A World Gone Mad
The True Story of Surviving a Dictatorship
A powerful autobiography told through the eyes of a child growing into adulthood under two brutal regimes—Nazi Germany and Soviet-controlled East Germany. This is a story of fear, resilience, and the unbreakable human longing for freedom.
About the Book
This autobiography is told through the eyes of a child growing into a teen from the last gasping thousand-year empire of Hitler into the equally evil government of East Germany, a life that had no normal childhood and a life of tears and fear and no future. Only being allowed to migrate to the US at age twenty-one changed the author's life.
Historical Witness
A rare firsthand account of life under two of the 20th century’s most oppressive regimes.
Resilience & Survival
A deeply human story of endurance, imagination, and inner freedom.
Hope & Transformation
A journey from fear to freedom, and from confinement to self‑realization.
Why I write the Book
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What is it like living in a dictatorship
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To confront my past and heal
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To resurrect the life of a 12 year old girl , who died going through hell
What Readers Will Take Away
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You can heal after trauma, don’t give up on yourself
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Life is a journey which takes you up and down and up and down
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Take freedom not for granted
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Don’t compromise your values
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Enjoy your friends, the beauty around you in nature and art
AVAILABLE NOW ON
About Gretel
I was born in eastern Germany under Hitler’s rule, living through WWII and experiencing the final collapse of what Hitler called the Thousand Year Old Empire in 1945 Going through years of starvation and into an ever-growing dictatorship Under the Stalin directed and Soviet occupied East Germany to finally having to flee my country or risk arrest. Fleeing through the only opening of West Berlin, now being very poor and contemplating the loss of all my friends, relatives and home. After two years in West Germany, I came to the New York.
From a childhood shaped by fear to a life reclaimed through freedom.
Contact Gretel Timan
For media inquiries, speaking engagements, or reader correspondence, please reach out using the contact information.
© 2026 | Gretel Timan | Created by Atticus Publishing | All rights reserved.