“Hitler’s worst nightmare. A teenage femme fatale.”

 

Lt. Lilia Litvyak, 20, humiliates Hitler’s elite all-male Luftwaffe over Stalingrad

Hitler believed invading the Russians during WWII and turning its citizens into cheap Nazi slave labor would be a “slam dunk.”

And, so on June 22, 1941, Operation Barbarossa, the largest single military invasion in history of world commenced. Hitler, and his Axis Powers (Italy, Japan, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovakia), sent four million soldiers, 600 tanks, and more than 1,000 planes into Russia, destroying thousands of strategic targets, civilian population centers, and about 80 percent of the Russian Air Force.

Despite their military might, the smugly superior Nazi’s had had little understanding or appreciation for a Slavic culture that had experienced the worst of times during its history and had not only survived but thrived.

It was against this backdrop, a beautiful, blonde teenager from Moscow became a wartime symbol of determination and patriotism. Because she was the world’s first female fighter-pilot, the Russian government featured her deadly exploits in newspaper stories and war posters. Their goal was to improve the country’s will to survive by publicly humiliating Hitler. Lilia’s exploits, news stories, and war posters have been included the enlarged fifth edition of my award-winning book, Call Sign, White Lily.

Lt. Lilia Litvyak, 19, with her signature polka dot scarfs

Despite the difficult challenges Lilia often faced, she never lost her sense of humor, the importance of friends, and her love of Russian poets like Pushkin. She also found the time to fall madly in love with her soulmate, a dashing and equally squadron leader.

To read more about the unique woman’s life, times, and loves, we invite you to read Call Sign, White Lily. If you check out my Amazon page, you’ll quickly realize readers from all around the world have enjoyed the time they spent getting to know Lilia.

And, while I’d like to tell you Lila’s story of love and heroism has a Cinderella ending, suffice to say, life is not always that way.