The first part of the book reflects the context of life within the totalitarian systems of Communism and Nazism. The author witnessed the mass deportations under Communism and mass executions of Jews, known as the Holocaust, and other tragic events during WWII, which left their mark on our consciousness. The memoir is a revealing story of the life of deportees, who spent two years in a camp working with the prisoners of war and then, after their liberation by the American Army, spent four years in Displaced Persons Camps. These life experiences constituted not only a period of various limitations, but also a time of psychological and intellectual development. The book conveys many details of those experiences and provides an insight into the complexities and a joyful success in the free society in the U.S.A.

Young Ukrainians in World War II found themselves in a no-win situation: aware of the Soviet genocide of Ukrainians during 1932-33, they opted to serve in the German army without wanting to serve the German political objectives. On the Horns of a Dilemma describes the Division as a front-line formation that participated only in military operations against the Soviet Army and against communism or communist-supported partisans in Slovakia and Yugoslavia. Halychyna's military fortunes from its formation in April 1943 to its surrender to the British in May 1945 will captivate journalists, intellectuals, as well as relatives of the Division members.