“A heartfelt and beautifully written homage to Scholfield-Peters’ forebears, who were caught in the 20th century horrors of fascism and anti-semitism, and, in her loving portrait of her grandfather, to the survival of the human spirit. A moving contribution to the literature of the Shoah and its ricochet effect down the generations.” - Anna Funder

“Scholfield-Peters’ writing is luminous, her evocative imagery transporting readers easily into a spring day in 1930…a compelling and intimate insight into what ties family to each other across generations and how trauma – and the desire for healing – is its own inheritance.” Jennifer Martin, Ethical Space Journal

“The Mutzi of the title is Hermann Pollnow (anglicised to Peters), a Berlin-born Jew who immigrated to Australia (via Buchenwald) in 1939 when he was 18 and lived to be 100 years old. His parents stayed and he never saw them again. Scholfield-Peters, his granddaughter, tells his story from different perspectives: letters between Mutzi and his parents, documents and imagined scenes drawn from research. The result is a combination of non-fiction, biography, historical observation and creative writing that is often novelistic, the book both disturbing and deeply moving. The scene at the station in Berlin when Mutzi farewelled his father (his mother too sick to go), before leaving for Holland and on to Australia, haunts the reader as it must have haunted Mutzi. A highly atmospheric, meticulously researched labour of love.” Steven Carroll, Sydney Morning Herald

“This book is the result of years of painstaking research. A labour of love, for sure, but this man’s story will feel so very real to so many Australians whose families came from Europe after the war.” Caroline Overington, The Weekend Australian

“Tess Scholfield-Peters’ debut book, Dear Mutzi, is a narrative nonfiction account of her grandfather’s experience in Nazi Germany. It powerfully describes how 18-year-old Hermann Pollnow fled Nazi Germany for rural Australia and became Harry Peters. Mutzi was the affectionate nickname given to Hermann by his devoted parents, Max and Edith, who perished in Nazi camps. Scholfield-Peters uses a combination of letters written by Hermann’s father during the 1930s, interviews with her grandfather and present-day narrative from her third-generation perspective to tell this striking story. She skillfully portrays Hitler’s ascendency and the destruction of German Jewry, the increasing persecution the family faced, and the extent of Edith’s and Max’s love for Hermann, which is palpable through their letters and gives the book a poignant and emotionally charged tone.” Katy Briggs, Books & Publishing