As a daughter of a Nazi SS, Annita Bosse Rodgers grew-up in Eastern France, the Province of Lorraine. It was at the height of World War II and her province was then under German rules. As the daughter of a French woman and an SS soldier, she suffered throughout her early years of rejection, abuse and shame. At age 22, she married an American Soldier and followed him to the U.S. with her seven month old baby girl. Another baby girl was born six years later. Annita became an American citizen in 1967. Today, remarried for a second time, she lives with her husband in Denver, Colorado.

Not your typical WWII Memoir.
Annita Rodgers is the oldest daughter born in France to her French Mother and German SS Father. Discovering her father’s manuscript many years later she translated it and added her own incredible story. Together they form the dual memoir of one family from different points of view. This is a new perspective on the narrative of history you think you know, but have never heard.
Two memoirs. One incredible saga.
Shadows of the Past is the epic tale of a family torn between two nations during one of history’s darkest periods. Presented in two parts, the first focuses on a German SS officer reflecting on his life from a prison camp after the war. The second part follows his French daughter, who spent her childhood unaware of her father, until she finally meets him years later and he shares his manuscript with her.