Gripping WW2 Memoir By Young Mom Featured on 'The Balancing Act' on Lifetime Television Wednesday, May 25
"The Mermaid and the Messerschmitt," the award-winning true-life story of a young mother in the early days of World War II, will be featured on "The Balancing Act," on Lifetime Television Wednesday, May 25.
LOS ANGELES, CA, May 22, 2011
Terry Tegnazian, co-founder of Aquila Polonica Publishing, will appear on the popular morning show ÒThe Balancing Act,Ó on Lifetime Television Wednesday, May 25, 2011. Tegnazian will talk to viewers about the award-winning World War II memoir, ÒThe Mermaid and the Messerschmitt.ÓWinner of the 2010 Benjamin Franklin Silver Award for Best First Book (Nonfiction), author Rulka LangerÕs book vividly describes protecting her family as Nazi German bombers rained death and destruction on the city of Warsaw during the first month of World War II.
Bestselling author Alan Furst (ÒForeign CorrespondentÓ and ÒThe Spies of WarsawÓ) calls ÒThe MermaidÓ Òabsolutely one of the best eyewitness accounts of WWII Poland that I ever read.Ó
Tegnazian tells host of ÒThe Balancing Act,Ó Kristy Villa, that Aquila Polonica chose to publish ÒThe MermaidÓ because of the superb way Langer describes the impact of war on ordinary people.
ÒMost accounts of war are written by soldiers, statesmen or historians,Ó Tegnazian says. ÒThis book shows war from the unusual viewpoint of a young working mother.Ó
When Nazi Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, Langer, a Vassar-educated career woman, was left in Warsaw to tend her two small children and elderly mother while her husband was posted abroad.
Through a combination of luck, intelligence and bravery, Langer and her children survived and eventually escaped to the United States from German-occupied Poland.
Langer, who died in 1993, wrote ÒThe MermaidÓ in 1942Ñshortly after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor triggered AmericaÕs entry into World War II. Langer wanted to explain to Americans the devastation of this war, and why it was so important to fight the Nazi German enemy.
Aquila Polonica added to ÒThe MermaidÓ more than 100 archival photographs, an epilogue by LangerÕs son (8 years old in the book, now age 80), and supplemental historical material that sets the stage for unfolding events.
Aquila Polonica specializes in rescuing a lost piece of World War II historyÑthe experience of Poland, one of the most heroic and tragic of the Allies. The PolesÕ tenacity in the face of insurmountable odds inspires Tegnazian.
ÒEven an ordinary working mom like Rulka Langer,Ó Tegnazian says, Òdrew on an inner strength she never realized she had, until she was tested. ThatÕs an important message for all of usÑweÕre stronger than we know.Ó
ÒThe Balancing Act,Ó produced by O2 Media, Inc., airs on Lifetime Television Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., (ET/PT). Check local listings for Mountain and Central times. For more information, please visit http://www.thebalancingact.com.
Aquila Polonica Publishing is dedicated to publishing, in English, the Polish experience of World War II with first-hand accounts, memoirs, photographs, artwork, poetry, literature and historical studies. For more information, please visit http://www.polandww2.com.