From the moment Germany ignited World War II, life changed radically for young Elisabeth, her family, and other residents of Würzburg. When a fire-bombing near the war's end destroyed most of the city, earlier hardships turned into a desperate struggle for survival as the family took shelter in a cabin outside of town.Through it all, Elisabeth found moments of humor and compassion, from a bungled midnight attempt to milk a neighbor's goat and a Russian POW risking his life to save her family to communion dresses sewn from the only material on hand—a dead soldier's parachute—and the baker who rewarded Elisabeth's mother's confession about stealing a loaf of his bread by giving her another. Together, the stories captured in this memoir provide a gripping picture of everyday life in a world gone up in flames.