At the end of 1954, just a handful of weeks after emigrating from a small village in Germany to Montreal Canada, Rosemarie Döderlein just turned 14 years old when she vanished on the way to a bakery a few doors down from the family apartment, never to be seen or heard from again.

After 68 years of fruitless searching and wondering, in 2022, Rosemarie’s youngest sister Vera finally learned the truth of what happened to her. It is a remarkable story about unconditional love, DNA, and investigative genetic genealogy.

Reporting on the story and the details of Vera’s final search made the covers of Reader’s Digest Canada, Reader’s Digest UK, and in Reader’s Digest Germany, at the end of 2023.

Vera’s novel tells the story of her family’s life in Germany: the impact of war, the hope for a better life in Canada, the crushing reality of a tragic loss, and how it is that a family moves forward afterward. Publishing this novel represents the final act of closure on this lifelong arc.

For more information about the story, please visit www.MissingGermanGirl.com

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FROM THE BACK COVER

In 1954, the lights went out…

I was 11. She was 13.

Unsophisticated. Innocent.

We emigrated from Germany leaving familiar cobblestone streets and meadows to a new vision of flashing neon signs, new languages and cars driven by thousands on the streets of Montréal. A few weeks later, Rosemarie vanished on the way to our neighborhood bakery.

Where did she go? Was she hoodwinked? Kidnapped? Murdered? How could she not hear our pleading words or know how to reach our outstretched arms?

For almost 70 years her red play purse, prayer books and 50’s play jewelry were at my fingertips waiting for that special ring at the door, only to be left with the tragic, cold sound of silence and restless dreams. In 2022, sophisticated DNA-based tools and research revealed shocking truths of what happened with

Rosemarie.

Some scenes are fictionalized.

Some names have been changed to protect the innocent.

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