Before Berlin

In German-occupied Poland, being blond, blue-eyed, and fair-skinned might save your life... but survival comes at a cost. Germany 1935, Heinrich Himmler's Fount of Life (Lebensborn) program is created, encouraging voluntary reproduction in order to replenish the Fatherland with a racially pure population. Yet, as the number of German men killed from the ravages of war increased, the Nazi leadership sought to implement a new strategy. Abduction. Children of all ages are seized from their homes and schools in German-occupied territories and turned over to nationalistic parents to raise; but when that isn't enough... young, blond, blue-eyed women are forced to bed Nazi soldiers. On the 19th of August 1941, sixteen-year-old Aleksandra leaves for her private school in Łódź, Poland, but never returns. She and seventeen other girls who exhibit the desired fair Aryan features are taken by Nazi soldiers with the order to breed with SS officers for the future of the Deutschland. While en route to Berlin, Aleksandra's transport is attacked by British aerial bombers and this extraordinary saving grace propels her and the other girls into a harrowing trek through the harsh German forest. With little resources and insufficient skills, they face unknown predators, thirst, starvation, injuries, soldiers, and the sheer will to live, but even civilization might not save them from the cruel consequences of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This compelling story of strength shares the fictional journey of Aleksandra Jaworski, the courageous birth mother of Ella Kühn from the Award-Winning Berlin Butterfly Series. This historical fiction can be read as a stand-alone novel but is introduced as the Prequel to the series.