BOCA RATON, Fla., December 10, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- "For those who say the holocaust never happened, I am here to say it did," writes author Gisela M. Venable. In her memoir, Gisela: From Hell to Heaven (now available through 1stBooks), she tells the true story of the horrors that befell her family, friends and neighbors in her hometown of Krefeld, Germany, under Hitler's bloody reign.
In her book, Gisela recounts a happy, but difficult childhood. She then details how Hitler gained power in Germany and tells how he used "mass hypnosis" on the German people. "When thinking back, I guess it was nothing more than a massive cult ... people never knew what hit them until it was too late," she adds.
In a poignant style, Gisela, whose family was not Jewish, describes the tragedies her young eyes witnessed as Jews were robbed of not only their civil rights, but also their freedoms and, in many cases, their lives. She recalls the travesties of "Kristallnacht" (Crystal Night), as her friends and neighbors were rounded up in the marketplace to watch their belongings and businesses go up in flames. She tells how her uncle was gassed for showing others a propaganda leaflet that he'd picked up on the street and her best friend killed for being a Jew.
The book also relives Gisela's later escape from Germany. She went first to Canada, where she worked as a nanny and housekeeper, and eventually to America, where she finally found a better life. She now resides in Boca Raton, Fla.
"As I said in the book, too far to the right is dangerous and too far to the left is socialism. We should all work toward the middle with open minds and always strive for a better life for all," she writes.
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