In her debut novel, Roads, Marina Antropow Cramer tells the story of a World War II-era Russian family’s survival through harrowing situations surrounding the Nazi invasion of their homeland and the hardships they face as labor camp workers and refugees in Germany during and after the war. Ms. Cramer, who was born in postwar Germany to a family of refugees from the Soviet Union, spoke at the Society of Skeptics on September 25 about the challenges Russian families faced during that time. The lecture was held in the Chiang Center for Innovation and Collaboration.

The topic of Ms. Cramer’s novel—and her Skeptics lecture—arose in part from her curiosity about the events that led to her family’s decision to leave their homeland, knowing that even if they survived their entry into enemy territory, they could never return. She had heard about the horrors of the war years from her family and other refugees her whole life, and the topic became all the more relevant in light of the many conflicts in today’s world. “I wanted to understand how people make that decision to leave everything they know, despite extreme deprivation, persecution, constant exposure to danger, the loss of loved ones, separation and daily uncertainty about their future,” Ms. Cramer said. “My 92-year-old mother still talks about the war as if it happened just the other day; clearly, for some, the trauma never ends.”

In Roads, Ms. Cramer purposefully gives voice to ordinary Russians, a group of people whose wartime ordeal, she noted, has not received much attention in literature. “Unlike Jews, Roma and other ethnic groups, ordinary Russians were not specifically marked by the Nazis for extermination,” she said. “Their only value to the enemy was the labor they could contribute to the German economy. For many of them, entering German labor camps was a deal with the devil made with a heavy heart, knowing the consequences but seeing no other alternative.”

Ms. Cramer also explores generational differences in the writing of her novel. “I was interested in how people of various ages within a family were affected by the events around them and how their levels of life experience manifested in their engagement with each other and in their response to elemental things like love and grief,” she said. She will touch on the writing process at Skeptics, including building characters, pacing the story, recognizing and maintaining themes, research and “editing again and again and again.” “I’ll do my best to answer any questions, especially from young writers,” she said.

In speaking about the Nazi invasion of Russia, Ms. Cramer hopes to introduce audience members to an aspect of World War II with which they may not have been familiar, increase understanding of how historical events affect the lives of ordinary people and raise awareness of the way life-changing decisions impact different generations within families. “I hope people take away a greater willingness to listen to the stories of strangers among us and move toward acceptance of varied interpretations of a troubled world,” Ms. Cramer said. “And, should they choose to read the book, I hope students find pleasure in exploring the story and getting to know the people in Roads.”

Read more about Ms. Cramer here.

To watch Ms. Cramer's Skeptics presentation click "play" below.

The History of Skeptics

The Society of Skeptics was established as a forum for students and faculty to discuss and debate important global issues; it has grown to become one of the premier high school lecture series in the United States. Each week, speakers from the political, social, scientific, economic and literary arenas share their unique perspectives with students, who are encouraged to engage with presenters, asking questions and debating points of view.

The program was an outgrowth of the Blair International Society, begun in 1937. Forty years later, former history department chair Elliott Trommald, PhD, Hon.’65, established the modern Skeptics program as a regular forum for student discussion and debate; history teacher Martin Miller, PhD, took over in the mid-1980s and molded the program into a weekly lecture series, one that has since continued without interruption. Under the tutelage of Dr. Miller, Skeptics has featured a wide variety of speakers who are engaging, accomplished in their respective fields and often controversial. For a listing of upcoming Skeptics programs, please click here.