The Twentieth Century was by far the most murderous period in human history. Some hundred million people perished during wars, hunger and revolutions. Erik Meyer experienced half of the century of death and destruction. Born in 1940, at the outset of WWII in Hamburg, Germany, the awful war years are just a distant memory.Growing up in an environment, where the parents had lost everything they ever owned and living for almost a decade with 5 people in two small rooms, the main daily task was finding enough food to eat and fuel to heat and cook. Even the most basic items of a civilized world, such as clothing, household items and furniture, were just not available and if they could be found, there was no money to buy them. A highly developed and civilized country, Germany was utterly destroyed and bombed back into the stone age. "Risen from the ashes....to a citizen of the world" is an account of a seemingly hopeless beginning to become a multi-lingual global citizen, who has lived and worked in 7 countries and visited all 5 continents frequently. The account of 7 decades was written over many years, initially as personal memoirs for the children and grandchildren. Several people have read and proof-read the manuscript. All suggested strongly to publish this historical account, as it will make interesting reading for anyone with an interest in the history of the Twentieth Century. The entire account id too large to publish in one book. it is available in 7 sections by decade from the 1940s to the 2000s. Each sections is richly illustrated with photos, graphs and maps of the time to supplement the text and make the reading more interesting