Availability:
This book is temporarily out of stock, order will be despatched as soon as
fresh stock is received.
Local release date:
Format:
Description
Author
Biography
Sales
Points
Teacher Notes
Page Spreads
Reviews
Google
Preview
When you are a war-hardened 20-year-old on operations with the elite Brandenburger Commandos, you know that only one in two come back and your only victory is survival. You lose your virginity, gain three Iron Crosses and nearly lose your manhood. But you survive. Iron Crossed is a true story of sacrifice, heroism, loss and love.
The story is told from a human (usually Martin’s) perspective, with characters added to a historical background. The narrative progresses chronologically (after a scene-setting chapter around which the narrative pivots), through forty-eight short chapters. These cover three interesting historical periods:
1. Youth in pre-WWII Hitlerite Germany: Martin’s work in the construction of the Third Reich’s imposing Westwall fortifications and widening the Kiel Kanal for the German battleships;
2. War: Martin’s missions with the Brandenburgers during the German invasion of Russia in which he won three iron crosses and nearly lost his manhood; and
3. Post-war: PoW experiences; escape to the West; the tough migrant experience in 1950’s Australia for both husband and wife, and the joy of making a new life in the land of sunshine.
Martin is twice decorated for bravery on his first mission. As the war turns against the Germans, he has to combat partisans in the blood-freezing desolation of the Russian front. When his war ends, another challenge arises as he and his pregnant wife Marlene have to make a daring escape from Russian-occupied Germany to the West.
A new life beckons in an unknown land half a world away where Martin helps build Australia’s massive Snowy Mountains hydro-electric scheme from the ground up. Raising a family, together facing the tough migrant experience of hardship, poverty, resilience with humour it becomes a typical story of Australian migrants in the 1950s.
Iron Crossed is based on extensive tape-recorded interviews of Martin and Marlene by the first author, their daughter. You can hear excerpts from these recordings at: http://philjohnrose.net/Iron_Crossed/index.html
Renata Rose - Canberra - First Author is the daughter of the main characters and recorded her parents stories as she found them very interesting. She transcribed them and changed the stories into a novel, adding characters and embellisments to some of the facts. Historical details were not altered in any way. Phil Rose - Canberra - Second Author is an academic and lectures in Chinese dialects and forensic Linguistics - Phil has published many academic works and when he read the book he said he could improve it. He is a keen historian with his excellent language skills he helped refine and polish the story. He also speaks many languages and transcibed the most interesting recording from German to English and has them on his website for people to listen to.
1. Contains all the elements of a great story. Love, heroism, sacrifice, sex and humour 2. Historically accurate 3. Based on recordings of true life events
