World War II and the Bridge of Deaths



I'm delighted to welcome M.C.V. Egan, author of the Bridge of Deaths, to my blog today with a fascinating historical perspective on the start of World War II. The author is touring the internet as we remember WWII's anniversaries, and you can find a great rafflecopter giveaway to help you celebrate at the end of this post.



The Bridge of Deaths is, above all, a book based on history. Because the events of the book took place just a mere two weeks before the start of World War II, this year marks the 75th anniversary of both the crash of the G-AESY (the central event in The Bridge of Deaths) and the start of WWII. M.C.V. Egan has chosen to commemorate both of these events with a 75th anniversary remembrance—a part of which are a series of historical retrospectives recounting the events that led to the start of WWII, as well as a discussion of how these events were often linked to the real-life characters of the book. 

HISTORICAL RETROSPECTIVE: 
September 30, 1938: The Munich Agreement

“In the early hours of Sept. 30, 1938, leaders of Nazi Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy signed an agreement that allowed the Nazis to annex the Sudetenland, a region of Czechoslovakia that was home to many ethnic Germans.” (Source) Hitler was given the Sudetenland as a way to appease him; he had otherwise threatened to take the land by force. The heads of state of the three European nations, aiming to avoid war at all costs with an increasingly aggressive Nazi Germany, chose instead to give in to Hitler’s demands. “Czechoslovakian leaders were not included in the talks, having been given a choice by Britain and France: accept the terms or resist the Nazis on their own.” (Source) As we now regretfully know, this agreement (known as the Munich Agreement) did not, in fact, bring peace. Hitler went on take the rest of Czechoslovakia by force in 1939 and later went on to invade Poland, which brought about World War II. 

A link to The Bridge of Deaths:  

Anthony Crossley, a British Member of Parliament and one of the men who died in the crash of the G-AESY (which is recounted in M.C.V. Egan’s The Bridge of Deaths) was very outspoken in his belief that the Munich Agreement was a mistake and was known an “anti-appeaser” (meaning he did not believe in giving in to Hitler’s demands) and he appears as such in every history book and memoire of the era. Interestingly, many of these books also have mistaken claims about Crossley, which include stating that he “paid the price” for his decrying of the Munich Agreement at following elections (when, in fact, he was already dead) or that he went on to die fighting in WWII, when in actuality he died two days before war started on board the G-AESY.



Having grown up in England, so close to the fragile unity of Europe and the wounded history of unexploded bombs on building sites, this glimpse of history is fascinating. My husband has done much to make sure our children are aware of their history. As we are often reminded, those who don't remember the past might too easily repeat its mistakes. It's good to remember the real people of the past, and revisit these events.

About The Bridge of Deaths

"M.C.V. Egan twists truth and fiction until you question your perceptions...it is a story of real love, triumph and search for self." - Beckah Boyd @ The Truthful Tarot
5 out of 5 stars:  "An unusual yet much recommended read." - Midwest Book Review  

On August 15th, 1939, an English passenger plane from British Airways Ltd. crashed in Danish waters between the towns of Nykøbing Falster and Vordingborg. There were five casualties reported and one survivor. Just two weeks before, Hitler invaded Poland.

With the world at the brink of war, the manner in which this incident was investigated left much open to doubt. The jurisdiction battle between the two towns and the newly formed Danish secret police created an atmosphere of intrigue and distrust.

The Bridge of Deaths is a love story and a mystery. Fictional characters travel through the world of past life regressions and information acquired from psychics as well as archives and historical sources to solve "one of those mysteries that never get solved." Based on true events and real people, The Bridge of Deaths is the culmination of 18 years of sifting through conventional and unconventional sources in Denmark, England, Mexico and the United States. The story finds a way to help the reader feel that s/he is also sifting through data and forming their own conclusions.

Cross The Bridge of Deaths into 1939, and dive into cold Danish waters to uncover the secrets of the G-AESY.

Get the revised 75th anniversary of The Bridge of Deaths on Amazon in ebook and paperback.

About the author

M.C.V. Egan is the pen name chosen by Maria Catalina Vergara Egan. Catalina was born in Mexico City, Mexico in 1959, the sixth of eight children, in a traditional Catholic family.
From a very young age, she became obsessed with the story of her maternal grandfather, Cesar Agustin Castillo--mostly the story of how he died.

She spent her childhood in Mexico. When her father became an employee of The World Bank in Washington D.C. in the early 1970s, she moved with her entire family to the United States. Catalina was already fluent in English, as she had spent one school year in the town of Pineville, Louisiana with her grandparents. There she won the English award, despite being the only one who had English as a second language in her class.

In the D.C. suburbs she attended various private Catholic schools and graduated from Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Maryland in 1977. She attended Montgomery Community College, where she changed majors every semester. She also studied in Lyons, France, at the Catholic University for two years. In 1981, due to an impulsive young marriage to a Viking (the Swedish kind, not the football player kind), Catalina moved to Sweden where she resided for five years and taught at a language school for Swedish, Danish, and Finnish businesspeople. She then returned to the USA, where she has lived ever since. She is fluent in Spanish, English, French and Swedish.

Maria Catalina Vergara Egan is married and has one son who, together with their five-pound Chihuahua, makes her feel like a full-time mother. Although she would not call herself an astrologer she has taken many classes and taught a few beginner classes in the subject.
The celebrated her 52nd birthday on July 2nd, 2011, and gave herself self-publishing The Bridge of Deaths as a gift.

Find M.C.V. Egan and The Bridge of Deaths on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and online. 

Don't miss this great rafflecopter giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

and don't miss these other great stops on the tour for more history, interviews and fascinating facts.

75th Anniversary Event Stops (September 1-30)
 

Comments

M.C.V. EGAN said…
Thank you for all the fantastic tweets and the guest post. You are just FAB!
September 3, 2014 at 7:39 PM
Anne Chaconas, Badass Marketing said…
Thank you so much for featuring Catalina, Sheila! You rock!
September 4, 2014 at 11:21 AM
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