What was it like to fall in love in Hitler's Germany? As the war tore them apart, how did young couples keep love vibrant, care for their children, and relate to the war? The earthy letters of Ernst and Lilo Sommer depict in unforgettable poignancy the collision of their personal dreams with the political and military realities of the Third Reich. Seventy years later their daughter, Heinke, reflects on this tragedy.

Peter Matheson is Emeritus Professor at Knox Theological College, Dunedin, New Zealand. A recent book isArgula von Grumbach 14921554/7 (Cascade, 2013). Heinke Sommer-Matheson has taught in Germany, Scotland, and New Zealand.