At the winding down of the war, confusion reigned. The allied armies jockeyed for position against the Russian Army in an effort to determine who would control what parts of Germany. Because of the shifting lines of possession, even after Manny's small family gained relative safety at Castle Willigrad, they were faced again with the threat of rape, mayhem and starvation from the Red menace. For Manny and his family, the threat of rape did become a reality.

Even though Manny's brilliant father did ...