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Period: to
World War II
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Helga's father was drafted
Helga's father left his children with his sister, Margaret, while he went off to fight for Germany in the war. -
Helga and Peter were abandoned
Helga's mother left Helga and her brother, Peter, alone in their Berlin flat to become a Nazi SS officer at Auschwitz. -
Helga's grandmother took custody
Helga and Peter were under the care of their grandmother from Poland rather than moving away from their flat to live with Margaret and a family friend. -
Helga's father came home from the war for a week
Helga's father came home for a short leave from the war and ended up ignoring Helga and spending time with a young woman named Ursula. -
Helga's father got engaged
After spending 3 days with Ursula, Helga's father decided to marry her and they got engaged -
Helga's grandmother returns to Poland
Helga’s grandmother went back to Poland, leaving the kids with Margaret. -
Helga and Peter move
Helga and Peter are sent to live with their now step-mother, Ursula -
Ursula abuses Helga
Helga misbehaves and is locked in the study and slapped by Ursula the first time -
Helga runs away from home
Helga ran away from home and hid from Ursula and the neighbours in the courtyard and cellar -
Helga is taken to an institution for children
Ursula takes Helga to an institution to be evaluated where Helga has her hair shaved and her clothes taken away. -
Helga had an incident in the institution
Helga was so sick and scared that she wet the bed every night and was beaten and starved and tormented for it -
Helga is picked up from the institution
Helga went on a hunger strike by refusing to eat and the institution called Ursula to take her home. -
Ursula takes Helga to her new boarding school
Ursula walks with Helga to her new boarding school where she is immediately welcomed by groups of children who invite her to play, which ends up bringing Helga to tears. -
Helga learned stilt walking
Helga's friends and classmates at the school taught her stilt walking, which allowed Helga to have something to keep her busy and happy. -
Helga attends classes at boarding school
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Hilde picks up Helga from boarding school
Hilde picks up Helga to bring her back to Berlin. She doesn't disclose the situation in Berlin to Helga until they are on their way home, where Helga learns that the population of Berlin is starving and in ruins. -
Helga and Hilde get stuck out during an air raid
On the way home from the boarding school, Helga and Hilde get caught out in the streets during a air raid. A woman that they were on the street with ends up getting decapitated, which scarred Helga for a long time. -
Helga and her family are sent to visit Hitler
Helga and her family are invited to Hitler's personal underground bunker for a meal. -
Helga meets Hitler face to face
Helga and the other children from the bunker are lined up to meet Hitler. Hitler asks the children each a question and shakes their hand. -
Hitler's birthday brought heavy Soviet artillery fire on Berlin
Heavy artillery fire on brought more frequent air raids, which forced Helga and her community to spend more time in their bunker. -
Erika is raped in the cellar by a drunk Russian Soldier
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Erika died due to her injuries from the rape
Erika bleeds out due to her injuries in front of Helga and the rest of the neighbours in the cellar. -
German generals inside Berlin surrendered to the Soviet army
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Helga's father returned home from the war.
Helga's father returned home after the war and spent all of his time with his wife, Ursula, treating Helga and Peter with cold disregard. -
Helga's father left for Austria
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Helga and Peter returned to school.
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Helga, Peter and Ursula leave for Austria
Helga, Peter, and Ursula all board a plane to Austria where they will live with the children's father and paternal grandparents.
