to war, yet thrust into it with their surprising awareness that not everyone is the enemy. This story illustrates the impact of war on both the victors and the vanquished, and the tragedies and repercussions that occur.

Life’s journey has no end with what we leave behind.

Life’s journey is replete with twists and turns, starts and stops, hills and vales, and no two journeys are identical. This is a journey that no one knows how or when it will end, and yet, our choices along the way, help determine the destination. At the inception of our birth, we are totally dependent on a caregiver for all of our needs. Slowly, along the way, we develop independency, only to find, in many cases, years later, the dependency returns. This book is designed to take the reader through the various stages of life and experiences gained along the way. Woven into the tapestry of life, are the various lessons and hurdles that we face. It is written to be introspective and provides religious connotation throughout, as well as enlightenment from others who have completed their personal trials. It is intended to be a message of faith and hope espousing Christian beliefs. Regardless of the clouds before us, the sun will always appear. Each of us is the author of our own story of life.

Lest We Forget is the third volume of the Uelzen series (The Road To Uelzen and The Long Road Home). Years have passed since the tumultuous and devastating World War II. John and Katharina’s daughter now has children that are grown – children that have questions about their ancestors. The next generation, John and Christine decide that the only way they can understand is to return to the place where it all started. What they don’t know is the danger that they will face as they begin their pursuit of learning more about him. The siblings find out that Germany is no longer the country that it once was.

Lest We Forget begins where its prequel, The Long Road Home, ends. John and Katharina’s daughter now has children that are grown – children that have questions about their ancestors. The next generation, John and Christine, now yearn to find out about their war hero grandfather after finding his long-ago packed-away journals that are filled with stories that were never shared. The two decide that the only way they can understand is to return to the place where it all started.

What they don’t know is the danger that they will face as they begin their pursuit of learning more about him. Unaware of the uncertainty and hazards they will encounter that will change their lives, they decide to engage in their quest.

The siblings find out that Germany is no longer the country that it once was. However, they discover that certain elements of prejudice and hatred remain. Among the hatred is the craving by a family for revenge against the descendants of the Eschmann family to which John and Christine belong. In their search, both lives will be changed and impacted forever.