My name is Marite

The novel sheds light on one of the white spots in recent history - the story of "wolf children". After World War II, German women from East Prussia sent many of their children to the other side of the Neman, where there was bread. Thousands of German children ended up in Lithuania trying to survive. Some were lucky to find guardians, others had a difficult fate: begging, selling themselves, survivors of violence. Such children were called "wolf children". To somehow exist, "wolf children" had to beg, wander, take on different jobs. Much depended on what kind of people they met. There were girls, girls used by village men.

The story of the German girl Renate, who received the Lithuanian name Marite, describes the tragic fate of many refugees in the early postwar years in the Baltics. The novel is based on real facts.

When the book was published, it turned out that many girls from among the "wolf children" received the same name - Marita. This was important when transporting children across the border, or to protect themselves from the Strabas (militant agents from fighter units) who went from house to house. If they found a German child, the whole family would be deported to Siberia. So that the Russians would not understand that the girl was German, she was taught to say "My name is Marite." They only knew one phrase that helped them survive. "" Alvidas Shlapikas