What do you think?
Rate this book
Dancing Under the Red Star: The Extraordinary Story of Margaret Werner, the Only American Woman to Survive Stalin's Gulag
The shocking and inspirational saga of Margaret Werner and her miraculous survival in the Siberian death camps of Stalinist Russia.
Between 1930 and 1932, Henry Ford sent 450 of his Detroit employees plus their families to live in Gorky, Russia, to operate a new manufacturing facility. This is the true story of one of those families–Carl and Elisabeth Werner and their young daughter Margaret–and their terrifying life in Russia under brutal dictator Joseph Stalin.
Margaret was seventeen when her father was arrested on trumped-up charges of treason. Heartbroken and afraid, she and her mother were left to withstand the hardships of life under the oppressive Soviet state, an existence marked by poverty, starvation, and fear. Refusing to comply with the Socialist agenda, Margaret was ultimately sentenced to ten years of hard labor in Stalin’s Gulag.
Filth, malnutrition, and despair accompanied merciless physical labor. Yet in the midst of inhumane conditions came glimpses of hope and love as Margaret came to realize her dependence upon “the grace, favor, and protection of an unseen God.”
In all, it would be thirty long years before Margaret returned to kiss the ground of home. Of all the Americans who made this virtually unknown journey–ultimately spending years in Siberian death camps–Margaret Werner was the only woman who lived to tell about it.
Written by her son, Karl Tobien, Dancing Under the Red Star is Margaret’s unforgettable true an inspiring chronicle of faith, defiance, and personal triumph
Between 1930 and 1932, Henry Ford sent 450 of his Detroit employees plus their families to live in Gorky, Russia, to operate a new manufacturing facility. This is the true story of one of those families–Carl and Elisabeth Werner and their young daughter Margaret–and their terrifying life in Russia under brutal dictator Joseph Stalin.
Margaret was seventeen when her father was arrested on trumped-up charges of treason. Heartbroken and afraid, she and her mother were left to withstand the hardships of life under the oppressive Soviet state, an existence marked by poverty, starvation, and fear. Refusing to comply with the Socialist agenda, Margaret was ultimately sentenced to ten years of hard labor in Stalin’s Gulag.
Filth, malnutrition, and despair accompanied merciless physical labor. Yet in the midst of inhumane conditions came glimpses of hope and love as Margaret came to realize her dependence upon “the grace, favor, and protection of an unseen God.”
In all, it would be thirty long years before Margaret returned to kiss the ground of home. Of all the Americans who made this virtually unknown journey–ultimately spending years in Siberian death camps–Margaret Werner was the only woman who lived to tell about it.
Written by her son, Karl Tobien, Dancing Under the Red Star is Margaret’s unforgettable true an inspiring chronicle of faith, defiance, and personal triumph
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
73 people are currently reading
1163 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 139 reviews
May 30, 2021
Margaret Werner will be dragged to the USSR as a child of 11 as her father volunteers to go to as part of the Ford Company’s help to start up the Autostroy factory in Gorki. Many families will regret the “adventure” and Ford will turn a blind eye to those abandoned to their fates in Stalin’s terror.
Margaret Werner has just watched her father being dragged away by the NKVD for some unknown infraction. It’s the darkest time and the Ford Motor employees in the USSR are not immune from the roundups as Stalin’s paranoia grows:
It (the Great Terror) had no bias, no favorites. No one was exempt. I don’t even think the Stalinist agenda was particularly anti-Semitic at its root; the Jews were certainly victims, openly targeted perhaps more than the rest of the population. But the fear was universal. Families in untold numbers, of all ethnicities, were irreparably devastated at the snap of a finger, the signing of another false arrest warrant.
Betrayal in its most primitive form was a common way of life during this period in 1930s Russia, even among family members. Mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters routinely and sometimes falsely informed on one another to the police. I suppose it was a last-ditch effort to survive. The pervasive fear of arrest undermined everything. One day you saw your friends, you spoke with them, and the next day someone asked you where they were. It was as if they had suddenly vanished from the planet. “What happened to so-and-so?” was an all-too-regular occurrence. Your neighbor was here one day, gone the next, and no one knew anything about it.
Personal suffering at the very core of the human spirit swept the community like wildfire, and not many were able to escape. The whole world of human experience was driven by pain and fueled by fear. I thought, If there’ really a devil...I mean if he really exists, then surely this has got to be it; he must live here in Russia!
In 1945, shortly after the end of the war, Margaret Werner was arrested, charged with treason and espionage, and sentenced to 10 years in the Gulag. Her crime? She had talked with some RAF officers assigned to help the Soviets during WWII and asked for help raising her situation with the American embassy. She is sent to Siberia, the only American woman to eventually come back out alive. During her time, she meets good and bad people. She clings to the hope that someday she will be reunited with her mother and eventually return to the US.
But the other prisoners piling into our cattle car, these Russians, had no such hope. Their only hope was in their basic day-today ability to endure the crazy anguish of life here in their own country. They had no prospect of going elsewhere—like back to America someday. These simple Russians, good people at the core, were subject to endless oppression under these totalitarian conditions from which they were powerless to escape. The personal choices I took for granted while growing up in America—choices about health, happiness, and growth—these dear Russian people had never had. They never knew of such options, not even the simplest ones.
They could not turn to religion for hope; atheism was the Soviet religion. Hopelessness was deeply and permanently etched into their faces. It penetrated below the surface, into their souls. I can still see their faces clearly in my mind's eye today: men and women, young and old, with a look of total resignation, no hope whatsoever. A country without God is a terrible place. A horribly cold, harsh spirit hovered over this country, like a cloud that would not lift. It thickened the air and filled your nostrils everywhere you went. You could feel it crawl into your skin, into your pores. That was the condition of their lives and the very look upon their faces, as best I can describe it.
As I hated the terribly oppressive life and conditions the Russians were forced to undergo, I came to love the people more and more. Every time our train stopped at a station, local people came to push things through the ventilation slats in the cars: candy, bread, fruit, sausage, and cigarettes. All were rare luxuries, precious to them. They never stopped trying to help us, to care for the invisible people who were even more oppressed than they were. The locals were used to this routine; they watched for the trains hauling new death-camp inmates to the north and eagerly awaited the next opportunity to provide help. There was a good chance that most of them had a family member jailed, killed, or wrongfully imprisoned as well. In any case, these dear Russian people wanted to apply whatever healing medicine they could to this dreadful cancer called Stalinism.
This was an outstanding story. She grows up with Alexander Dubcek as a childhood friend. She meets famous people in the Gulag, including Prokofiev’s ex-wife and stars from the Bolshoi, etc. 4 Stars
Margaret Werner has just watched her father being dragged away by the NKVD for some unknown infraction. It’s the darkest time and the Ford Motor employees in the USSR are not immune from the roundups as Stalin’s paranoia grows:
It (the Great Terror) had no bias, no favorites. No one was exempt. I don’t even think the Stalinist agenda was particularly anti-Semitic at its root; the Jews were certainly victims, openly targeted perhaps more than the rest of the population. But the fear was universal. Families in untold numbers, of all ethnicities, were irreparably devastated at the snap of a finger, the signing of another false arrest warrant.
Betrayal in its most primitive form was a common way of life during this period in 1930s Russia, even among family members. Mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters routinely and sometimes falsely informed on one another to the police. I suppose it was a last-ditch effort to survive. The pervasive fear of arrest undermined everything. One day you saw your friends, you spoke with them, and the next day someone asked you where they were. It was as if they had suddenly vanished from the planet. “What happened to so-and-so?” was an all-too-regular occurrence. Your neighbor was here one day, gone the next, and no one knew anything about it.
Personal suffering at the very core of the human spirit swept the community like wildfire, and not many were able to escape. The whole world of human experience was driven by pain and fueled by fear. I thought, If there’ really a devil...I mean if he really exists, then surely this has got to be it; he must live here in Russia!
In 1945, shortly after the end of the war, Margaret Werner was arrested, charged with treason and espionage, and sentenced to 10 years in the Gulag. Her crime? She had talked with some RAF officers assigned to help the Soviets during WWII and asked for help raising her situation with the American embassy. She is sent to Siberia, the only American woman to eventually come back out alive. During her time, she meets good and bad people. She clings to the hope that someday she will be reunited with her mother and eventually return to the US.
But the other prisoners piling into our cattle car, these Russians, had no such hope. Their only hope was in their basic day-today ability to endure the crazy anguish of life here in their own country. They had no prospect of going elsewhere—like back to America someday. These simple Russians, good people at the core, were subject to endless oppression under these totalitarian conditions from which they were powerless to escape. The personal choices I took for granted while growing up in America—choices about health, happiness, and growth—these dear Russian people had never had. They never knew of such options, not even the simplest ones.
They could not turn to religion for hope; atheism was the Soviet religion. Hopelessness was deeply and permanently etched into their faces. It penetrated below the surface, into their souls. I can still see their faces clearly in my mind's eye today: men and women, young and old, with a look of total resignation, no hope whatsoever. A country without God is a terrible place. A horribly cold, harsh spirit hovered over this country, like a cloud that would not lift. It thickened the air and filled your nostrils everywhere you went. You could feel it crawl into your skin, into your pores. That was the condition of their lives and the very look upon their faces, as best I can describe it.
As I hated the terribly oppressive life and conditions the Russians were forced to undergo, I came to love the people more and more. Every time our train stopped at a station, local people came to push things through the ventilation slats in the cars: candy, bread, fruit, sausage, and cigarettes. All were rare luxuries, precious to them. They never stopped trying to help us, to care for the invisible people who were even more oppressed than they were. The locals were used to this routine; they watched for the trains hauling new death-camp inmates to the north and eagerly awaited the next opportunity to provide help. There was a good chance that most of them had a family member jailed, killed, or wrongfully imprisoned as well. In any case, these dear Russian people wanted to apply whatever healing medicine they could to this dreadful cancer called Stalinism.
This was an outstanding story. She grows up with Alexander Dubcek as a childhood friend. She meets famous people in the Gulag, including Prokofiev’s ex-wife and stars from the Bolshoi, etc. 4 Stars
January 17, 2011
I loved Tobien's account of the truly amazing life of his mother, Margaret Werner. The turn of every page was a constant reminder of how grateful I am to live in a free country. I admire her strength and resolve - how many of us could endure one intensely painful dissapointment, tragedy, etc. after another and not only have the persistence to go on living but also to be able to maintain a firm belief in a loving God?
We could spend a lifetime analyzing the better political system as it seems more and more people are turning to socialism (which I believe in many respects is the path the communisum) to solve the world's problems but the more I read about the intense suffering brought on by individuals who claim to believe in 'equalization,' the more firm I am in my stance that freedom is the answer. I find it so interesting that Stalin wanted God out of Russia - why, because he wanted the people to view him as their god? Many argue that organized religion is the foundation of many a conflict throughout history. I ask them to take a look at civilizations in which a belief in God is forceably removed (or when a government establishes a forced belief in a certain God/religion/ideology) and make an honest comparison. Which results in the greater suffering?
We could spend a lifetime analyzing the better political system as it seems more and more people are turning to socialism (which I believe in many respects is the path the communisum) to solve the world's problems but the more I read about the intense suffering brought on by individuals who claim to believe in 'equalization,' the more firm I am in my stance that freedom is the answer. I find it so interesting that Stalin wanted God out of Russia - why, because he wanted the people to view him as their god? Many argue that organized religion is the foundation of many a conflict throughout history. I ask them to take a look at civilizations in which a belief in God is forceably removed (or when a government establishes a forced belief in a certain God/religion/ideology) and make an honest comparison. Which results in the greater suffering?
October 22, 2008
An incredible story of surviving Russia under Stalin. Margaret Werner had the attitude that allowed her to stay alive in the most terrible conditions that she had done nothing to deserve. Living as a prisoner forced to do hard labour she became innovative, gained a faith in God and the ability to dance. This memoir shows it is never too late.
December 14, 2023
Side Note: If you can help it, try not to read too many books about death camps too close together. It can get very depressing and then, even worse, you could become numb to the suffering.
My friend let me borrow this book at the same time that she lent me Unbroken, and I was cautiously optimistic about it. But it was a mistake to read the two so close together because I couldn't help but to compare the writing, and Dancing Under the Red Star, sadly, could not compare.
Karl Tobien, the author, is the son of the book's subject, Margaret Werner Tobien. In some cases, an author close to the subject is able to add depth to the story by virtue of personal knowledge and a more intimate understanding of the subject. Unfortunately, a lack of writing ability will trump all of that. It's not that Tobien is a terrible writer; he's adequate, I suppose. It's just that his level of writing ability can't really do justice to his mother's amazing story.
Margaret Werner moved to Gorky, Russia, when she was a little girl. Her father worked for Ford, and he moved to the factory's plant in Russia during the Great Depression, hoping to improve his family's situation. Unfortunately, things were even worse in Russia than they were back home. But Carl Werner was not one to go back on his word, so he kept his family in Russia.
Because he was American, he was eventually arrested and sent to a work camp. His family never saw him again. A few years later, Margaret was also arrested for treason and espionage. She spent ten years working as a prisoner. She survived, and eventually became the only American woman to survive the gulags (and this isn't a spoiler because it's right there in the title).
Margaret's survival is nothing short of miraculous, but Tobien's telling of his mother's story is oddly lackluster. He kept emphasizing that his mother was the only American in all of the camps. Who cares? Did she suffer more because she was American? Countless Russians died, too. Were their lives worth less? Stalin's cruelty knew no bounds; we've got that. Does it make him so much more of a monster because he wrongfully imprisoned an American woman?
I also had an issue with the title of the book. It led me to believe that there would be more about dance in it, like in Mao's Last Dancer . But there was no mention of dance until well into the second half of the book, and it was only a small part of the story even then.
Karl Tobein is a Christian, and his mother became a Christian later in her life, too. I can appreciate that the cruelty of the gulag helped her to believe in the existence of God, which primed her to believe in the gospel later on. But the inclusion of so many random references to God, with only brief mentions of Margaret's later faith in the appendices, made them seem tacked on just for the sake of mentioning God. I'm a Christian, so I can understand that urge, but if Tobien wanted to share her testimony of faith, I wish he would do it straight out and all at once, instead of scattering it throughout the book.
Ultimately, it's an amazing story that isn't told very well. I blame his editor.
My friend let me borrow this book at the same time that she lent me Unbroken, and I was cautiously optimistic about it. But it was a mistake to read the two so close together because I couldn't help but to compare the writing, and Dancing Under the Red Star, sadly, could not compare.
Karl Tobien, the author, is the son of the book's subject, Margaret Werner Tobien. In some cases, an author close to the subject is able to add depth to the story by virtue of personal knowledge and a more intimate understanding of the subject. Unfortunately, a lack of writing ability will trump all of that. It's not that Tobien is a terrible writer; he's adequate, I suppose. It's just that his level of writing ability can't really do justice to his mother's amazing story.
Margaret Werner moved to Gorky, Russia, when she was a little girl. Her father worked for Ford, and he moved to the factory's plant in Russia during the Great Depression, hoping to improve his family's situation. Unfortunately, things were even worse in Russia than they were back home. But Carl Werner was not one to go back on his word, so he kept his family in Russia.
Because he was American, he was eventually arrested and sent to a work camp. His family never saw him again. A few years later, Margaret was also arrested for treason and espionage. She spent ten years working as a prisoner. She survived, and eventually became the only American woman to survive the gulags (and this isn't a spoiler because it's right there in the title).
Margaret's survival is nothing short of miraculous, but Tobien's telling of his mother's story is oddly lackluster. He kept emphasizing that his mother was the only American in all of the camps. Who cares? Did she suffer more because she was American? Countless Russians died, too. Were their lives worth less? Stalin's cruelty knew no bounds; we've got that. Does it make him so much more of a monster because he wrongfully imprisoned an American woman?
I also had an issue with the title of the book. It led me to believe that there would be more about dance in it, like in Mao's Last Dancer . But there was no mention of dance until well into the second half of the book, and it was only a small part of the story even then.
Karl Tobein is a Christian, and his mother became a Christian later in her life, too. I can appreciate that the cruelty of the gulag helped her to believe in the existence of God, which primed her to believe in the gospel later on. But the inclusion of so many random references to God, with only brief mentions of Margaret's later faith in the appendices, made them seem tacked on just for the sake of mentioning God. I'm a Christian, so I can understand that urge, but if Tobien wanted to share her testimony of faith, I wish he would do it straight out and all at once, instead of scattering it throughout the book.
Ultimately, it's an amazing story that isn't told very well. I blame his editor.
June 7, 2012
This is the memoir of a woman who, as a young girl, moves with her father and mother from Detroit to Gorky, Russia. It is 1932 and the father decides that the family should escape the Depression and move with other Ford Motor Company employees to work in the Gorky factory. Under the reign of terror instituted by Joseph Stalin and his minions, the family suffers for years under deprivation, false arrest and imprisonment, and other atrocities.
The only good thing I can say about this book is that I learned about this horrendous chapter in our history. It's hard to imagine how both Ford and the U.S. government turned their backs on these American citizens. I knew nothing about this. Now for the bad . . . . This memoir is written by the subject's son. It's as if he simply transcribed her spoken words and published them without benefit of an editor. The writing isn't good.
I read this book for a book club. While I love my friend who recommended it, I don't love this book or the fact that I had to pay $15 for the Kindle version because my library didn't have it! The publisher is the evangelical Christian arm of Random House. The book has many references to God and His mysterious interventions into daily life. No problem there, although it's a bit heavy-handed for me. The problem for me occurs at the end of the book, especially in Karl Tobien's epilogue. He gives a long account of what's wrong with our world today. Told from an evangelical Christian's viewpoint, it reads like commentary from Dr. Laura or Fox 'News,' definitely not my cup of tea. However, my biggest problem with the book is the writing.
The only good thing I can say about this book is that I learned about this horrendous chapter in our history. It's hard to imagine how both Ford and the U.S. government turned their backs on these American citizens. I knew nothing about this. Now for the bad . . . . This memoir is written by the subject's son. It's as if he simply transcribed her spoken words and published them without benefit of an editor. The writing isn't good.
I read this book for a book club. While I love my friend who recommended it, I don't love this book or the fact that I had to pay $15 for the Kindle version because my library didn't have it! The publisher is the evangelical Christian arm of Random House. The book has many references to God and His mysterious interventions into daily life. No problem there, although it's a bit heavy-handed for me. The problem for me occurs at the end of the book, especially in Karl Tobien's epilogue. He gives a long account of what's wrong with our world today. Told from an evangelical Christian's viewpoint, it reads like commentary from Dr. Laura or Fox 'News,' definitely not my cup of tea. However, my biggest problem with the book is the writing.
December 30, 2014
Highly recommend this book! Stalin's reign of terror is probably one of the most overlooked parts of modern history. Twenty-seven million people were killed during the time of forced labor camps in Russia. The story is heartbreaking but also so full of hope and faith. I dare anyone to complain about their life after reading this story. Should be required reading for everyone!
February 21, 2013
I'm very torn on how to rate this book. On the one hand, it is a story that deserves to be told. And it covers material that is little discussed by historians. On the other hand, this is NOT an academic history. At all.
The story revolves around Margaret Werner who went to Gorky with her father in 1932 so he could work for the Ford created factory there. Because of The Terror her father was arrested and died in the Gulag system. Later, Margaret was arrested and served her ten years in Siberian work camps. Eventually, she left Russia for East Germany and then escaped to the West. That story is interesting.
However, the story is much too convenient. I would never suggest Margaret Werner did not live the life she described, but I have to wonder if some of her anecdotes were lived by those around her rather than her. It is too coincidental that *every* important person was a close personal friend, that *every* remarkable event she existed in the middle of, that *every* impassioned speech was given by her.
And then there's the question of religion. I understand her turning to her faith to see her through horrific experiences. But the continual proselytizing in the book took away from her story and undermined the point she could have made.
I'm glad I read it. I wouldn't recommend it to an academic.
The story revolves around Margaret Werner who went to Gorky with her father in 1932 so he could work for the Ford created factory there. Because of The Terror her father was arrested and died in the Gulag system. Later, Margaret was arrested and served her ten years in Siberian work camps. Eventually, she left Russia for East Germany and then escaped to the West. That story is interesting.
However, the story is much too convenient. I would never suggest Margaret Werner did not live the life she described, but I have to wonder if some of her anecdotes were lived by those around her rather than her. It is too coincidental that *every* important person was a close personal friend, that *every* remarkable event she existed in the middle of, that *every* impassioned speech was given by her.
And then there's the question of religion. I understand her turning to her faith to see her through horrific experiences. But the continual proselytizing in the book took away from her story and undermined the point she could have made.
I'm glad I read it. I wouldn't recommend it to an academic.
October 27, 2016
God works in Mysterious ways!
Here is a story about a forgotten American who lived through the Gulags of the Soviet Prison system under Uncle Joe Stalin and how God moved on her behalf.
Thought of the movie and book, "China Cry" 1990 movie.
We don't realize how good we have it here in America and what horrors the rest of the World have went through.
Here is a story about a forgotten American who lived through the Gulags of the Soviet Prison system under Uncle Joe Stalin and how God moved on her behalf.
Thought of the movie and book, "China Cry" 1990 movie.
We don't realize how good we have it here in America and what horrors the rest of the World have went through.
January 8, 2008
I didn't even know this happened! So much for history class. Great book, very informative.
July 19, 2023
Fascinating memoir. I did not know anything about the American families that moved to Russia with the Ford company in the thirties. I'm not sure what compelled them.... the Depression I guess.
This is told in first person, but written by the woman's son. I found myself with a lot of questions that weren't answered. I wanted to know more about motives and reasons behind certain choices, and details about stuff like why the mother and daughter never once tried to leave Russia after the dad was arrested.
This is told in first person, but written by the woman's son. I found myself with a lot of questions that weren't answered. I wanted to know more about motives and reasons behind certain choices, and details about stuff like why the mother and daughter never once tried to leave Russia after the dad was arrested.
November 11, 2008
Great story of heroism.
June 25, 2008
Margaret's son puts into writing his mother's story, using her voice / point of view. The book presents remarkable detail of her more than 30 years experience outside the US, nearly 10 of which were spent in a Stalin GULAG. In short, I found this account filled with stunning examples of how human beings can enact great horrors or great heroics when placed in extraordinary circumstances.
In the late 1930s, Margaret's father took a job in Russia through Ford Motor Company in an attempt to escape the crushing poverty of the US Depression. Once they were settled in Gorky, it was apparent they were in worst shape than before. A few years later, Margaret's father was arrested, and Margaret herself followed a few more years thereafter. She was transfered a few places, but spent most of her time as a political prisoner in a harsh work camp / death camp (a GULAG). Even after her release, she still spent several years and several layers of red tape trying to return to America.
After reading this book, I am stunned by how many freedoms and luxuries I enjoy daily when other past and present struggle under tyranny, war, disease and poverty. I have never read anything but detached, impersonal historical accounts of Stalin's regime. It's incredible to think that hundreds, thousands -- really millions -- of people suffered similar conditions as those to which Margaret bears witnesses. It's clear that her determination, athleticism, and intellect aided her greatly. She also credits her mother's strong Christian faith to her ultimate release and their reunion.
Margaret's narrative I found quite compelling, but her son adds a few post-scripts, which jump from narrative to exhortation. I have to admit that I liked those less. I'm a big advocate of "show don't tell" in memoirs, and these last little bits had too much telling.
Overall, and insightful look into one individual's horrible journey in and out of Communist Russia in the 1940s and 1950s. An inspirational account of human triumph. May we all work to overturn and prevent this kind of tyranny in the world.
In the late 1930s, Margaret's father took a job in Russia through Ford Motor Company in an attempt to escape the crushing poverty of the US Depression. Once they were settled in Gorky, it was apparent they were in worst shape than before. A few years later, Margaret's father was arrested, and Margaret herself followed a few more years thereafter. She was transfered a few places, but spent most of her time as a political prisoner in a harsh work camp / death camp (a GULAG). Even after her release, she still spent several years and several layers of red tape trying to return to America.
After reading this book, I am stunned by how many freedoms and luxuries I enjoy daily when other past and present struggle under tyranny, war, disease and poverty. I have never read anything but detached, impersonal historical accounts of Stalin's regime. It's incredible to think that hundreds, thousands -- really millions -- of people suffered similar conditions as those to which Margaret bears witnesses. It's clear that her determination, athleticism, and intellect aided her greatly. She also credits her mother's strong Christian faith to her ultimate release and their reunion.
Margaret's narrative I found quite compelling, but her son adds a few post-scripts, which jump from narrative to exhortation. I have to admit that I liked those less. I'm a big advocate of "show don't tell" in memoirs, and these last little bits had too much telling.
Overall, and insightful look into one individual's horrible journey in and out of Communist Russia in the 1940s and 1950s. An inspirational account of human triumph. May we all work to overturn and prevent this kind of tyranny in the world.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 24, 2020
Probably the most impressive part of this book is the revelation that the US did not intervene on the behalf of American citizens imprisoned in the Soviet Union, even innocent children and wives who were dragged there by idealistic heads of family. Apparently, neither did the American companies who offered them that "opportunity."
While this story is interesting and adds something to the genre of Gulag memoirs (I like to recall Leave Your Tears in Moscow about a Lithuanian woman who was deported to Siberia with her son while her American husband and their daughter escaped), it leaves a bit to be desired. I was hoping for some follow-up with documents perhaps gleaned from the Soviet archives, which opened up for a brief window in the 90s (Margaret, the protagonist, died in 1997) or even a bit of source citation (for example, what about Ford's archives?) to give the story more substance and grounding in context.
The proselytizing is also eyebrow furrowing. While faith was no doubt a great source of sanity for Margaret, the "magical" occurrences just seemed like lucky coincidence. While it's important to maintain the integrity of the narrator's story, the author doubled down on this in the epilogue of the book, which took this aspect of the tale over the top.
While this story is interesting and adds something to the genre of Gulag memoirs (I like to recall Leave Your Tears in Moscow about a Lithuanian woman who was deported to Siberia with her son while her American husband and their daughter escaped), it leaves a bit to be desired. I was hoping for some follow-up with documents perhaps gleaned from the Soviet archives, which opened up for a brief window in the 90s (Margaret, the protagonist, died in 1997) or even a bit of source citation (for example, what about Ford's archives?) to give the story more substance and grounding in context.
The proselytizing is also eyebrow furrowing. While faith was no doubt a great source of sanity for Margaret, the "magical" occurrences just seemed like lucky coincidence. While it's important to maintain the integrity of the narrator's story, the author doubled down on this in the epilogue of the book, which took this aspect of the tale over the top.
January 4, 2009
Incredible story of survival, a fast read, and especially interesting for those like me who have a morbid fascination with Communism/The Cold War.
The title is pretty self-explanatory: the story of the only American woman to survive Stalin's Siberian gulags and eventually return to the USA. However, reading the end notes and coming to the "Challenge to the Reader," in which the author (the son of the camp survivor who has written his mother's tale and she told it to him) encourages the reader to no longer tolerate America's liberal media and to adopt Christ, had me ready to toss the book out the window and write this joker an angry email. This is the story of his mother's heroism and survival, it it's your little soapbox for him to spout out his political agenda. Ass monkey. The "Challenge to the Reader" section almost calls the whole book in to question, and was such an unnecessary add-on that I can't believe the publisher allowed it -- hopefully it will be removed from further editions.
Other than that, an excellent read.
Kicked ass.
The title is pretty self-explanatory: the story of the only American woman to survive Stalin's Siberian gulags and eventually return to the USA. However, reading the end notes and coming to the "Challenge to the Reader," in which the author (the son of the camp survivor who has written his mother's tale and she told it to him) encourages the reader to no longer tolerate America's liberal media and to adopt Christ, had me ready to toss the book out the window and write this joker an angry email. This is the story of his mother's heroism and survival, it it's your little soapbox for him to spout out his political agenda. Ass monkey. The "Challenge to the Reader" section almost calls the whole book in to question, and was such an unnecessary add-on that I can't believe the publisher allowed it -- hopefully it will be removed from further editions.
Other than that, an excellent read.
Kicked ass.
February 10, 2017
What an amazing story! A real page turner ... for me. I give it 6 stars for the story and 4 for the writing. This was authored by Margaret Werner's son, who is a decent writer but no prize winner. But what the writing lacks in style is easily compensated for by unique glimpses into life in Stalinist Russia during the Great Terror, where millions of people were sent to the Siberian Gulags on political charges. Margaret, a young woman who came to Gorky as part of a Henry Ford's agreement with Stalin to build a car factory, was swept up on false charges, forced to sign a confession and condemned to 10 years of hard labor. Her saga through these years is incredible. Yet, her dependence on God for support brought about many miracles. If you believe, along with Stalin, that religion should be banned, then you will not like this book. But if you appreciate someone's belief in Christ, then you should also appreciate this book.
April 9, 2020
Historias reales así solo tienen una calificación disponible : 5 estrellas! Me enganchó desde el inicio y no pude parar de leerlo hasta terminarlo! He llorado cantidad y he vivido con la protagonista todo lo narrado! Todavía tengo esa sensación de desolación, pero vale la pena leerlo!
Aprendí muchísimo de ese contexto de la URSS y el régimen Stalinista. Y como cubana me sentí identificada en muchos detalles que se narraban, cosas similares que sucedieron aquí en Cuba y que familiares y amigos vivieron.
Sin palabras... Muchas lágrimas, pero una historia que nos ayuda a recordar y concienciar y a ser agradecidos! Y a los que creemos en Dios, seguir perseverando en nuestra fe, sabiendo que todo está en manos de Él cuando le encomendamos nuestra vida!
Nota : NO apto para personas pesimistas, melancólicas, y depresivas. Puede desencadenar mucha tristeza.
Aprendí muchísimo de ese contexto de la URSS y el régimen Stalinista. Y como cubana me sentí identificada en muchos detalles que se narraban, cosas similares que sucedieron aquí en Cuba y que familiares y amigos vivieron.
Sin palabras... Muchas lágrimas, pero una historia que nos ayuda a recordar y concienciar y a ser agradecidos! Y a los que creemos en Dios, seguir perseverando en nuestra fe, sabiendo que todo está en manos de Él cuando le encomendamos nuestra vida!
Nota : NO apto para personas pesimistas, melancólicas, y depresivas. Puede desencadenar mucha tristeza.
October 15, 2017
fantastic, I cried, I became greatful for what I have, I cried more, then laughed a bit. the negative reviews are based on two things for the most part- 1)poor writing, it seems he transcribed verbatim her oral history. my personal opinion? Who gives a shit. the message is delivered with simple, direct, and clear wording. 2) he shares about christ- alot. i enjoyed it, it was a glimpse at the Christian faith ive never seen and found it beautiful and heartwarming. 5/5 *'s
May 7, 2008
Amazing story of an American woman who moved with her family to the Soviet Union in 1932, grew up there, was arrested in 1945, and spent 10 years in hard labor camps in Siberia. Contains many details about the gulag as well as Margaret's own story of survival and faith.
March 18, 2016
This was an excellent book. Very moving, with simple and eloquent language. Really makes you appreciate all you've got.
October 9, 2012
Faith Tyler
A5
honors English
Dancing under the Red Star was a beautiful, touching, and heartwarming story about an American Citizen who gets caught in the mitts of the Russian Revolution. She slowly tries to make her way back to America. She lived through Stalin’s rule in Russia as an American and at one point a political prisoner. The book was written by her son, Karl Tobien. He wanted her story to be told and to be passed on. Karl wanted her story to be told. He wanted people to see the journey his mother took to get back to America. He wanted people to see the hardships that she endured. He wanted people to see the perseverance. He wanted people to see that she got back to America by one person. GOD! On page 326, Margret says, “Someday I would have to speak of it. My story was too much to keep bottled inside. My life had been stolen from me, but now it was being returned.” Margret wanted to tell her story but she never got a chance to write about it before she died, so she told her son to pass it down and to let people know that she was the only American citizen to survive the gulag and to make it back home. She wanted people to know of God’s grace and his divine interventions in her terrifying situations. On page 327, she says, “Many others had done that. (Given up). I knew them. I knew their faces. But God had other plans. God had given me a chance in a million, a chance to start all over again. I was free. Here was my life, waiting for me, as if I had just been born.
Margret wanted people to learn something out of her book. She wanted people to learn from her struggles, in the labor camps, that you can make it though anything with God. He gives you determination and the willingness to keep moving forward; this is called the power of faith. Margret saw God intervene in her life in many situations. One time, when her and her mother needed heat, in their small room, she went to go get little pieces of wooden fences for firewood. They needed it because the winter was brutal those years and they had no heat in their one room living corridors. This was illegal and she would routinely risk her life to go get the firewood. One day she was stopped by a guard. She had not seen anybody around and suddenly he just appeared. He stopped her and would have caught her but suddenly the guard just left in mid sentence. Margret said, “I felt strangely that it was supernatural, miraculous. I knew it more in my heart than in my head. I was humbled and grateful in a way I hadn’t felt in a long time, rembering Mamas words and her constant, fervent prayer, ‘“Don’t worry, Maidie. God will get us through this!”” (pg, 124) The power of faith is what got her through Russia and the only thing that kept her from going insane when she was in the labor camps. She explains how a lot of people committed suicide because they didn’t have God to trust in. “I gained a new motivation that defiantly refused to give up, no matter what the conditions. Or was it the grace of God that gave me a reason to continue? I did believe that he had a purpose for me and for my life, although it was hard to see. I knew I was going to live, but I had no idea when I would get out of this wretched place.” (pg 248)
One thing that I really liked about the book was that it was a narrative. Margret didn’t write the book. She never had the strength or time; it is still her story and it is still her words. Her son just wrote it down for her. Margret starts out and tells a brief biography of her parent’s life before hers. She then talks about her own life, how she traveled to Russia on a boat, and how she got home to America in the end. The style of the story helped me understand what was going on in her life. I wouldn’t have understood the book if it would have just started from her imprisonment in the labor camp. The events leading up to her imprisonment painted a better and clearer picture of her life. It showed that even before she was imprisoned, her life wasn’t easy. It showed how her imprisonment changed her. The narrative was effective, not only that way, but it also gave me a clear view of what she was thinking. It helped me understand what was going on in the book, and it helped me connect with the character. For example, there was this evil old lady that Margret had to share a cell with. She talks of the hatred she felt toward her. She says, “Anastasia recognized me too, and I too, and I know she didn’t like what she saw: my angry eyes trying to burn a hole into her skull.” (Pg, 296) I could feel exactly what she felt and this helped me to connect with Margret.
My opinions of books usually tend to be very critical because I have read so many, but this one, this one, was fantastic. I absolutely loved it. I loved how it showed Margret’s journey through life and how she kept strong even when she had it bad. She never gave up and just from reading the book it gave me inspiration. Her will to live and to keep going gave me a great outlook on my life. I should be happy for what I have because Margret could still be happy even when she was at rock bottom. In the book she explains her life in one of the labor camps. She said it was hard for her to get used to but that she still had some fun times. In one of her camps they had a lake and it froze over. The prisoners got to ice skate on the frozen river. She says, “My childhood passion for skating had never left me, and my heart lifted every time I went on the ice. During our nonworking hours, we skated with the reckless abandon of youthful freedom and exuberance, forgetting our prison.” (pg 273) She made the best of her bad life. If she can do that, then I can surely make the best of my American life. There was nothing that I disliked about the book, everything was fantastic. I thought the story was well put together, and how can you not like a book about such hope. This book reminds me of The Diary of Ann Frank because Margret and Ann both lived through labor camps and they both tried to make the best of their lives in the camps. If I rated this book, I would give it five out of five stars. It was an excellent book and I encourage all to read.
A5
honors English
Dancing under the Red Star was a beautiful, touching, and heartwarming story about an American Citizen who gets caught in the mitts of the Russian Revolution. She slowly tries to make her way back to America. She lived through Stalin’s rule in Russia as an American and at one point a political prisoner. The book was written by her son, Karl Tobien. He wanted her story to be told and to be passed on. Karl wanted her story to be told. He wanted people to see the journey his mother took to get back to America. He wanted people to see the hardships that she endured. He wanted people to see the perseverance. He wanted people to see that she got back to America by one person. GOD! On page 326, Margret says, “Someday I would have to speak of it. My story was too much to keep bottled inside. My life had been stolen from me, but now it was being returned.” Margret wanted to tell her story but she never got a chance to write about it before she died, so she told her son to pass it down and to let people know that she was the only American citizen to survive the gulag and to make it back home. She wanted people to know of God’s grace and his divine interventions in her terrifying situations. On page 327, she says, “Many others had done that. (Given up). I knew them. I knew their faces. But God had other plans. God had given me a chance in a million, a chance to start all over again. I was free. Here was my life, waiting for me, as if I had just been born.
Margret wanted people to learn something out of her book. She wanted people to learn from her struggles, in the labor camps, that you can make it though anything with God. He gives you determination and the willingness to keep moving forward; this is called the power of faith. Margret saw God intervene in her life in many situations. One time, when her and her mother needed heat, in their small room, she went to go get little pieces of wooden fences for firewood. They needed it because the winter was brutal those years and they had no heat in their one room living corridors. This was illegal and she would routinely risk her life to go get the firewood. One day she was stopped by a guard. She had not seen anybody around and suddenly he just appeared. He stopped her and would have caught her but suddenly the guard just left in mid sentence. Margret said, “I felt strangely that it was supernatural, miraculous. I knew it more in my heart than in my head. I was humbled and grateful in a way I hadn’t felt in a long time, rembering Mamas words and her constant, fervent prayer, ‘“Don’t worry, Maidie. God will get us through this!”” (pg, 124) The power of faith is what got her through Russia and the only thing that kept her from going insane when she was in the labor camps. She explains how a lot of people committed suicide because they didn’t have God to trust in. “I gained a new motivation that defiantly refused to give up, no matter what the conditions. Or was it the grace of God that gave me a reason to continue? I did believe that he had a purpose for me and for my life, although it was hard to see. I knew I was going to live, but I had no idea when I would get out of this wretched place.” (pg 248)
One thing that I really liked about the book was that it was a narrative. Margret didn’t write the book. She never had the strength or time; it is still her story and it is still her words. Her son just wrote it down for her. Margret starts out and tells a brief biography of her parent’s life before hers. She then talks about her own life, how she traveled to Russia on a boat, and how she got home to America in the end. The style of the story helped me understand what was going on in her life. I wouldn’t have understood the book if it would have just started from her imprisonment in the labor camp. The events leading up to her imprisonment painted a better and clearer picture of her life. It showed that even before she was imprisoned, her life wasn’t easy. It showed how her imprisonment changed her. The narrative was effective, not only that way, but it also gave me a clear view of what she was thinking. It helped me understand what was going on in the book, and it helped me connect with the character. For example, there was this evil old lady that Margret had to share a cell with. She talks of the hatred she felt toward her. She says, “Anastasia recognized me too, and I too, and I know she didn’t like what she saw: my angry eyes trying to burn a hole into her skull.” (Pg, 296) I could feel exactly what she felt and this helped me to connect with Margret.
My opinions of books usually tend to be very critical because I have read so many, but this one, this one, was fantastic. I absolutely loved it. I loved how it showed Margret’s journey through life and how she kept strong even when she had it bad. She never gave up and just from reading the book it gave me inspiration. Her will to live and to keep going gave me a great outlook on my life. I should be happy for what I have because Margret could still be happy even when she was at rock bottom. In the book she explains her life in one of the labor camps. She said it was hard for her to get used to but that she still had some fun times. In one of her camps they had a lake and it froze over. The prisoners got to ice skate on the frozen river. She says, “My childhood passion for skating had never left me, and my heart lifted every time I went on the ice. During our nonworking hours, we skated with the reckless abandon of youthful freedom and exuberance, forgetting our prison.” (pg 273) She made the best of her bad life. If she can do that, then I can surely make the best of my American life. There was nothing that I disliked about the book, everything was fantastic. I thought the story was well put together, and how can you not like a book about such hope. This book reminds me of The Diary of Ann Frank because Margret and Ann both lived through labor camps and they both tried to make the best of their lives in the camps. If I rated this book, I would give it five out of five stars. It was an excellent book and I encourage all to read.
Read
April 10, 2023Margaret's account of her survival of Stalin's Gulag was extremely devastating, but also incredibly impactful. I wish that this was discussed more in school, because I didn't know much about this genocide prior to reading this. I recommend this story to anyone who wants to gain a better understanding of the Russian Gulag and to learn about and be moved by someone's story who survived it.
January 1, 2023
Wow!
Margaret Werner's story is one that will not be easily forgotten. It's a horrifying realization of what many people endured, but it's incredible to see her spirit at the end of it all.
Margaret Werner's story is one that will not be easily forgotten. It's a horrifying realization of what many people endured, but it's incredible to see her spirit at the end of it all.
September 13, 2025
I would rate it 3.5 stars, a compelling story worthy of any retelling, but the simplistic writing style serves the narrative and nothing more. Karl Tobien succeeds in capturing the reader, but loses a star for the out of place "persecution" of Christianity speech following the epilogue.
February 27, 2011
Courage, inner strength, and resourcefulness were the main themes of this amazing true story of an American girl caught in the political nightmare of Stalin's Russia. I thought this book was well written especially since it read as first person but was truly written from the subject's son. Writing not only someone else's tale but also that other person be your mom and another gender seems quite a feat. I enjoyed it immensely. Some of my favorite quotes from this book are:
"Talk of God, faith, or religion was banned throughout Russia. Stalin, in fact, had issued his ridiculous decree: 'God must be out of Russia in five years.'" page 171
Stalin was truly an evil ruler.
Another quote:
"Something about this place, this camp, these people, seemed to bring out either the worst or the best a person had to offer. Sharing this burdensome time, one's true colors were fully exposed, because there was no hiding. It was a time of personal pressure, a time of constant testing to see what you were made of. You could fall or climb; it was up to you. Circumstances didn't really change: the difference was in whether or not you could adapt. The choice was always yours." page 229-230
Her story is truly humbling. She took everything that was given her and tried to find the good in it. Something I want to improve on. Great book, highly recommendable.
"Talk of God, faith, or religion was banned throughout Russia. Stalin, in fact, had issued his ridiculous decree: 'God must be out of Russia in five years.'" page 171
Stalin was truly an evil ruler.
Another quote:
"Something about this place, this camp, these people, seemed to bring out either the worst or the best a person had to offer. Sharing this burdensome time, one's true colors were fully exposed, because there was no hiding. It was a time of personal pressure, a time of constant testing to see what you were made of. You could fall or climb; it was up to you. Circumstances didn't really change: the difference was in whether or not you could adapt. The choice was always yours." page 229-230
Her story is truly humbling. She took everything that was given her and tried to find the good in it. Something I want to improve on. Great book, highly recommendable.
January 30, 2020
I have read numerous books about the Holocaust so I am fairly familiar about the Holocaust and first hand concentration camp account. However, this is the first book I have ever read about the Soviet Union's Gulags.
This book was very well written. Karl Tobien did an excellent job of telling his mother's story. Since the book was written by Margaret's son, I was expecting the story to be written from the son's point of view regarding stories that his mother had told him. I loved that Tobien decided to tell his mother's story from her point of view.
I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone. Stalin's Gulag's are a dark point in Russian history and I feel like everyone should learn about it.
This book was very well written. Karl Tobien did an excellent job of telling his mother's story. Since the book was written by Margaret's son, I was expecting the story to be written from the son's point of view regarding stories that his mother had told him. I loved that Tobien decided to tell his mother's story from her point of view.
I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone. Stalin's Gulag's are a dark point in Russian history and I feel like everyone should learn about it.
June 3, 2021
This true story is totally worth the read. This book makes me appreciate every freedom I have in the USA and our constitution. What a blessing to be born here and what a disaster and often death sentence it can be to live under Communism or Socialism. Read it and find out.
I think Margaret was almost the only one of all those 400 plus people sent over to survive. What does that tell you? And if I recall Ford Motors never did acknowledge sending all those people over there or try in any way to rescue them. I give them a very low regard for this. They were just left to die! It's been awhile since I read this. I keep trying to get my book club into it and I don't know why there aren't more of these books available for us to read!! Highly Recommend as a book to read more than once!!
I think Margaret was almost the only one of all those 400 plus people sent over to survive. What does that tell you? And if I recall Ford Motors never did acknowledge sending all those people over there or try in any way to rescue them. I give them a very low regard for this. They were just left to die! It's been awhile since I read this. I keep trying to get my book club into it and I don't know why there aren't more of these books available for us to read!! Highly Recommend as a book to read more than once!!
July 30, 2007
Wow...what an interesting story and one that is true! After reading this, one can truly appreciate all the things we take for granted. The writing is just *fair* but the subject matter is definitely worth the read. I had no idea Henry Ford sent over Americans to help Stalin develop automobile factories, what is worse the Ford company did not follow up or help them!???! Note: author expresses his religious bias.
September 20, 2010
One of the best biographies I've ever read. First of all, I knew nothing of the factory that Henry Ford helped develop and staff in Russia. Secondly, it is mind-blowing to learn of the suffering that humans can cause others and I admire the strength of this woman for what she survived without becoming crushed and defeated.
It was written by her son and is not as dry as many biographies seem to be (at least to me). I highly recommend this book.
It was written by her son and is not as dry as many biographies seem to be (at least to me). I highly recommend this book.
July 14, 2020
The extraordinary story of Margaret Warner’s survival of 10 years the Soviet Gulag
Margaret was the only American woman to survive 10 years of hard labor and deprivation in the Soviet gulag system during the time of Stalin. This is her story, a testimony of her courage and determination to survive, as told by her to her son. As usual truth is better than fiction. I couldn’t put it down till the end. It made me wish I could have met Margaret.
Margaret was the only American woman to survive 10 years of hard labor and deprivation in the Soviet gulag system during the time of Stalin. This is her story, a testimony of her courage and determination to survive, as told by her to her son. As usual truth is better than fiction. I couldn’t put it down till the end. It made me wish I could have met Margaret.
May 15, 2009
This book is really great, well written. The main thing I've gotten out of this book, is that it makes me grateful to live in America, and to have the freedoms I do. Its a pretty heavy read, as it is about a concentration camp. I don't think anyone who hasn't read "Hiding Place" could read this. Theres some stuff I wouldn't recomened to anyone under, oh...13 maybe.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 139 reviews