Roland Hill's autobiography, A Time Out of Joint, is a remarkable and moving personal story and much more: it enables readers to re-live European history during the darkest period of Nazi Germany and World War II, when traditional European culture and civilisation generally seemed to be extinguished, but also to experience the return of peace and a time of hope.Roland Hill was born in Hamburg in 1920 to prosperity and culture - his father was a sugar trader and his mother an opera singer. Both were of Jewish descent but had ...
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Roland Hill's autobiography, A Time Out of Joint, is a remarkable and moving personal story and much more: it enables readers to re-live European history during the darkest period of Nazi Germany and World War II, when traditional European culture and civilisation generally seemed to be extinguished, but also to experience the return of peace and a time of hope.Roland Hill was born in Hamburg in 1920 to prosperity and culture - his father was a sugar trader and his mother an opera singer. Both were of Jewish descent but had converted to Christianity. But the stable and tolerant world he was born into changed dramatically with Hitler's rise to power in 1933. The family moved to Prague, Vienna and Milan. Austria became Hill's spiritual home where he was received into the Roman Catholic church - a move which decisively shaped his life - and where he started his journalistic career. Nazi persecution scattered the family and he sought refuge in Britain, totally alone and with only a GBP 5 note, classed simply as a 'Refugee from Nazi Persecution'. A Time Out of Joint offers an evocative picture of England, and especially London, early in World War II: of internment as an 'Enemy Alien' and of service in the British Army - the Pioneer Corps and Highland Light Infantry - from D-Day to victory in Europe. His distinguished career in London journalism followed, and he worked both for the Tablet and as London Correspondent for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. These were his twin inspirations and interests - the Catholic church and European politics.Roland Hill survived the European maelstrom to take a full part in Europe's resurgence and his moving story, full of drama and atmosphere -and based on a unique gift for friendship -vividly evokes the highs and lows of his remarkable life.
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