Heiner Karow

Pimping for Chewing Gum and Wonder Woman Heiner Karow

Heiner Karow spent many years avoiding memories of his childhood. He had heard so many retellings of his family's life during World War II that it was difficult to separate his own recollections from those of his relatives. Then, one day, he sat down to tell his children about his childhood, and the memories all came back like a series of snapshots. Karow mentally viewed these snapshots of a challenging coming of age under Hitler's regime. He knew exactly when it was time to tell his story.



Karow was only two and a half years old when his parents moved to the German city of Wilhelmshaven. Less than two months later, it was bombed in one of the first operations of World War II. This was the climate Karow spent his formative years surviving.



As a child, Karow grew up thinking that the events of the war were normal occurrences. Karow recalls his evacuation from Wilhelmshaven and the eventual Allied occupation. He accepted the turmoil and upheaval because he had never lived with the concept of peace. His memoir shows his gradual understanding of the fragility of life and the destruction war brings to both sides.