I was born in December 1942 into a world engulfed in a brutal global war which resulted in an estimated 75 million deaths. It also led to a number of fundamental changes to the way the post-war world would function.

These changes included the dismantling of the last vestiges of feudalism, a retreat from colonialism and the transition from a hot war to a cold war. The latter being characterised by a contest between a communist versus capitalist economic order, and a democratic as opposed to authoritarian approach to how countries should be governed.

Now, some eighty years later, those contests and associated levels of tension continue to exist. This memoir plots my journey as a refugee from my family home, Schloss Spreewiese, to life in post war Germany, to that of an immigrant and later a citizen of Australia.

It provides an insight into the rich and colourful life I experienced living in that rapidly changing world and how those experiences have helped to shape my values and beliefs. I have tried to tell my story with honesty and humour.

. .