When Hitler trained his lethal eye on the occupation of France, the Gaillet family was forced from their resplendent home near the Belgian border by a bullet through their front door and a German soldier’s scream to evacuate within twenty-four hours. Thus begins the harrowing odyssey of four-year-old Hélène and her five siblings, who in 1940 abandoned everything they knew, and remained on the brink of disaster for four brutal years.

I was a War Child: World War II Memoir of a little French Catholic girl is the rare and raw account of one family’s exodus from the front line of the Nazi invasion of France. Written by Hélène Gaillet de Neergaard, this riveting memoir reveals how the family faced unfathomable hardship, hunger, and torment, as well as terrifying intervals where the six children forged ahead without their parents.

Through this vivid recollection of dodging roadblocks, bullets, and bombardments, this singular account of survival is certain to enthrall anyone interested in World War II or stories of overcoming adversity. Accompanied by family photographs from this epic era, Gaillet’s remarkable tale offers resounding proof of what it is possible to endure in the name of freedom.

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