Overview

In a world full of wrong, one family did all they could to survive and stay on the right side of humanity. Amid the chaos of the first World War, a young German soldier, Adolf ""Adi"" Dindinger, stationed in Berlin and head of the Kaisergarde, falls in love with Tatjana Wiczewski, a Russian Jew living in Bialowieza. As the Bolsheviks burn Tatjana's village, Adi and Tatjana flee to Poland, with forged German citizenship papers for Tatjana that disguise her Jewish heritage. Adi and Tatjana make a life in Poland, raising four children, while aware of the dangers for them both as tensions build between Germany and Poland. When World War II breaks out, the children-now young adults and teenagers-have talents of value to the Reich. The young men are conscripted, the oldest daughter is a proficient chemical engineering student in Berlin, and the youngest daughter is a talented figure skater and pianist. As the war tightens its grip, the Dindingers face impossible choices: protect themselves or protect others; remain silent or risk everything. In a world where morality is distorted by power, even small acts of conscience carry deadly consequences. Author Dr. Ruth Hillelson is the daughter of the youngest Dindinger sibling. In The Right Side of Wrong, Dr. Hillelson draws from inherited letters, official documents, and family testimony to reconstruct the story of her mother's family and weaves a beautiful story of trials and triumphs that is both poignant and extremely relevant today.

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Reviews

""Leon Trotsky once famously observed that you may not be interested in war, but war may be interested in you. Nowhere is this more true than in Ruth Hillelson's touching story of her family, the Dindingers, who started the twentieth century living in the German Empire, then spent the inter-war period living in Poland, only to be annexed to the Third Reich. It is a beautiful story of how a family remained together, even when pulled apart by the vicissitudes of war."" -Richard DiNardo, PhD, author of Germany's Panzer Arm and Professor of National Security Affairs at the United States Marine Corps University ""This is the multigenerational saga of one extended family's struggles-spanning several countries and two world wars-and their indomitable determination to persevere and prosper. A gripping and often lyrical narrative."" -Robert Goldsborough, Nero Book Award-winning author and retired editor of the Chicago Tribune Sunday Magazine ""This fascinating and exceptionally well-told history follows a German-Russian family through two world wars. Their story is uncovered by an American surgeon who unexpectedly inherited two dusty suitcases filled with photos, documents, and tender letters. With detective-like research and determination, Dr. Hillelson reveals perspectives seldom told, capturing a family's joys, perils, secrets, and losses in a vivid and deeply human portrait of its time."" -Julie Glowacki, PhD, Professor Emerita of Orthopedic Surgery and of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Harvard School of Dental Medicine

Author Information

A native of Rhode Island, whose early years included the study of piano and competitive figure skating, Dr. Ruth Leanna Hillelson went on to devote her life to the art and science of plastic and reconstructive surgery. She was among the first female undergraduates of Johns Hopkins University, where she directed a National Science Foundation research grant at the age of eighteen. She completed her medical education at Harvard University, authoring a seminal research paper on tissue flap necrosis and salvage.Dr. Hillelson's surgical training included residencies and postgraduate fellowships in general and plastic surgery at the University of Virginia, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Kansas, along with advanced training in craniofacial and maxillofacial reconstruction at the University of Virginia. She achieved international acclaim for her techniques in breast reconstruction after mastectomy and her innovations in radiofrequency skin tightening, lecturing in this field across three continents. Drawing on her background in chemistry and skin physiology, she also developed a line of bioactive skin products, Iridesse Skin Care. She currently serves as Chief of Plastic Surgery and Aesthetics at the Hillelson-Whipple Clinic in Richmond, Virginia.Both memoir and history, this book continues Dr. Hillelson's lifelong pursuit of knowledge into a more personal dimension, reconstructing her family's journey through terrible tragedies, narrow escapes, resistance efforts, and the lasting scars of survival. Reflecting years of tireless effort and dedication, it chronicles the extraordinary courage of her grandparents, her uncles, her aunt, and her mother, who risked their lives to resist the Third Reich and aid the Allies during World War II. The book stands as both a tribute to her family's bravery and a testament to Dr. Hillelson's ability to intertwine personal narrative with academic depth as only a scientist can do.Dr. Hillelson lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her husband, Dr. Terry L. Whipple, their two charming and affectionate dogs, and their two beloved horses.

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