Rachel Van Meers was born in a home for unwed mothers in the city of Ghent Belgium, in 1930. Raised in the Flemish working-class by her strict grandmother, two aunts, and three uncles, Rachel recounts her struggles growing up a bastard in Belgium during the Great Depression. When the war broke out, Belgium was quickly taken over by Germany, and the people were left to fend for themselves against the overwhelming occupying forces and shattering Allied air strikes. Rachel's family remained loyal to Belgium, but her mother joined the SS. When a violent argument erupted between Rachel and more...
