Princess Marie Vassiltchikov's Berlin Diaries is one of those books I found impossible to put down while first reading it in the early nineties, and it is this weeks German Culture article. Last year in Berlin had at last the chance to follow the maps the book features, and even managed to go inside some of the buildings. Much had changed, or disappeared, but it was still possible to see, and even sense, what life must have been like when spirited and resourceful �Missie�, as Marie Vassiltchikov was known, was there during WW II.
Missie�s descriptions of life in those days made history come alive, and the way she as a woman dealt with the challenges she faced, and the tragedies she was witness to, was inspiring.
Although it might be called a war time memoir, it also is a woman�s journey from socialite to maturity. As difficult as it sounds, do �hard times� sometimes bring out the best in us?
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art16348.asp
