Siberian Odyssey of Hans Schroeder

Written by Ashis Gupta

Narrated by Timothy Howard Johnson

This is the true story of Hans Schroeder, a young German mesmerized by the Hitler Youth aura who finds himself with a SS Panzer division on the Russian front where he is captured and taken prisoner. Years later, he is released from a Siberian prisoner-of-war camp and returns to Wiesbaden, his beautiful German hometown. Those were years of great hardship in postwar Germany. Hans is lucky to find a job in Hans Wiegel's toy shop, falls in love with Eva, and eventually decides to emigrate to the USA. Hans's mother had earlier moved to America and her glowing letters fire up the young couple's dreams.

Hans settles down to an exemplary family life in Massachusetts, USA until one day something happens. Hans snaps, suddenly, and commits a horrific double-murder. During the course of his trial his past experiences are exposed under psychiatric investigations, experiences that shed light on the dramatic events Hans was a part of while a prisoner of the Russians. Hans comes across as a conflicted, confused personality. If the narrative appears confused at times, it is partly because of the confusion that reigns in Hans's mind. His imagination often suppresses one identity to allow another to take shape and bubble to he surface.

As the story opens in the early 1970s, Hans is sitting in a Massachusetts courthouse watching the jury selection for his second trial on two counts of murder. The harrowing details of what follows remind us that the scars inflicted by the torments and excesses of authoritarian regimes never fade away. Seldom do the demons from one's past completely disappear.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Author's Republic
• Release date: Jun 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9781662198694

Ashis Gupta

Dr. Ashis Gupta was born in India is 1935. He came to the United States in 1960. He received his doctoral degree in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University. He is the author of several technical papers and holds several patents. Dr. Gupta has worked with NASA and the Soviet Space Program. One of his inventions was displayed in the Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian. Dr. Gupta has held several positions within Southern Baptist churches. He has been part of prayer ministries and evangelism programs for over two decades. Currently residing in Atlanta, Georgia, he has taught Sunday School for over thirty years.