How a Russified German Lutheran Escaped Stalin’s Sword
Alexis Hoen’s eloquent memoir describes his escape from probable death under Stalin’s regime after his father was executed for the “crime” of contacting a sister in Germany. Hoen’s escape TO Germany during the Second World War – his youth, teenage years and beyond under Nazi control – are described in vivid detail. His memoir underscores the relatively unknown saga of Russified Germans fleeing to Nazi Germany during the war. Yet it is also one of the most optimistic memoirs one might read. How did the author achieve such a positive view of life in spire of it all?
I worked with Alexis for over six months on his manuscript, editing page by page. He was an absolute joy to work with as a client and human being. His writing is eloquent, poetic and picturesque. “My mother and I were delivered from each other at home, with the help of a midwife whom I met later and who bore an uncanny resemblance to her trusted companion, an aging dachshund. My father rushed home with a bouquet of tulips. Obviously, I could not have consciously appreciated those flowers, but it could be that my immature vision still devoid of customary images chanced to fall upon them, and perhaps for that reason (or because I was told the story) I have had a special, affection for tulips all my life. I was baptized, a few days after my birth, by a Lutheran minister, one of the few religious in the city not in prison or hiding, and during the ensuing celebration my father wet my lips with champagne, a custom that I have continued in my own family.”
Alexis generously acknowledged my involvement in the introduction to his book and wrote to me: “I have reviewed the chapters you sent me and find them excellent. You improved my book tremendously. I wish I could meet you some day.”