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ClareR (5603 KP) rated Aftermath: Life in the Fallout of the Third Reich, 1945-1955 in Books
Feb 1, 2022
This is such an informative, interesting book about a period in German history that I know little about: 1945-1955. It shows that German cities were pretty much decimated by the end of the war, that ex-Nazi party members were forced to clean up the rubble and that most importantly, many Germans thought that they were hard done by, by the end of the war - their country in ruins, no industry and no food. But what’s most startling, is how quickly the German recovery was. Jähner states that this was in large part due to the return of the Germans who had been living in occupied countries.
The black market was also a huge earner for many German citizens: one teenager is described as having thousands of Marks worth of cigarettes in his house. Money was there to be made for the improvising, bold, German!
What probably resonated with me most, was the lot of the German woman. They had been expected to be the perfect German Female during National Socialism, then experienced a kind of social and sexual liberation after the end of the war. However, when their husbands and men returned from captivity (or just made their ways home), they found themselves being expected to revert to the stereotypical role of the housewife. But they wanted more. They wanted to continue in careers, they wanted equality, and they didn’t necessarily want to deal with broken, defeated husbands (as cruel as this may seem).
What really surprised me, was how was how former Nazi party members still worked in positions of influence, both politically and in industry - and this was the case in both East and West Germany. Even though the Allies made a point of ‘educating’ German citizens about the holocaust, National Socialists seemed to largely escape punishment and carried on with their lives. Their children may have had their doubts as to their parents innocence, and the real movement to ‘out’ the national guilt didn’t really get going until the 1960’s, but there was dissent in the 1950’s already.
I could go on. This is such an interesting book, and written so accessibly. It didn’t read at all like a dry history book, and the photos and posters from the time are well chosen and really add to the book as a whole. This isn’t just a history book for history buffs.
The black market was also a huge earner for many German citizens: one teenager is described as having thousands of Marks worth of cigarettes in his house. Money was there to be made for the improvising, bold, German!
What probably resonated with me most, was the lot of the German woman. They had been expected to be the perfect German Female during National Socialism, then experienced a kind of social and sexual liberation after the end of the war. However, when their husbands and men returned from captivity (or just made their ways home), they found themselves being expected to revert to the stereotypical role of the housewife. But they wanted more. They wanted to continue in careers, they wanted equality, and they didn’t necessarily want to deal with broken, defeated husbands (as cruel as this may seem).
What really surprised me, was how was how former Nazi party members still worked in positions of influence, both politically and in industry - and this was the case in both East and West Germany. Even though the Allies made a point of ‘educating’ German citizens about the holocaust, National Socialists seemed to largely escape punishment and carried on with their lives. Their children may have had their doubts as to their parents innocence, and the real movement to ‘out’ the national guilt didn’t really get going until the 1960’s, but there was dissent in the 1950’s already.
I could go on. This is such an interesting book, and written so accessibly. It didn’t read at all like a dry history book, and the photos and posters from the time are well chosen and really add to the book as a whole. This isn’t just a history book for history buffs.
Dennis Lehane recommended M (Movie) (1931) in Movies (curated)
Classic German Baking by Luisa Weiss is filled with 100 recipes of authentic German baking for breads and sweets! We learn what it means to bake like the Germans do and learn what techniques are different from us in America. With recipes like Apple Strudel to chocolate cakes that are to die for and even some healthy recipes as well. This book is the definition of German Baking that everyone will enjoy reading and making these recipes in their own homes!
This well-organized book is perfect of bakers from novices to pros. It the history of the each recipe before detailing in easy to follow step-by-step instructions how to bake. There's an extensive glossary of ingredients. My one recommendation is to have more pictures for a visual aspect.
I received this book from Ten Speed Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This well-organized book is perfect of bakers from novices to pros. It the history of the each recipe before detailing in easy to follow step-by-step instructions how to bake. There's an extensive glossary of ingredients. My one recommendation is to have more pictures for a visual aspect.
I received this book from Ten Speed Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Tim Gunn recommended The Magic Mountain in Books (curated)
Kirsty (29 KP) rated The Book Thief in Books
Dec 1, 2018
ClareR (5603 KP) rated The Seventh Cross in Books
Aug 22, 2018
This remains a lesson for us all
I was keen to read this translation, as I had originally read it during my German degree, in German. In fact, this book was a central part of my dissertation and was one of three Anna Seghers novels. They were all set in the National Socialist period of 1933-1945 (or thereabouts). I remember the German version being a very dense, challenging book - but that’s not necessarily a bad thing for me! I like a book that makes me think, and there’s plenty of food for thought here.
This story is jam packed with characters from all sides of the German story: National Socialists, Communists, the SS and the ordinary working German,
Georg Heisler (I’m using the German derivative of his name; I have no idea why his name was anglicised to ‘George’ whilst other characters kept their German names) escapes from a fictitious concentration camp (Westhofen) along with six other men. This is pre World War II, this is what the National Socialists did to their own countrymen and any dissent.
The story follows the recapture of the other six, Georg’s escape and all those who help him. Persecution on this scale is still happening today, and whether or not it is happening, we should still read about it and remember, in order to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
I’ve touched on the language and style. It’s not easy. It wasn’t easy to read and understand in German, and it can be hard going in English. It seems quite detached from emotion, and I think this is a deliberate device. If we look at the historical context, people clearly disengaged froma large part of what was happening around them. One of the SS soldiers refers to “Sarah’s”; the men in the concentration camp are there being starved and tortured due to their political ideology, and people live within hearing distance, hear the shouting, crying and the pain of the prisoners and do nothing: an embarrassed shrug, a closing of their ears.
This is the part that we should never forget: inaction, and the necessity to stop these things in their tracks at the beginning, rather than before it’s too late.
Georg has his helpers, those who risk their lives to save his (just as Seghers and her husband, both communist Jews had their helpers). The startling thing to me about this novel, is the normalcy: the countryside stays the same, the relationships, work. All seemed normal in the face of such evil. This is a novel to remember and learn from. It has as many lessons for us today as it did seventy years ago,
This story is jam packed with characters from all sides of the German story: National Socialists, Communists, the SS and the ordinary working German,
Georg Heisler (I’m using the German derivative of his name; I have no idea why his name was anglicised to ‘George’ whilst other characters kept their German names) escapes from a fictitious concentration camp (Westhofen) along with six other men. This is pre World War II, this is what the National Socialists did to their own countrymen and any dissent.
The story follows the recapture of the other six, Georg’s escape and all those who help him. Persecution on this scale is still happening today, and whether or not it is happening, we should still read about it and remember, in order to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
I’ve touched on the language and style. It’s not easy. It wasn’t easy to read and understand in German, and it can be hard going in English. It seems quite detached from emotion, and I think this is a deliberate device. If we look at the historical context, people clearly disengaged froma large part of what was happening around them. One of the SS soldiers refers to “Sarah’s”; the men in the concentration camp are there being starved and tortured due to their political ideology, and people live within hearing distance, hear the shouting, crying and the pain of the prisoners and do nothing: an embarrassed shrug, a closing of their ears.
This is the part that we should never forget: inaction, and the necessity to stop these things in their tracks at the beginning, rather than before it’s too late.
Georg has his helpers, those who risk their lives to save his (just as Seghers and her husband, both communist Jews had their helpers). The startling thing to me about this novel, is the normalcy: the countryside stays the same, the relationships, work. All seemed normal in the face of such evil. This is a novel to remember and learn from. It has as many lessons for us today as it did seventy years ago,
Merissa (11805 KP) created a post
May 3, 2021
TheDefunctDiva (304 KP) created a post
Aug 16, 2020
