No Shortcut to Freedom

This is the story of a family on the run as observed and remembered by five-year-old Stefan and covers the years 1945 to 1948.
His father, Rudolf, is a major in the German army but he is also a member of the Resistance. The day after the Dresden firebombing, Rudolf receives a warning that the Gestapo is looking for him since they suspect his involvement in the 1944 Hitler assassination attempt. They leave the same night.
The resistance provides transportation and hiding places. When they come close to capture, the family splits: his wife, Anna, takes seven-year-old Helmut and baby Adam and leaves by train to the American-occupied West. Their reasoning is that a man and his young child won’t be suspicious.
Meanwhile, Rudolf and Stefan begin their dangerous journey. When they finally arrive in Stuttgart, they find daily trouble.
Food is scarce, as is heating fuel, so Stefan and his little friend scoop horse manure because it burns well. Death by starvation is common, as is hypothermia. They barter, stand in long food lines only to get to the store with empty shelves. Malnutrition takes its toll.
American trash cans with perfectly good leftover food items become a life saver.
Things turn around with the US Marshall Plan.