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4.42 AVERAGE
4.42 AVERAGE
During the last days of World War II, a woman in Berlin kept a diary. She wrote of the daily struggles of existence in an utterly destroyed city. Of days spent hiding in cellars. Of starvation and sickness. Of mass rape and sexual assault of German women by occupying Soviet soldiers. Of surviving by any means necessary.
Her story is not easy to read, but it is one that many German women (perhaps as many as 100,000) lived through and were too ashamed to tell. Her accounts of the daily humiliation are straightforward and matter-of-fact, as are her descriptions of how women learned to survive, both physically and psychologically.
Living in today's Berlin, it's almost possible to forget the atrocities that took place here almost 70 years ago. But her tale in the midst of the city's destruction and reconstruction stays with me as I walk down the streets of my new home.
If you're fascinated by WWII or a lover of Berlin, I would encourage you to read this little known piece of history (also available in English). If you're more the visual type, the diary has also been turned into a very moving film.
Her story is not easy to read, but it is one that many German women (perhaps as many as 100,000) lived through and were too ashamed to tell. Her accounts of the daily humiliation are straightforward and matter-of-fact, as are her descriptions of how women learned to survive, both physically and psychologically.
Living in today's Berlin, it's almost possible to forget the atrocities that took place here almost 70 years ago. But her tale in the midst of the city's destruction and reconstruction stays with me as I walk down the streets of my new home.
If you're fascinated by WWII or a lover of Berlin, I would encourage you to read this little known piece of history (also available in English). If you're more the visual type, the diary has also been turned into a very moving film.
A reminder that the war isn't over when it's announced.
Oftentimes in history, we tend to "gloss over" the period after a war ends; one side wins and one side loses and life goes on. In 1945, the majority of people were so happy that the war was over, that Germany had surrendered and that Hitler was nowhere to be found, that next to no worrying about the impoverished, carpet-bombed citizens of Berlin existed. This book will change all of this indifference. The terrifying violence perpetrated by the Soviet army on the innocent women and girls of this city is hard to ignore; this diary presents the horror of surviving the constant rape of women in shocking images. The thirty-year old woman who authors this book illustrates how a people, once confident and victorious, are reduced to scavenging, filthy pawns in a game where Stalin's communist ideals gain a foothold in a city that cannot resist.
i’m amazed and disappointed that i’ve never read a book like this that captures the end of WW2 from the perspective of a Berlin woman. when i read books about wars, i’m always intrigued about the ethics, morals, and how there are always victims that are stuck in the middle, enduring the most suffering. highly recommend this diary when learning about the impacts of war, violence, and power on citizens, especially women. though filled with horror, there are also very brief moments of hope, showing how we can persevere through darkness and push forward in life. i keep thinking about the woman’s life after the diary ended, if she was able to find peace and contentment afterwards. i can only hope.
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
I want to read the rest and see a happy ending but I don’t think there will be one. I had to end this one early for my own sanity in the current times.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Antisemitism, War
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
I came in knowing a bit of what this book was best known for and why it so angered segments of the German population upon initial publishing but came away very surprised. There was a despondent, depressing feeling I had prepared mentally to go into hearing the first hand accounts of initial raping and pillaging and disorder upon the capture of Berlin. Instead, through beautiful, understated prose and exceptional insight, there is a retrospection and calmness that pervades. An inevitability and acceptance at times interspersed through the distress and trauma. To be sure, much of what is recalled is often brutal and sad and emotional to those of us reading the experiences of the author and the countless similar women. But I think Enzensberger's afterward describes her style and recounting the best: "devoid of self-pity, with a clear-eyed view of her compatriots' behavior before and after the Nazi regime's collapse, everything she wrote flew in the face of the reigning post-war complacency and amnesia."
Outside the recounting of the rape that made the work so famous and controversial, the day to day life in a conquered city of a conquered nation stands out. Scrounging for food, waiting at pumps for hours for water, grabbing every scrap of wood available on your walk to heat the food. All items not discussed often in the broader history of conquest and can only really be shown at the lowest, individual level like this. On the same note, how the community and author deals with the aftermath of their nation and ideology collapsing is a great insight we do not often see into often enough. All brought in a thought provoking and digestible way by the authors outstanding writing talent. An important work in understanding war and it's consequence.
Outside the recounting of the rape that made the work so famous and controversial, the day to day life in a conquered city of a conquered nation stands out. Scrounging for food, waiting at pumps for hours for water, grabbing every scrap of wood available on your walk to heat the food. All items not discussed often in the broader history of conquest and can only really be shown at the lowest, individual level like this. On the same note, how the community and author deals with the aftermath of their nation and ideology collapsing is a great insight we do not often see into often enough. All brought in a thought provoking and digestible way by the authors outstanding writing talent. An important work in understanding war and it's consequence.
This book was just incredible touching and disturbing. Unbelievable what happened in Berlin not even 70 years ago. Makes most modern day worries look ridiculous. Unbelievable how strong these women were to get beyond this drama and how they were able to be somehow loving mothers and grandmothers to much more lucky generations.
reflective
sad
fast-paced