Tochter des Reichs (Daughter of the Empire)

Chapter Thirty-Two Die Rückkehr   Schloss Christlessee, Oberstdorf Holy Week and Easter 1960   In this chapter Bekka and Kalli travel to Oberstdorf to meet the family. We learn the Duffendorfs' story during the war, interleaved with their Easter celebrations, why Rudi and his siblings were taken by the Gestapo, and how two displaced royals became farmers in a small Bavarian village.   Karl Friedrich and Anna:                                                                                                                                                                 ...

Chapter Thirty-One Fount of Life Habsburg, Aargau 1959   In this chapter, Bekka contacts other Lebensborn survivors thanks to Dr. von Franz, and creates a charitable foundation for the mutual aid of those all around the world, purposing to pressure governments to yield up their identity documents and make restitutions. She becomes a Lay Carmelite at a nearby monastery, a resolution of her lifelong conflict between service to the family and people at large and to God, and she writes to Rudi's parents, who are overjoyed to hear from them and ask her and Kalli to come to Christlessee to visit as soon they can. But there is a hurdle to be surmounted first: Kalli comes home for the weekend demanding to know the truth about Rudi. A heart to heart talk ensues about their life, the family, and Rudi's actions. Kalli has a spiritual crisis, and asks to go and meet his grandparents. They visit Zita at her retirement home, and have a gentle, intimate, and private talk with the popula...