Wörterleuchten: »Wir dachten, das Leben kommt noch« Lesung und Gespräch mit Elisabeth Sandmann

In the organizer's words:

As part of the "Wörterleuchten" series, author Elisabeth Sandmann will be a guest at the Kafka & Co. bookshop with her novel "Wir dachten, das Leben kommt noch".

Elisabeth Sandmann has written a novel that spans the period from the Second World War to the 1990s and deals with courage and resistance, emancipation and coming to terms with one's own history.

The novel is based on the true story of Churchill's secret agents of the Special Operation Executive (SOE), who were deployed in enemy territory for the first time in the fight against Nazi Germany. Elisabeth Sandmann tells the story on two time levels: in 1988, BBC presenter Gwen is commissioned to write a book about the courageous women of the secret Special Operations Executive (SOE) - women whose dangerous missions in occupied France have hardly ever been told. In parallel, the story unfolds of Pat in the 1940s, a former agent for the British Special Operations Executive, who fought as a radio operator, saboteur and spy behind enemy lines - and remained silent for decades.

Elisabeth Sandmann links historical events with the personal fates of the women: How far do you have to go in the resistance? What personal sacrifices do these women make - often without fame, recognition or even their own homes?