|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Book Review — Special to ClubMemoir.org |
|
|
This memoir describes how Erika and
her family survive World War II and the aftermath of poverty, starvation,
and shame. It provides a heart-rending account of the hardships that
non-Jewish Germans suffered because of Hitler, and a glimpse of what life
is like in any war-torn country. It is also a tribute to the human
spirit, which endures even in the face of unspeakable adversity.
The middle child in a family of eleven children, Erika is the strange one
who asks a lot of "dumb questions" about what happened to the Jews.
She wonders if her father was involved with Nazis and why Dachau (a concentration
camp) was allowed to happen, but nobody wants to answer her. Throughout
the book, she searches for these answers, even though her family seems to
pretend like the war never happened.
Unsure of how to feel about being German, Erika is haunted by the atrocities
her country allowed to happen. Once, she tells her sister, "all I ever
wanted was to be born into a country where innocent people weren’t gassed
and used for firewood." On a larger scale, the book questions how we
as human beings could be so callous, brutal, and cruel.
Born two weeks after Germany invaded Poland, the author’s first memories
are of exploding bombs and violence. Hans, Erika’s father, is drafted
for the war. The rest of the family narrowly escapes a devastating
air raid, fleeing just in time from East Germany to Bavaria, hundreds of
miles on foot. From there, things go from bad to worse, even though
the war is ending.
Using present tense, Erika chronicles her family’s struggle to subsist on
what little they have during the post-war years. Using short sentences
and simple language sprinkled with German here and there, the author captures
the voice and brittle innocence of the child she was. The result is
an unpretentious and honest narrative that grips the reader like an ocean
undercurrent, powerful and provocative.
This book is an eye-opening examination of seldom-acknowledged victims of
WWII: the innocent, non-Nazi German people left to rebuild their lives from
Hitler’s ashes. It is also a wonderful example of how to write about
terrible, tragic experiences without cloying self-pity or melodrama.
The subject matter and the prose combine to deliver a compelling story that
will leave you in a soul-choked daze.
— Viveka E. Neveln
Book Review Editor, ClubMemoir.org
Coming in June: ClubMemoir's Exclusive Interview with
Erika Karres
This book review is the property of its author
and ClubMemoir.org.
It may not be reproduced without the prior consent of ClubMemoir.org
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A German Tale, A Girl Surviving Hitler's Legacy 