The House by the Lake: The True Story of a House, Its History, and the Four Families Who Made It Home

On the outskirts of Berlin, Germany, a wooden cottage stands on the shore of a lake. Over the course of a hundred years, this little house played host to a kind Jewish doctor and his family, a successful Nazi composer, wartime refugees, and a secret-police informant. During that time, as a world war came and went and the Berlin Wall arose just a stone’s throw from the back door, the house filled up with myriad everyday moments. And when that time was over, and the dwelling was empty and derelict, the great-grandson of the man who built the house felt compelled to bring it back to life and listen to the story it had to tell. Illuminated by Britta Teckentrup’s magnificent illustrations, Thomas Harding’s narration reads like a show more haunting fairy tale—a lyrical picture-book rendering of the story he first shared in an acclaimed personal history for adult readers. show less

Such a sad and beautiful story. It's about a house that four families lived in and seen it's share of happiness and tragedy. Beautiful illustrations throughout the book.

Built in 1927, the house now known as the Alexander Haus saw several families pass through and call it home during the difficult years of WWII and the Berlin Wall. Author Thomas Harding, whose great-grandfather Alfred Alexander built the house, visited in 2013 and began working to restore it, as well as research its inhabitants and history.

https://alexanderhaus.org/