Funky word order IMO is the songle hardest aspect of learning a language, it’s why I had more trouble wrapping my head around german than I did with russian. But that is just me.
“German books are easy enough to read when you hold them before the looking-glass or stand on your head — so as to reverse the construction — but I think that to learn to read and understand a German newspaper is a thing which must always remain an impossibility to a foreigner.” – Mark Twain
Every fan of German has read, or should read, Mark Twain’s essay “The Awful German Language”. Well, maybe if you’re just starting out, it might be best to avoid it for fear of discouragement, but it’s very entertaining if you have had any exposure to German at all.
Sorry not quite in the topic. I understood you correctly? You said that your grandparents were saved by the Nazis from the Soviets?