This is a story of the unexpected.In Destined to Witness, Hans Massaquoi has crafted a beautifully rendered memoir -- an astonishing true tale of how he came of age as a black child in Nazi Germany. The son of a prominent African and a German nurse, Hans remained behind with his mother when Hitler came to power, due to concerns about his fragile health, after his father returned to Liberia. Like other German boys, Hans went to school; like other German boys, he swiftly fell under the Fuhrer's spell. So he was crushed to learn that, as a black child, he was ineligible for the Hitler Youth. His path to a secondary education and an eventual profession was blocked. He now lived in fear that, at any moment, he might hear the Gestapo banging on the door -- or Allied bombs falling on his home. Ironic, moving, and deeply human, Massaquoi's account of this lonely struggle for survival brims with courage and intelligence.
As the son of a wealthy African father and a German mother, Hans Massaquoi lived a privileged life. When his father returned home to Liberia, Hans's mother, concerned about her son's health, stayed behind in Germany. But before the family could reunite, the Nazi Party came to power, and Hans was trapped in a country where the color of his skin made him a constant target of hostility and abuse. Living in constant fear for his safety, Hans's existence became increasingly precarious until the end of World War II in 1945. This beautifully written, inspiring memoir chronicles the terrifying ordeals and remarkable survival of a black youth growing up in Nazi Germany. Hans Massaquoi emigrated to the United States in the early 1950s. He served in the U.S. Army and then became a journalist for Johnson Publishing, where he was managing editor of Ebony Magazine. He was an active participant in the civil rights movement. The father of two sons, Hans lives with his wife, Katherine, in New Orleans, Louisiana. "An incredible tale ... Exceptional ... It is reviving and heartening to learn of this intrepid black child and young man who through a combination of guts, smarts, and a really good mother, manages to waltz through the darkest abyss of the 20th century and come out whistling." -- Chicago Sun Times
As the son of a wealthy African father and a German mother, Hans Massaquoi lived a privileged life. When his father returned home to Liberia, Hans's mother, concerned about her son's health, stayed behind in Germany. But before the family could reun