Miracle Children: A World War II Story

by Cindy K. Stewart

Prague, Czech Republic - Former Capital of Czechoslovakia.
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Přemysl Pitter served in the Austro-Hungarian Army during WWI. After returning home to Prague, he became a Christian and helped establish a children’s home in the city’s poorest neighborhood. The local children, many of them Jewish, stopped by Milíč House after school "where they would be fed and could safely play, read, listen to music, learn crafts, or participate in gymnastics."

After German troops occupied the western half of Czechoslovakia in the spring of 1939, Nazi laws prevented Jewish children from attending public school, and Milič House became a place for them to study in addition to the regular afternoon activities. Later it became a place to hide. Pitter rescued children whose parents were arrested, and parents also took their children to Milíč House to protect them from deportation. 

Milíč House in 1937 – Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons & Milidu (Author)

As conditions worsened for the Jews of Czechoslovakia, Pitter took food to Jewish families in Prague. He sent children to safe houses in the country about fifty miles away. One day Gestapo agents picked up Pitter and took him to their headquarters. The Gestapo chief questioned why he would risk his life to help Jews. Pitter’s response was simple. "'From a human point of view, I’m sure you can understand why I’m helping these children.'" Pitter was released, and he and the staff who’d prayed together for his safe return, rejoiced at their answer to prayer. He continued to assist Jews by raising money and warning those who were about to be deported to hide.

Premysl Pitter (left) poses with a group of young displaced children living in one of "The Castles" children's homes.

Courtesy of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum & Olga Fierzova. 

Pitter hid Jewish children for over six years. The exact number of children he saved from the Holocaust is unknown, but his job didn’t end after the fall of the Third Reich. After the war, the newly formed Czech government requested that Pitter "locate and care for Jewish orphans from Czechoslovakia." He located hundreds of orphaned children from several European countries and housed them in sprawling, abandoned chateaus around Prague.

Chateau Štiřín - the location of one of Přemysl Pitter's orphanages. Courtesy of Wikipedia & Radovan Zítko (Author).

Many of Pitter’s orphans were survivors from the concentration camps, including hundreds rescued from Theresienstadt in May of 1945. These children had been traumatized and were physically weak and ill. Under the care of Pitter and his assistants, the orphans healed in spirit, mind, and body and began to trust people again.

Young displaced children watching an outdoor program at one of "The Castles" children's homes.
Courtesy of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum & Olga Fierzova.

Pitter’s goodwill extended to the children of incarcerated Germans living in deplorable conditions in Czechoslovakia after the war. Pitter petitioned the government not "to duplicate the sins of the Nazis" (Gragg) and provide better treatment for the Germans. In the end, Pitter began rescuing the German children too. He brought them to live with the Jewish children who put aside their fear and hatred and showed compassion to their former tormentors.

Eventually, Pitter placed many of the Jewish children in adoptive and foster homes and organized the departure of others for Israel. Seven hundred children were sent to Great Britain at the request of Jews in Britain. After the Soviets imposed a communist government on Czechoslovakia, Pitter was forced to flee his native country and continued his refugee work in West Germany. He later settled in Switzerland where he wrote several books and worked for Radio Free Europe. 

Pitter expressed great concern over Western culture's postwar shift from a God-centered worldview to a man-centered worldview. He "had experienced firsthand the horror and tragedy that had arisen when the German people and others abandoned biblical morality to embrace the state as savior and provider," and he spread the biblical message that "without Jesus Christ, man's inherent sinful nature would inevitably draw him toward a darkened heart" (Gragg). He believed that this darkness had opened the hearts of many to the swastika.

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Sources:

Gragg, Rod. My Brother's Keeper. Center Street, 2016.

Yad Vashem. "The Righteous Among the Nations - Pitter Family."
http://db.yadvashem.org/righteous/family.html?language=en&itemId=4016936

Knihovna. "Přemysl Pitter."
https://knihovna.pedf.cuni.cz/clanky/pitter.html

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Cindy Stewart, a high school social studies teacher, church pianist, and inspirational historical fiction author, placed second in the 2019 North Texas Romance Writers Great Expectations contest, semi-finaled in the American Christian Fiction Writer’s Genesis contest, and won ACFW’s First Impressions contest in the historical category. Cindy is passionate about revealing God’s handiwork in history. She resides in North Georgia with her college sweetheart and husband of thirty-eight years and near her married daughter, son-in-law, and four adorable grandchildren. She’s currently writing a fiction series set in WWII Europe.

HHHIstory Book Day

Avice Touchet has always dreamed of marrying for love and that love would be her best friend, Philip Greslet. She’s waited five years for him to see her as the woman she’s become but when a visiting lord arrives with secrets that could put her father in prison, Avice must consider a sacrificial marriage. 

Philip Greslet has worked his whole life for one thing—to be a castellan—and now it is finally in his grasp. But when Avice rebuffs his new lord’s attentions, Philip must convince his best friend to marry the lord against his heart’s inclination to have her as his own.

A prodigal’s hope for a happy homecoming is derailed.

Clay left home after his brother’s death—a death for which he was responsible. After years away he’s finally returning, hoping for reconciliation with his father. But when the stagecoach he’s riding in wrecks and he is injured, he finds himself in a fight for survival.

Jolie is fleeing a nightmare situation. She desperately hopes becoming a mail-order bride doesn’t land her in a worse place. When the stage crashes and she spends the night alone with a wounded man, she wonders if her intended will still want her. If he doesn’t, what will she do? She has no money and nowhere to go.

When Maya Garza’s step-father drags her to the cantina, planning to auction her off to cover his debts, she is desperate to escape. She sees no hope as she stands atop the table with a room full of men leering at her. Yaniv Madrigal is searching for his brother, and he can’t believe his eyes when he finds his brother bidding for a young woman. A woman who has the look of a trapped animal. Will Yaniv and Maya find a solution to their trouble before the unthinkable happens? 

4 Teachers Find More Than They Bargained for in Their Contracts

Something Old, Something New by Kathleen L. Maher
New York, 1840s
Her father’s sudden death makes Gilda Jacobs the new schoolmaster, but to teach Christian curriculum she partners with fire-and-brimstone revivalist Joshua Blake, who learns a lesson in love.

Six generations build a legacy of faith on the Oklahoma prairie. From the dusty chaos of the land run to present day, these are the tales of the love and legends who lived in a small house in Guthrie, Oklahoma. Oh the stories these wall can tell… 

“Racing for His Dreams” by Vickie McDonough 

The Oklahoma land run was Reece Redding’s only chance to own his own hardware store and quit working for his overbearing brother. It was all or nothing. 

“Pins and Nails” by Alanna Radle Rodriguez and Shannon Pearson 

Naomi Redding lives in her family’s building. Jared Burkstrum owns the deed. Whose dream will win? 

“New Beginnings” by Alanna Radle Rodriguez and TJ Radle 

David Hensley liked his job, but it was his love for the owners—and the owner’s daughter, Cassie—that kept him clerking at the hardware store. Will the sudden, unexpected death of Cassie’s parents be the catalyst to bring them together or a wedge to push them apart? 

Eastertide, April 1775. In the blockaded port of Boston, Elizabeth Howard plays a dangerous game. As the infamous courier Oriole, she is hunted by the British for smuggling intelligence and munitions to the Sons of Liberty by night, while by day she flirts with British officers to gain access to information the rebels so desperately need. But she hasn’t counted on the arrival of Jonathan Carleton, an officer in the Seventeenth Light Dragoons. To her dismay, the attraction between them is immediate, powerful—and fought on both sides in a war of wits and words. When Carleton wins the assignment to ferret out Oriole, Elizabeth can no longer deny that he is her most dangerous foe—and the possessor of her heart. As the first blood is spilled at Lexington and Concord, Carleton fights his own private battle of faith. And headstrong Elizabeth learns the bitter consequences of following her own impulsive heart when her dangerous role thrusts her into the carnage of Bunker Hill.

Widowed during the war, Natalie Ellis finds herself solely responsible for Rose Hill plantation. When Union troops arrive with a proclamation freeing the slaves, all seems lost. How can she run the plantation without slaves? In order to save her son’s inheritance she strikes a deal with the arrogant, albeit handsome, Colonel Maish. In exchange for use of her family’s property, the army will provide workers to bring in her cotton crop. But as her admiration for the colonel grows, a shocking secret is uncovered. Can she trust him with her heart and her young, fatherless son?

Suspected of killing her husband, Charity Westcott flees on the first ship out of Portsmouth, England heading for the colonies. Loathing all men after her abusive marriage, she hopes to reunite with her family in Charles Towne, but the ship’s destination is Nassau. When she spots her husband’s brother, who is intent on seeing her hang, boarding her ship, she jumps overboard.

Elias Dutton, missionary and son of the famous pirate, Rowan Dutton, must get to Barbados as soon as possible. His sister is in danger, and his parents have charged him with her safety. He cannot let them down—again. But after rescuing a madcap woman from the bay, he now finds himself tricked into masquerading as her husband so they both can procure passage to Barbados.

Pirates, storms, shipwreck and betrayal threaten to delay the couple in their journey even as sparks fly between them. With her brother-in-law in fast pursuit, the last thing Charity wants is help from a man, especially a religious one, but she has no choice. After Elias’ heart was broken by a sordid woman who nearly ruined his life, he seeks a godly woman pure as the virgin sands of the Caribbean. He believes he has found such a woman in Charity. Until he discovers she is a murderer and is now faced with two choices: letting her go or turning her in to the authorities.

Garrison Cole says he’s no longer the jerk of high school, but Kelly Graves has a difficult believing him even though he’s now using his wealth to make the lives of others better. As she works with him on Christmas projects for their church mission center and the children’s hospital, her heart warms to him and her trust returns. Then she learns the truth of his grandmother’s will and her trust goes out the window. Garry has only until Christmas to win back her trust or lose her love forever. Will she listen or keep her heart a closed door?

Adventure girl, Maureen Quinn, isn’t yet sure of her life’s direction, but she knows she isn’t cut out to be a bookkeeper for the town’s undertaker. Preston Stevens, s back in town and he couldn’t have shown up at a better time. It isn’t long before they become inseparable and she’s sure he’s the man God has for her. But it isn’t long before life-altering events occur affecting both his and Maureen’s lives forever.

Longing for a Cowboy Christmas (collection)

Margaret Brownley’s story: A Love Letter to Santa

She turned his life upside-down.  Could she really be the right woman for him?

Holly Sanders plans to make this the best Christmas for a town hard hit by the drought.   Okay, maybe she’s overdone the bows, baubles and garlands.  But is that a reason for the new blacksmith Tom Chandler to declare war on tinsel?

Tom doesn’t mean to play scrooge. But when his dog’s objections to the endless caroling gets them tossed out of his boarding house, he decides enough is enough.

The escalating battle takes an unexpected turn when he spots Holly struggling against the wind with an armload of presents and rushes to help her. Before he knows what happened, the green-eyed beauty recruits him to play Santa’s helper. After helping make one small boy’s Christmas wish come true, he’s utterly hooked, and suddenly has a wish of his own!   But convincing Holly he’s the right man for her would require a miracle—and maybe even a little help from Santa.

The Battles of Saratoga: Turning Point of the Revolution

By Elaine Marie Cooper

For years in the early 1800’s, the grassy bluff overlooking the Hudson River in Schuylerville, New York, looked like an ordinary field. But the residents of the area knew differently. On October 17, 1777, it was the site where British General John Burgoyne surrendered to the American Army after the Battle of Saratoga—and the course of history changed as the Revolution began its victorious turn toward the birth of a new nation. 

While other historic locales often had granite rocks of remembrance, the site of the surrender in Saratoga was left unmarked. Several citizens of New York State bemoaned the lack of a monument and determined to erect one.

On October 17, 1856 (the 79^th anniversary of the surrender), a group of patriotic gentleman met in the town of Schuylerville to discuss a plan. After a small celebration including a banquet, the group organized a Saratoga Monument Association, with the intent to erect “a fitting memorial on the site of Burgoyne’s surrender.” 

The outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 cast a gloom over the country and suspended all planning for a Saratoga Monument. It wasn’t until 1872 that the association was able to reconvene. In the meantime, several of the association’s original trustees had died—but the dream of creating a monument had not. 

New members joined the cause and petitions were sent to the legislatures of the original thirteen colonies asking for their support. An architect designed a plan for the monument and a letter was sent to Congress requesting an appropriation of funds for this memorial to celebrate the upcoming centennial of the battle.

A petition to the Senate and assembly of the State of New York earnestly entreated support for “considerations of high patriotic duty…to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the great victory.” It was hoped that the laying of the corner stone might take place at that time.

Years of effort were finally accomplished on October 17, 1877, when a two-mile procession, replete with civic, masonic and military pageantry, marched to the site of the surrender where, in front of 40,000 viewers, the cornerstone for the Saratoga Monument was laid. 

When the ground was broken during the memorial’s construction, the architect discovered two bullets from the 1777 battle within a foot of each other. While excavating the same area, workmen dug up two cannon balls. 

Arnold's empty alcove

Finally in 1883, the completed granite obelisk rose to its full height of 155 feet. It is an impressive sight both from a distance and up close. The four sides have arched alcoves, one for each heroic American officer who led at Saratoga in 1777. The niche facing west has a statue of sharpshooter, Colonel Daniel Morgan. The eastern alcove holds a likeness of General Phillip Schuyler and the northern niche, General Horatio Gates. Only the southern alcove is empty, representing Benedict Arnold who was a hero in Saratoga but turned traitor during the American Revolution. It is often said that if Arnold had died of the wounds he received in that battle, he would today be remembered as a hero. Instead his name is synonymous with being a turncoat.

The Saratoga Monument is now overseen by the National Park Service and is open for visitors during the summer months. For more information about visiting the monument and the Saratoga battlefield, you can visit their website here: http://www.nps.gov/sara/planyourvisit/index.htm

Elaine Marie Cooper has two historical fiction books that released this year: War’s Respite (Prequel novella) and Love’s Kindling. Love’s Kindling is available in both e-book and paperback. They are the first two books in the Dawn of America Series set in Revolutionary War Connecticut. Cooper is the award-winning author of Fields of the Fatherless and Bethany’s Calendar. Her 2016 release (Saratoga Letters) was finalist in Historical Romance in both the Selah Awards and Next Generation Indie Book Awards. She has been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul and HomeLife magazine. She also penned the three-book historical series, Deer Run Saga. You can visit her website/ blog at www.elainemariecooper.com