WHEN FRIEDRICH DOBERSTEIN WAS BORN in Poland in 1931, ethnic Germans were already well-settled on the land they had cultivated there some generations earlier. Even after war broke out for the second time that century, life for Germans like young Friedrich and his family was still relatively idyllic, albeit under the shadow of the Nazi regime. But within a few years the tide of war had turned, and Germans feared for their lives. Having lost everything, they were forced to retreat to Germany to begin life anew after the ravages of war.

FRIEDRICH’S STORY chronicles the life of his parents and grandparents as he remembers it from stories told by his Omas, and continues with the story of his own life, growing up poor but happy in the Polish countryside. In his own endearing prose, he recalls his boyhood adventures and the charms of everyday farm life, the drama of war as it unfolded in the village around him, and his poignant endeavors as a young man learning his way in life – all underlined by God’s faithfulness along the journey.

FRIEDRICH DOBERSTEIN and his wife Gertrud live in the Greater Toronto area, with their children, grandchildren, and the first of their great-grandchildren nearby.

VERENA BENSON is honored to have translated and edited the original German manuscript for her Onkel Friedrich. She and her husband Paul live with their three sons in Kelowna, BC, Canada.