Tania Blanchard - The Girl from Munich

‘She’ll fall,’ I snapped, more crossly than I intended, my nerves stretched to breaking.

‘No, she won’t.’ Erich’s hand was on my shoulder in reassurance. A surge of strength flowed into me, grounding me, calming me just a little. He pushed past to stand behind Johanna. ‘I’ll hold her.’

The harbour was filled with the stirring strains of ‘Must I Say Goodbye?’ and tears welled in my eyes. Brightly coloured flags and handkerchiefs were waving on the pier. Final words of farewell were shouted. We had said goodbye to our families a few days earlier. It was hard leaving them for the last time, not knowing when or if we would ever see them again.

The ship jolted and juddered. The girls jerked against the railing and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Erich tighten his grip instinctively around Johanna, just as I did with Greta.

‘Can you see the tugs?’ Greta yelled excitedly above the noise. This was such an adventure to her. She squirmed in my grip and I loosened my hold enough for her to climb onto the railing.

The ship began to move away from the pier. I leant my head against Greta’s back, squeezing my eyes shut for just a moment, a little breathless, to get my crushing anxiety under control.

Erich wrapped his arm around me, dipping his mouth to my ear. ‘Are you all right?’

I nodded, clasping his hand for a moment.

‘It will be okay.’ He pulled me close. ‘I know it. This is our fresh start, our new beginning.’ He was so optimistic, confident that this was the right thing for us, but I felt like my heart was tearing in two. After everything we had been through, and in the end we had to leave the country we had given up so much for, the country we loved with all our hearts.

The expanse of water widened, the wharf receding further and further away.

‘Say goodbye to Germany,’ Erich said to the girls. He held the three of us tight, as if he could keep us safe from the unknown that loomed in front of us. I dashed the tears from my cheeks.

I watched the shore silently with my family. At least we were all together. I could do this only with them by my side.

Erich kissed me deeply. ‘Australia is our future now,’ he said softly.

‘Yes.’ Maybe we could finally leave behind the darkness and sorrow of our homeland. Maybe now we could look with hope to a future filled with light, to a place where our family could grow and prosper, in a land where opportunities beckoned, hard work was rewarded and anything was possible. As long as we were together, the future was bright.

‘Australia will be our home,’ I said and kissed him again.

When I first sat down to write The Girl from Munich, the stories my German grandmother had told me since I was a child were foremost in my mind and the main inspiration for my writing. I remember being fascinated by them, by the things that she witnessed as a young woman in Hitler’s Germany, during World War II and then in post-war Germany. She was a strong, vibrant woman who had a profound effect on my life. I thank her first of all; for her stories and for her encouragement to follow my dreams and passions. I hope I’ve done her proud.

My eternal gratitude to the team at Simon and Schuster Australia, especially Dan Ruffino, CEO; Fiona Henderson, Publishing Director, and Roberta Ivers, Managing Editor, and Larissa Edwards for taking a chance on an unknown author’s manuscript and turning it into a debut novel. My special thanks go to the amazing Roberta for taking me under her wing and also to Kylie Mason, Vanessa Pellatt and Michelle Swainson for helping me to shape my manuscript into the story it is today. I couldn’t have done it without you and I’ve learnt so much along the way. I also take my hat off to Kirsty Noffke and the incredible sales and marketing teams. Thank you for all your hard work behind the scenes. You add that special lustre and shine to this exciting process of publishing.

Heartfelt thanks to Fiona McIntosh for encouraging me to write my grandmother’s story and for helping me to realise that this was the right time to tell it. Your continued support and guidance is much appreciated and gratefully received.

To my agent, Selwa Anthony, thank you for believing in me and for your wealth of knowledge, expertise and inspired ideas.

I couldn’t write this book without the support of friends and family. My deepest thanks goes to my dear friend Jane Kurta, first and last reader, for her unwavering support in me, the seemingly endless drafts she’s read and the deep conversations we’ve had on how to improve my manuscript. I wouldn’t be here without you.

To my mother, Giselle Brame, thank you for your support and the many hours of sifting through papers, translating documents and reading my manuscript. I loved every minute of this journey with you.

Thank you to my readers Sharron Stokes, Kath Brannan and Roswitha Pisch, for your feedback and encouragement and to Manfred Schueler for advice on the use of German idioms. Your generosity and kindness has touched me. To my father, Domenic Martino, my in-laws, Christine and Terry Blanchard and to Trish Casey, thank you for your support and love.

Finally to my wonderful family. I started writing again when my children were small, stories of wizards and fairies, princes and princesses. My family have been with me every step of the way and my children were the first ones to tell their friends and teachers that Mum was a writer! I wanted nothing more than to prove to them that with hard work, determination and perseverance, dreams can come true. My family’s total belief in me during my writing journey and support even when I felt I would never get this book done has buoyed me up, kept me sane and spurred me forward. To my husband Chris, my anchor, who is always by my side through life’s ups and downs, I could never have done it without you. Hollie, Nathan, Benjamin and Chris, you make it all worthwhile.

Tania Blanchard was inspired to write The Girl from Munich by the fascinating stories her German grandmother told her as a child. Coming from a family with rich cultural heritage with a German mother and Italian father, stories have always been in Tania’s blood. Following a career in physiotherapy, it was only when she had her family that she decided to return to her passion of writing. Discovered through Australian bestseller Fiona McIntosh’s Commercial Fiction Masterclass, The Girl from Munich is Tania’s debut novel – the story she has always wanted to write – and she is working on the sequel, set in Australia in the 1950s. She lives in Sydney with her husband and three children.

SIMON & SCHUSTER simonandschuster.com.au Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Tania-Blanchard Read Dream Write

In the year 2000 Fiona McIntosh took a Writing Masterclass with author Bryce Courtenay and her life was irrevocably changed. A dozen years on, Bryce Courtenay asked Fiona – now a bestselling author in her own right – to continue his legacy in helping emerging writers fi nd their place. And her life was irrevocably changed once again.

Since opening the doors to her Commercial Fiction Masterclass in early 2013 Fiona has helped writers from all over Australia take a step closer to their own publishing dreams, with more than a dozen graduates now holding publishing contracts or books in print, and eight graduates having signed with top fi ve publishers.

Now publishers and writers alike are keen to be part of this valuable, practical week of no nonsense guidance into the world of commercial fi ction. No gimmicks, no head in the clouds and no time for excuses, Fiona will just set you straight and propel you forward on your writing journey.

If you are serious about investing in yourself and taking your writing to another level, enquire today about the range of options open to you for both creative and/or professional development.

www.fionamcintoshmasterclasses.com www.fionamcintosh.com www.facebook.com/FionaMcIntoshAuthor

THE GIRL FROM MUNICH

First published in Australia in 2017 by

Simon & Schuster (Australia) Pty Limited

Suite 19A, Level 1, Building C, 450 Miller Street, Cammeray, NSW 2062

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Visit our website at www.simonandschuster.com.au

© Tania Blanchard 2017

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

Creator:

Blanchard, Tania, author.

Title:

The Girl from Munich/Tania Blanchard.

ISBN:

9781925596144 (paperback)

9781925596151 (ebook)

Subjects:

Romance fiction

World War, 1939-1945–Germany–Fiction

Upper class families–Germany–Fiction

Cover design: Christabella Designs

Cover images: Mark Owen/Trevillion Images; Roy Bishop/Arcangel; Ivan Cholakov/Shutterstock

Typeset by Midland Typesetters, Australia