What do you think?
Rate this book
How I Saw Hitler on my Summer Vacation A True Story: 1938: A Fearless Female's Adventures in Pre WWII Europe
In 1938, high-spirited Helen McPhail sails the SS Normandie to a Europe displaying signs of change due to Hitler's increasing demands for power. Thirty years old and single, she savors the excitement of visiting nine countries by rail, from museums and nightclubs in Paris, to a dogsled ride in the Alps! The trip is carefully planned, but total surprises keep cropping up. She loses her hotel reservations to German soldiers - twice! Did her travel agent know the uncertainty of making a hotel reservation on the eve of the annual Nazi Party Rally? She was taken to Nazi Headquarters in Salzburg! How does one spend a black night in Austria? She becomes entangled in circumstances that are fascinating, frustrating, and romantic! (Listening to Hungarian music can be treacherous!)
As Helen joyfully hops from country to country, more than one handsome man longs for her to stay. Join her on the streets of Paris, amidst throngs of frantic people who are trying to leave Europe. Be an eye-witness to a Paris where taxis and drivers are commandeered to military service, as France prepares for war on the eve of the Munich Conference. Why is the RMS Queen Mary distanced off shore, instead of waiting at the dock?
Jump into an adventure you will remember forever! Readers of this book come away feeling like they were right there with her! Enjoy over 20 photos from her scrapbook!
Here is an excerpt from a review from a reader, that was sent to me via email:
Loved the book!! It gives such a delightful and at times ominous glimpse through your Aunt's eyes of that time in history. Her expressions, the music and cinema that she refers to, draw the reader right into the 30's. The historical time line, is so very helpful and provides a very powerful context to Helen's travel experiences. I marvel at her stamina, which I'm sure came from her joyous expectancy of good. And the luggage---always finding her, no matter who or how it leaves her sight but always to show up in the right place at the right time!! ( Airlines take note!!!) The Photos are well placed and become an integral part of the journey and definitely add to the reader's (my) enjoyment. Helen expressed such a sense of freedom and trust in good, and this altitude of thought provided her with an adventure of the finest sort. The Germany and Nazi experiences were fascinating to read about, and then to actually read the letter written to her from the Austrian soldier, as well as the other correspondence from the soldier, Hubert, added even more depth.
As Helen joyfully hops from country to country, more than one handsome man longs for her to stay. Join her on the streets of Paris, amidst throngs of frantic people who are trying to leave Europe. Be an eye-witness to a Paris where taxis and drivers are commandeered to military service, as France prepares for war on the eve of the Munich Conference. Why is the RMS Queen Mary distanced off shore, instead of waiting at the dock?
Jump into an adventure you will remember forever! Readers of this book come away feeling like they were right there with her! Enjoy over 20 photos from her scrapbook!
Here is an excerpt from a review from a reader, that was sent to me via email:
Loved the book!! It gives such a delightful and at times ominous glimpse through your Aunt's eyes of that time in history. Her expressions, the music and cinema that she refers to, draw the reader right into the 30's. The historical time line, is so very helpful and provides a very powerful context to Helen's travel experiences. I marvel at her stamina, which I'm sure came from her joyous expectancy of good. And the luggage---always finding her, no matter who or how it leaves her sight but always to show up in the right place at the right time!! ( Airlines take note!!!) The Photos are well placed and become an integral part of the journey and definitely add to the reader's (my) enjoyment. Helen expressed such a sense of freedom and trust in good, and this altitude of thought provided her with an adventure of the finest sort. The Germany and Nazi experiences were fascinating to read about, and then to actually read the letter written to her from the Austrian soldier, as well as the other correspondence from the soldier, Hubert, added even more depth.
156 pages, Paperback
First published August 9, 2012
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 7, 2015
The diary of a thirty-year-old single American woman written on her trip in the summer of 1938 to Europe is interesting chiefly for the picture of a young woman totally clueless about the events of the world happening all around her.As the Munich crisis heats up, her parents frantically cable her to come home, but she continues to tour the castles along the Rhine and have dates with the Germen men she meets who are clearly in Nazi uniforms from the photos that are included in the book.
The fact that the Queen Mary and The Normandie continued to make trans-Atlantic crossings and that Cook's tour services was doing a booming business clearly means that this young woman was not alone in her political myopia and for this reason, this slim little volume makes for a compelling read.
The fact that the Queen Mary and The Normandie continued to make trans-Atlantic crossings and that Cook's tour services was doing a booming business clearly means that this young woman was not alone in her political myopia and for this reason, this slim little volume makes for a compelling read.
September 10, 2015
I want to rate this only two stars because I was so disappointed in it but I feel that's my fault for reading it solely based on the title and believing it was something it was not. If I had know it was basically just a travel diary I probably would have skipped it or put it further down on my to-read list. Not a bad book, just not what I was looking for.
January 2, 2014
This was a book about young ladies of the 1930s on their tour of the "continent". While, at some point, she did spot Hitler, the book was by no means about Hitler or any interaction with Hitler, but was about 2 kind of spoiled young women and their adventures.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews