Near the Danube Bridge Audiobook By Catherine Allen-Walters cover art

Near the Danube Bridge

A Story of Faith, Courage, and Endurance

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Near the Danube Bridge

By: Catherine Allen-Walters
Narrated by: Charlie Brogan
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1st place winner of the Pencraft Book Awards for best audio book in 2024!

Kalman Hartig (1930-2021) was born into an affluent family in the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He was exposed to music, art, and literature at a young age. After joining the American Seventh-day Adventist movement that had been sweeping through war-torn Europe, he discovered how difficult life would be living in what would become communist Yugoslavia while adhering to his religious beliefs. He was sentenced to two years hard labor for being a conscientious objector. He drew from his knowledge of Bible stories and classical music works to preserve his sanity and his life. After surviving the cruelty of the labor camps, he naively believed that he had proved his faith to God. Little did he know what new challenges lay ahead. His wife, Hermina (Minka) Kirchner, experienced her own war horrors as a child. Kalman and Minka and their children escaped the communist regime. Together they struggled, loved, and healed.

©2024 Elisabeth Hartig Lentulo (P)2024 Elisabeth Hartig Lentulo Biographies & Memoirs Religious Inspiring Heartfelt Historical
Moving Testimony • Powerful Resilience • Emotional Narration • Compelling Faith Journey • Seamless Storytelling

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A great listen. A true story. We meet Kalman Hartig (1930-2021), born to a wealthy family in Yugoslavia and follow him as he grows from quiet young boy into a strong man. While always prioritizing his chosen faith for which he is prosecuted, he struggles to hold his family close while navigating age old Serbian/Croation ethnic tensions, the German Army invasion during WWII, the subsequent invasion of Soviet Communist forces, forced labor camps, torture and starvation. Now as post-war refugees, he leads his family through 1950’s Germany then on to Canada as immigrants and finally to the United States. The story is woven together from detailed research conducted by Kalman’s daughter Elisabeth, from letters, official documents, diaries and first-hand accounts of family members, other survivors and from Kalman’s own personal recordings. It truly is a story of Faith, Courage, Endurance, and I would add Family. The author somehow threads multiple storylines from multiple points of view over decades of time, seamlessly into one complete family story. After listening to several hundred books on Audible, I can tell you a narrator/performer can make or break a book as easy as anything else. This narrator is a winner. Great Job Everyone!

A Great Listen. A True Story.

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What a great story of overcoming adversity based on one’s beliefs. This story is so relevant right now with all the uncertainty in the world. The narration was great and the and the story always had my attention.

What a moving story

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Listener received this title free

“From Suffering to Freedom: The Kalman Hartig Story” is a moving account of the life of Kalman Hartig, who survived the horrors of the communist labor camps in Yugoslavia, sustained by his faith and love of music. The narration is captivating, with a deep, empathetic voice that conveys the emotional intensity of the Hartig family's most difficult moments and hopes. The narrator manages to perfectly balance tragedy and resilience, making this audiobook an immersive and moving experience. Without a doubt, a well-deserved winner of the Pencraft Book Award 2024.

A Story of Sacrifice, Struggle and Despair

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This book came out during a time when we see rising totalitarianism again in the West manifesting as an impulse on both the so-called Left and Right of the political spectrum toward restricting the expression of personal and religious conscience and free speech, all the while cloaked in the rhetoric of protecting and promoting the greater good.

We see a major land war once again erupting between nation-states on the European continent. That’s not unusual, considering human history, but it’s all the more worrisome since we had imagined we had moved beyond all that for the at least the past 35 years.

So, it’s good we read a story to recall a time not all that long ago when Classic Liberal sentiments regarding freedom of religion and of expression were set aside by utopianism and reductionist politics. It’s a human story that speaks to the struggle to hold one’s head up under trying circumstances.

I found the narration to be smooth and easy to follow

A story of conscience over cruelty

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Listener received this title free

This moving audiobook narrates the life of Kalman Hartig, a man born in the former Yugoslavia who, after joining the Seventh-day Adventist movement, faces a difficult decision: to be a conscientious objector in a communist regime. Sentenced to hard labor, his faith and his love of classical music help him survive. Together with his wife, also scarred by the war, they struggle to escape the regime and rebuild their lives. The emotionally charged narrative is delivered by a deep voice that highlights the inner struggles of the characters. An inspiring testimony of faith and resistance.

Perseverance in times of war

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