Leamington woman translated her German mother's diary to write about her struggle after World War II

A Leamington woman has painstakingly translated her German mother’s diary in order to write about her struggle in the aftermath of the Second World War.

Elisabeth Dunleavy has published the book No Way Home, which tells the true story of how her late mother Christa-Maria Cross (nee Ciba) and her sister Ursla – Elisabeth’s aunt – focusing on their individual journeys as refugees in their defeated homeland during the final months of the war and the months and years that followed.

Elisabeth said: “After mum died, I found diaries from 1944/45 which I painstakingly translated from German to English.

"These diaries are the basis of ‘No Way Home’- a story I felt compelled to tell, not only for my family, but also as a non-political, non-military account of two ordinary, young German women trying to survive the aftermath of war in their defeated homeland.

“So much has been written about the war and the Holocaust but nothing about ordinary Germans and what happened to them.

"They were human beings too - not all were on board with what was happening and had no choice but to live under the imposed regime.”

Elisabeth said one of the things which helped her mother survive as a refugee was being able to speak English, which allowed her to communicate with American soldiers during the trek across The Czech Republic and back into Germany.

Through her work as an interpreter on projects to rebuild the infrastructure in Frankfurt, Christa-Maria was given the opportunity to work in London in 1951 and met Elisabeth’s father Bernard George Cross on New Year’s Eve in 1952.

The couple married in Germany in 1954 and eventually came to live in Radford Semele in 1983.

Christa-Maria, who died in 2020 – the same year as Ursula - was heavily involved in the community in Radford Semele and church in Leamington.

Because of her wartime experiences, she cared passionately about homeless people, supporting charities and drop-in centres.

Elisabeth launches No Way home at St Peter’s Hall, in Dormer Place, on Saturday November 11.

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