Behind the Smile: Orphaned by Hitler's Madness

About the Book

I was born during the winter of 1944 by an unwed, seventeenyear old, frightened Norwegian girl on the war-torn soil of Germany. Unknowingly, she became part of Heinrich Himmler’s plan, known as the Lebensborn Program, a master design for cultivating an Aryan race. The unfolding story is both revealing and touching. Over time slivers of buried history surfaced into the mainstream of my thinking. An orphan’s journey is revealed transforming the story into enlightened self-discovery. It wasn’t until I found the courage to face the unknown mysteries woven together by people, places and programs that healing could eventually take place. All the intertwining circumstances influenced my life, opened my eyes and helped me make peace with my inner spirit.

About the Author

An intriguing aspect of Peter’s story is that he was a Norwegian boy born in Germany during WW II, taken from his unwed mother at birth and adopted by an Air Force Chaplain and his wife. Three orphanages later, they brought him to America at the age of five and adopted him. As a military dependent, he spent his school years from 1949 to 1964 crisscrossing throughout the states and studying overseas. The Reverend Dr. Peter R.K. Brenner is married to Bonnie, and they are the proud parents of two married sons - Erik and Tim. Peter’s High School diploma hails from a military boarding school in Verdun, France. Two years of graduate school were spent overseas at the University of Maryland, Munich Branch in Germany. He transferred stateside to attend Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, where he completed his studies and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech, majoring in radio and television broadcasting. Peter also earned a Master of Divinity degree from Hartford Seminary Foundation and a Doctor of Ministry from Chicago Theological Seminary. As a parish minister, over a period of forty years, Peter served five congregational churches in four different states: Connecticut (2), Wisconsin, Utah, and Michigan. Peter also served as a Navy Reserve Chaplain for twenty-one years and attained the rank of Commander. In 2010, Peter and Bonnie retired to Cape Cod and now live in Chatham, Massachusetts.