Four Years in Oksbol

This work presents the memoirs of Ingerid Lotze, detailing her unusual childhood. Born in Heidelberg, Nazi Germany, in April 1937, she is the last scion of the von Below-Saleske nobility. Her mother was an NSF member, her father, whom she never knew, was an early victim of Fascism, while her uncle served as the Führer’s right hand for eight years. Both of her brothers were proud volunteer officers in Hitler’s military, just like over two dozen generations of von Below had served before them. No less than 27 of those had attained the rank of general, five of whom fought in the Great War. With a thousand-year lineage, the von Below clan has an extraordinary history. However, Operation Hannibal marked the end of a millennium of feudal von Below (war)lords. This was the largest and most lethal naval evacuation in human history, involving 2.4 million refugees. Tens of thousands lost their lives in the freezing waters of the Baltic Sea, far surpassing tragedies like the Titanic and Dunkirk. Ingerid’s life took a dramatic turn during this event, which led to four years of captivity in various Danish concentration camps until her temporary exile to Sweden, a few weeks before she turned twelve. Her caged childhood had abruptly ended, giving way to an equally remarkable adolescence and adult life. Ingerid’s complete biography spans more than eight decades, titled ‘The Last Boat to Denmark’, and is available as an eBook on all major online bookstores.