The Shopkeeper's Family

Cultural upheaval was nothing new to the Mueller family. Although Herman's ancestors left the Rhineland to seek a more prosperous life as early as 1783, Herman and Johanna Mueller could never have guessed that in 1939 they would be forced to move, leaving behind all semblance of the comfortable family life they had built. Their prosperous future was thrown aside for the political and cultural debacle that resulted from Hitler's Nazi regime.

This is the story of the Mueller family's journey through Central Europe at a time of war, of heart-wrenching events and ever-changing living situations, of Herman's unthinkable conscription to fight in the German army, and of gentle, generous Johanna's finding the strength to keep her family together at a time when so many things, not the least of which were cultural and gender biases made those tasks difficult. At last, an end of their turmoil was in sight with the difficult decision to venture to America where the opportunity for a new and prosperous life awaited.