The author describes his childhood on his parents' farm in East Prussia and the first school years in Erlenrode und Kuckerneese. The Second World War changes people's lives. As an eleven-year-old boy, along with his mother and two brothers, he experiences the Great Trek on a horse-drawn harvest wagon. It starts in October 1944 and ends six months later in April 1945, after a drive of more than 750 miles through East Prussia, West Prussia, Pomerania, Mecklenburg, and Lower Saxony to Sievershausen near Hannover, Germany. The stages of their struggle and their encounters along the way are depicted with remarkable honesty. Many striking details, often strange and unimaginable, sometimes touching to the heart, are included.