Overview

In this griping true-to-life historical novel, Berlin-born Rosa is abandoned as a baby during the height of Germany's Great Depression but rescued by an elderly couple in a passing Gypsy caravan. Ten years later, on the brink of World War II, Rosa is the unwitting cause of her adoptive Romani family being incarcerated: Rosa and her mother are sent to the Women's Gypsy Concentration Camp in Austria, while her father is sent to the Men's Gypsy Camp in Berlin. The women's camp despises her rebellious spirit, so Rosa vows to escape to rescue her beloved father. However, before she can enact her escape plan, Rosa and thirty other Romani children are conscripted to appear in Nazi Director Leni Riefenstahl's ill-fated movie about a Gypsy Queen, Tiefland. Daughters of the Fatherland highlights the plight of the children during World War II with a special focus on the Romani Holocaust, Porajmos (devouring or destruction). Wars tear families apart, with children being left to fend for themselves in a chaotic world. During war, the conflict between and within nations can result in the loss of humanity; however, in Rosa's case, love and peace ultimately restore her community allowing personal redemption for Rosa.

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9781922830784

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Reviews

Daughters of the Fatherland is propulsive and engaging. The narrative is action-packed, full of drama that holds the reader's attention from beginning to end. It is also very moving as we experience the horror and brutality of war - so much pain, so many lives lost."" - Nadine Davidoff, book editor Jericho J. Johnson's debut novel Daughters of the Fatherland does an admirable job of shining a light on what life in Germany, was like during WW2, for the many groups of people who suffered under the Nazi regime. And in particular, the Romani Gipsy's who were almost wiped out. Through the eyes of the main character 10 year old Rosa, we discover their plight and in doing so come to a deeper understanding of what life might have been like for the many Romani children whose voices were taken away and lost to us under the rubble of history. - Sienna Brown, Winner, 2020 MUD Literary Prize

Author Information

While serving in the army for twenty years (1987-2007), the author served with the Australian Army Psychology Corps (AAPSYCH) after completing a psychology degree at Queensland University of Technology with elective subjects on writing, including screenwriting under screenwriting & playwriting icon David Williamson. In 2006, he worked as a journalist on the Army Paper. He completed a BA in Writing, English and History at the University of Queensland (2013-15), where he studied under respected Australian authors such as Dr Kim Wilkins, Venero Armmano, Charlotte Nash, Kari Gislason, and Michael Robotham. He also attended writing courses at the New York Film Academy (2009), studying film and TV writing; at the American Comedy Institute (ACI) for comedy writing (2010); Allen & Unwin's Faber Academy Novel Writing (2012) under Kathryn Heyman and James Bradley, with guest authors such as Delia Falconer, Michael Robotham, Charlotte Wood, David Malouf and Markus Zusak whose bestselling novel, The Book Thief, is set in WWII. While living in the USA from 2009-11, he attended various institutions, such as the Gotham Writers Workshops (NYC) and Write Your Free (Connecticut), where he studied with Dr Patrick McCord. He attended workshops with authors such as Colin Broderick (IRE), Heather Swain, and Patricia Riley Giff. One of his scripts won the Brett Ratner Award. He also volunteered at the Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC), where he interviewed numerous Holocaust survivors. Through the HHREC, he became friends with Dr Tina Strobos, who was honoured in 1989 as Righteous Among the Nations by the Yad Vashem in Israel. Dr Strobos, as a teenager, met Marlene Dietrich (a major character in this novel) in the Swiss Alps on skiing trips before WW2. The author lives in North Queensland with his assistant dog and best friend, Archie, a golden Labrador. Daughters of the Fatherland is his first novel.

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