Cynthia A. Sandor - Author/Personal Historian Website: www.cynthiaasandor.com
Monday, June 27, 2011
Editor is moving
I was so dissapointed when my editor emailed me and said she could not look at my manuscript because she is moving. That did not stop me from moving forward however. I am determined to have the manuscript reviewed.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Manuscript Sent To Editor
I am SO excited! I finished typing the manuscript into my computer, double and triple checked it for grammer and spelling, then emailed it off to my editor!
I believe there is an untapped source of valuable information out there that no one has really addressed - and that is what life was like during WWII with all these kids that were in the Landjahr. Wouldn't it be nice if someone can put together a movie to show the 'young kids of today' what life was like for our parents growing up? To see the difference between 60 years of today's easy life-going-ness of today's kids as compared to that for which my parents grew up in WWII?
My mother had to run from the charging bullets of the Russian soldiers. She separated from her family and from what I was told, my uncle had to go into the woods during the night with a gun, shoot and skin a deer and come back to provide meat for the family. That is called 'survival.'
No - our lifes are not like that today - and yet, at the same time is it.
Recently, look at the people in Joplin, Missouri who have lost everything they own due to a F5 tornado destroying their homes.
Having a tornado or a flood devestate your home, your town, your life, your job and family is very similar to going through a War. In the end, it's all the same - you loose everything that you own and what do you have left at the end? Your life, your dignity, your values, morals, ethics, standards and integrity.
CS
I believe there is an untapped source of valuable information out there that no one has really addressed - and that is what life was like during WWII with all these kids that were in the Landjahr. Wouldn't it be nice if someone can put together a movie to show the 'young kids of today' what life was like for our parents growing up? To see the difference between 60 years of today's easy life-going-ness of today's kids as compared to that for which my parents grew up in WWII?
My mother had to run from the charging bullets of the Russian soldiers. She separated from her family and from what I was told, my uncle had to go into the woods during the night with a gun, shoot and skin a deer and come back to provide meat for the family. That is called 'survival.'
No - our lifes are not like that today - and yet, at the same time is it.
Recently, look at the people in Joplin, Missouri who have lost everything they own due to a F5 tornado destroying their homes.
Having a tornado or a flood devestate your home, your town, your life, your job and family is very similar to going through a War. In the end, it's all the same - you loose everything that you own and what do you have left at the end? Your life, your dignity, your values, morals, ethics, standards and integrity.
CS
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Meaning of "Landjahr"
The Landjahr (country service year) was a concept of the Hitler Youth and BDM - Bund Deutscher Maedel (League of German Girls), whose aim was to furnish voluntary agricultural assistance in Germany's eastern provinces.
The service was voluntary except in the case of university students who were obliged to perform their Landjahr (it was, in reality, only nine months) before being allowed to graduate.Incredible Find
I just found this web site today entitled "Landjahr." Notice closely, the symbol on the front cover of the book on the web site and compare it with the cover of my mother's book! After 20 years I found what the meaning of this symbol is on the cover of my mother's book "Land Jahr Seidorf." I'm getting closer and closer to fitting the pieces of this puzzle together! Check out this web site here to see what I am talking about. Thank you. http://www.od43.com/Landjahr.html
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Information on how book came about -
I just received an email from a personal friend of mine who asked me to elaborate more on the book.
Twenty-one years ago, underneath the end table in my parents’ bedroom, I found a very strange hand-made book.
The stained green hard cover has a red cloth emblem on the lower right hand corner.
It is bounded with a simple green string.
I brought the book to my 61 year old mother who was in the hospital. She was dying from bone cancer.
I said "Mom. What's this?" as I handed her the book. She said
"Don't show that to anybody! You'll get killed if anybody reads this book."
My mother told me the story for when she was in the BDM the Bund Deutscher Mädel otherwise known as the "League of German Girls." The BDM was the girl's wing of the overall Nazi party youth movement, the Hitler Youth. It was the only female youth organization in Nazi Germany. The League consisted of two sections: the Jungmädel, or Young Girls League. Membership was made compulsory for eligible girls between 10 and 18 in 1939. My mother told me she was 13 years old when she wrote this book. She also said that is why it is so very important for nobody to ever find out about this book and read it.
That intrigued my interest in wanting to know more about her journal.
Two years after my mother died, I decided to open the book and examine it more closely.
The first page it reads "Land Jahr Lager Seidorf" written in the Fraktur hand written style using an ink well pen.
Fraktur was used for printed and written German from the 16th century until 1940. The name Fraktur comes from Latin and means "broken script." It is so called because its ornamental twiddly bits (curlicues) break the continuous line of a word. In German it is usually called the deutsche Schrift (German script).
That started my 20 year on and off and on again quest to research this book. To this day, I continue to find more information as I start formatting the book into a manuscript.
Twenty years ago, I found an older German Lady in Tampa to translated it into English. It turns out that she was one of the “Fueher Lehrerins” (Head Teachers) in Germany during this time.
I asked my elderly neighbor, Irma, to read the book and the translation to make sure it matches up. Irma read it 4 times and insisted I get this book published!
This book is seen through a child's eye. Therefore, this book makes no mention of thecrimes against humanity.
Instead, the book tells a first-hand account of a 10 year old girl, who grew up in Austria prior to WWII. By the time she was 13 years old, she was chosen to participate in Landjahr.
I am still researching new information for what my mother, Gertrude, wrote about in her journal. I have notes, maps and corresponding emails from professors around the world who have assisted me in even finding the home in which this book was written! I am now typing this book into a manuscript.
This book chronicles my mother’s life during a one year period on a farm now in Poland, previously in Seidorf, and is the ONLY authentic written documentation in history for which I have found that gives insights into the world of the BDM from a child's point of view. These children were innocent; hence the title of this book "Through Innocent Eyes."
This book is the opposite of the Anne Frank Diary.
I have great admiration for Ms. Frank, and her family. With all due respect to the Frank Family, I want people to know that not everyone knew exactly what was going on during World War 2.
I long realize a dream of having my mother's book published.
Eventually, I see it becoming a movie with Lotte Lindl playing on the Zither, the instrument my mother played.
Thank you for reading.
God Bless You.
Twenty-one years ago, underneath the end table in my parents’ bedroom, I found a very strange hand-made book.
The stained green hard cover has a red cloth emblem on the lower right hand corner.
It is bounded with a simple green string.
I brought the book to my 61 year old mother who was in the hospital. She was dying from bone cancer.
I said "Mom. What's this?" as I handed her the book. She said
"Don't show that to anybody! You'll get killed if anybody reads this book."
My mother told me the story for when she was in the BDM the Bund Deutscher Mädel otherwise known as the "League of German Girls." The BDM was the girl's wing of the overall Nazi party youth movement, the Hitler Youth. It was the only female youth organization in Nazi Germany. The League consisted of two sections: the Jungmädel, or Young Girls League. Membership was made compulsory for eligible girls between 10 and 18 in 1939. My mother told me she was 13 years old when she wrote this book. She also said that is why it is so very important for nobody to ever find out about this book and read it.
That intrigued my interest in wanting to know more about her journal.
Two years after my mother died, I decided to open the book and examine it more closely.
The first page it reads "Land Jahr Lager Seidorf" written in the Fraktur hand written style using an ink well pen.
Fraktur was used for printed and written German from the 16th century until 1940. The name Fraktur comes from Latin and means "broken script." It is so called because its ornamental twiddly bits (curlicues) break the continuous line of a word. In German it is usually called the deutsche Schrift (German script).
That started my 20 year on and off and on again quest to research this book. To this day, I continue to find more information as I start formatting the book into a manuscript.
Twenty years ago, I found an older German Lady in Tampa to translated it into English. It turns out that she was one of the “Fueher Lehrerins” (Head Teachers) in Germany during this time.
I asked my elderly neighbor, Irma, to read the book and the translation to make sure it matches up. Irma read it 4 times and insisted I get this book published!
This book is seen through a child's eye. Therefore, this book makes no mention of thecrimes against humanity.
Instead, the book tells a first-hand account of a 10 year old girl, who grew up in Austria prior to WWII. By the time she was 13 years old, she was chosen to participate in Landjahr.
I am still researching new information for what my mother, Gertrude, wrote about in her journal. I have notes, maps and corresponding emails from professors around the world who have assisted me in even finding the home in which this book was written! I am now typing this book into a manuscript.
This book chronicles my mother’s life during a one year period on a farm now in Poland, previously in Seidorf, and is the ONLY authentic written documentation in history for which I have found that gives insights into the world of the BDM from a child's point of view. These children were innocent; hence the title of this book "Through Innocent Eyes."
This book is the opposite of the Anne Frank Diary.
I have great admiration for Ms. Frank, and her family. With all due respect to the Frank Family, I want people to know that not everyone knew exactly what was going on during World War 2.
I long realize a dream of having my mother's book published.
Eventually, I see it becoming a movie with Lotte Lindl playing on the Zither, the instrument my mother played.
Thank you for reading.
God Bless You.
Found Editor with Publishing Contacts
Today was an incredible day! I found an editor who has connections with a publisher in California! My editor is guiding me as to the format to use to type the manuscript. I am putting in over 9 hours a day working on the research and manuscript. I should be finished within two weeks. Once done, I will copy the manuscript onto a disc and send it to my editor. From there, my editor will review it for content and if acceptable, she will forward it onto the publisher! Dreams do come true! Keep true to your dreams too! My mother used to say to me "You can do anything you put your mind to doing." She was right. I listened to her all these years and believe me - when you stay focus on your dreams, they can become a reality! Until next time! PS: Since I found this book 21 years ago, I've been putzing with it - researching on the book here and there when I found the time. Since I have done all the major background research, the process it going much faster now.
Friday, April 15, 2011
"Through Innocent Eyes"
April 14, 2011 - Goal: Looking for Literary Agents to help me publish my mother's book "Landjahr Seidorf"
Twenty years ago, underneath the end table in my parents’ bedroom, I found a very strange hand-made book. The stained green hard cover has a red cloth emblem on the lower right hand corner. It is bounded with a simple green string. I brought the book to my 61 year old mother who was in the hospital. She was dying from bone cancer.
I said "Mom. What's this?" as I handed her the book. She said
"Don't show that to anybody! You'll get killed if anybody reads this book."
Today, I start the journey of making a dream come true - to publish my mother's book and eventually to see it on the 'silver screen.' The book has been transcribed from it's original version and I am typing it into a manuscript form while researching the places she wrote about.
Twenty years ago, underneath the end table in my parents’ bedroom, I found a very strange hand-made book. The stained green hard cover has a red cloth emblem on the lower right hand corner. It is bounded with a simple green string. I brought the book to my 61 year old mother who was in the hospital. She was dying from bone cancer.
I said "Mom. What's this?" as I handed her the book. She said
"Don't show that to anybody! You'll get killed if anybody reads this book."
Today, I start the journey of making a dream come true - to publish my mother's book and eventually to see it on the 'silver screen.' The book has been transcribed from it's original version and I am typing it into a manuscript form while researching the places she wrote about.
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