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4.42 AVERAGE
4.42 AVERAGE
A raw and unfiltered description of being conquered from the perspective of the conquered women. No surprise that it’s brutal. I was surprised by her frank description of the women’s awareness of the imminent invasion(s) and their gallows humor(?perspective?) before and in some cases during the ensuring days of “nonconsenting intercourse” - rape. The persistent sharing of rape experiences seems to be the prevailing effort at group therapy in that week+.
If I understood her logic at one point, she felt women would rather be conquered/suffer these rapes than continue to lose their men to the war/army. Though by the end of the week(s) when the mass of Russian soldiers have left Berlin and the nightly “hunt” is mostly over, and society (older women, all men, her returned fiancée) no longer condone the discussion of rape, and in the ensuing years, I wonder if her opinion changed.
The book provides a unique perspective on cultural, educational and class norms subjected to wartime pressures. It’s not hard to feel sympathy for women subjected to this, without negating the horribleness of the Nazi regime. Broadly, this diary is a view into all the thousands (& thousands) of sackings in 3+ millennia of human warfare.
If I understood her logic at one point, she felt women would rather be conquered/suffer these rapes than continue to lose their men to the war/army. Though by the end of the week(s) when the mass of Russian soldiers have left Berlin and the nightly “hunt” is mostly over, and society (older women, all men, her returned fiancée) no longer condone the discussion of rape, and in the ensuing years, I wonder if her opinion changed.
The book provides a unique perspective on cultural, educational and class norms subjected to wartime pressures. It’s not hard to feel sympathy for women subjected to this, without negating the horribleness of the Nazi regime. Broadly, this diary is a view into all the thousands (& thousands) of sackings in 3+ millennia of human warfare.
Thoughts and fractions of stories for a woman lived in a horrible place in a horrible time
No one can claim to feel or even understand her experience but one thing is sure, women of Berlin paid the bill of the war
No one can claim to feel or even understand her experience but one thing is sure, women of Berlin paid the bill of the war
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
A difficult but important read.
A woman’s instinct to survive is remarkable
A woman’s instinct to survive is remarkable
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
dark
this diary is quite amazing and, at the same time, horrifying. i hate to say i loved it because the subject matter is so devastating, but it was completely engrossing.
Wow, what a story. Am grateful to the author for keeping a diary and having the guts to publish it. Counting myself lucky not to have lived at a time and in a country of war, it’s unimaginable really.
Highly recommend this, probably one of the few books I’d give 6 stars if I could.
Highly recommend this, probably one of the few books I’d give 6 stars if I could.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced