Title: Under a Leafless Tree: The Story of a Mormon Girl from East Prussia
Authors: Helga Meyer and Lark Evans Galli
Publisher: Greg Kofford Books
Genre: Memoir
Year Published: 2021
Number of Pages: 220
Reviewed by Daniel Evensen
Helga Meyer’s life story is nothing short of amazing. Born in a faithful Latter-day Saint family in East Prussia in 1920, Meyer lived in both Nazi Germany and the German Democratic Republic, was married 3 times, survived starvation and assaults, survived shrapnel wounds after a bomb shelter door broke open, and displayed a resilience and determination that is nothing short of inspiring. Her story is simply amazing, from her unlikely childhood on the other side of the Danzig corridor to her death-defying escape on a U-Bahn train ride from East to West Berlin. It was hard to put down.
Meyer’s story is not written with perfect grammar – which adds to the authenticity of the work. The English sentences are somewhat convoluted, the product of a elderly woman whose training in the language came largely after her arrival in the United States as a refugee. There’s a warmth to the tone that this brings, however. This is not the product of an unbiased and discipline historian. The words are her words, and the book reads like a long conversation with a favorite grandparent – including the occasional diversion.
The photos are worth the price of the book alone. It’s not only amazing that so much photographic evidence of Meyer’s pre-immigrant life exists. Rather, it’s amazing how good the quality of these photos are. They are clearer, better focused, and more attractive than my own family photos from the time period. It’s one thing to read Meyer’s description of her childhood; it’s quite another to see her young, smiling, energetic face, as clear as any Facebook profile photo.
As a returned German-speaking missionary, I wish that the diary extracts at the end of the book were also available in the German original. The translation is beautifully done, and there is a certain literary poignancy to her descriptions of hiding from the Russians in the mission home (technically apartment). Part of me wishes that Meyer wrote the entire book in German, though I do think that what we have is a sufficient rendition of her innermost thoughts and memories.
On a personal level, this book really meant something to me. My maternal grandmother, almost exactly 5 years younger than Meyer, came of age during the Nazi occupation of her native Norway. Unfortunately, my grandmother died long before I was born, taking with her all of the emotions, fears, and feelings that Meyer describes so vividly, and leaving behind only the few stories that have passed down. I’ve always wondered what it would have been like to hear those stories straight from my Norwegian grandmother. Though I won’t get that opportunity in this life, I sincerely feel that this book has given me a taste of what it would have been like.
All members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints should read this book. It’s simply marvelous
Hello Daniel. Thank you for this kind review of Helga’s book. I treasured the opportunity to capture her story as well as glimpses of her East Prussian town and the lives of of her friends and loved ones which would otherwise have been lost to time. I’m so happy that Helga appears as a major point of view character across the last half of Saints, Volume 3, to be released this month! She will be more widely loved through that volume. But the full stories and, as you said, the images, will only be available in the Under a Leafless Tree. Thanks again.