Into enemy arms

Published: 27 October 2009

Based on a remarkable true story, Into Enemy Arms is the account of a young German girl Ditha Brunel living in Lossen whose life is turned upside down by Hitler and his Nazi regime during WW2.  Her personal struggle against the Nazi oppression leads her to defy the resistance and help 23 escaped POW’s to survive. One of whom, Warrant Officer Gordon Slowey, was the man Ditha was to fall in love with.

The book, written by Michael Hingston, the nephew of Ditha, breaks a sixty-year silence as her story is finally told.  By putting together her vivid memories and eyewitness accounts it is an authentic read.

It is refreshing to read a narrative from the other side of the tracks, from a German viewpoint amongst many. We don’t tend to hear much from the innocent German civilians, many of whom like the core characters in the book, were anti-Nazi and despised every ‘Heil Hitler.’ The book is also marvellously recounted with help from French and English POWs, and even a German soldier’s written account.

Hingston captures the struggle and devastation of the period to precision. In particular he paints a glum picture of Lossen during its demise and captures the ‘scenes of total chaos’ Ditha witnessed during the Russian overthrow, and heartbreak as she watched her life, as she knew it, crumble. The author tells how her family, the Bruncels, ‘huddled together in stunned silence, their arms around teach other, as soldiers pillaged what remained of their possessions,’ which highlights the plight of many Germans during this period. Although in danger of making the account all too depressing, he avoids this by using Ditha and Gordon’s romance in a way that says ‘love triumphs,’ providing an air of optimism despite the hardship, and this makes for a more moving tale.

Part of the author’s magic is his ability to capture every form of emotion.  From hope, humanity, fear to love he reaches for it all.  Each chapter provides a chapter in the characters lives and a different part of the story, which works in building the narrative.  He captures the hardship Gordon and his comrades experience in the POW camps, the suspense when the escaped POWs are almost caught by the SS while in Ditha’s care, and the danger during the lovers’ daring flight out of Germany.

Into Enemy Arms is a thoroughly enjoyable read, providing a clever balance of history, fact and sentiment.  That favourite of themes, a love story that prevails and overcomes phenomenal obstacles. It warms the heart.


Review by Rhea Johnson