Dear Mutzi

This is a new book. Condition: Brand New.

Harry Peters - formerly Hermann Ludwig Pollnow, known to his family as Mutzi - was born in Berlin in 1920. As a teenager, he fled Nazi Germany and landed in rural Australia. Harry's parents, Max and Edith, stayed and perished in Nazi camps.

This story, of forced migration, assimilation, loss, resilience and determination despite the odds, is one that has been lived countless times throughout history and continues to be a common human experience. Harry's particular experience also tells the history of refugee farmers in rural Australia and migrant labour companies during WWII.

Scholfield-Peters tells her grandfather's story with three intertwining threads: a sketched-out history based on Harry's testimony and documentary history; her engagement with this personal history from a third-generation perspective; and the present story of Harry's growing infirmities and eventual death in early 2021 at age 100.

Through the hybrid narrative non-fiction form, Scholfield-Peters investigates her family history and seeks to share an ethical historical account of Harry's life. This work necessarily skirts the edges of fiction and non-fiction, as Scholfield-Peters weaves her deep research with Harry's recollections and imagines the unknown details.

Book details and technical specifications

Format: Paperback / softback
ISBN13: 9781922507518
Published: June 2024

Number of pages: 248
Width: 153 mm
Height: 234 mm
Depth: not specified

Publisher: National Library of Australia