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Agnieszka's Reviews > A Woman in Berlin
A Woman in Berlin
by
Poor words, you do not suffice .
Indeed, words are not enough to convey that horror. We, lucky ones, born after the war, living in the time of peace, have to summon all our imagination, all human compassion and empathy to be able to catch though a glimpse of that suffering and humiliation that people then experienced.
A woman in Berlin, written by anonymous German woman, spans two months of 1945, from April until the 20 of the June and is a chronicle from besieged and defeated city. And because author stays unnamed throughout whole story it gives us a wider perspective and allows to raise above this particular period and extend our view. This woman, being herself, can be obscure daughter of Hecuba , unhappy sister of Cassandra, distant relative of every woman raped and mutilated through and by the war.
Novel, in a form of a journal, is very well written. You feel that author is well educated and had some writing experience, her thoughts are clearly expressed and balanced. From some snippets you know she knew French and a bit of Russian, that travelled a lot before the war, oh irony to Russia too. She is sensitive and compassionate but her report is nothing but dry facts. You don’t find here any self-pity, she doesn’t make too much fuss about conditions she and her compatriots had to endure. Only unemotional report about daily food rations, never-ending ventures for water, plundering and hunting for some food, air raids and burning city.
People, hiding in the basements like some parody of cave-dwellers, form close community, after all what better brings people together than mutual misery ?; but it is rather fragile bond, it can easily be broken. The real community is created by women. Because they took on themselves that first the wildest attack of Russian victors. While men were hiding, protected by their wives and lovers, women had to face repeated rapes and constant violence.
It’s a grim reading though there are truly heartening moments and some humorous accents as well ( seeing some men in naval uniforms our guide to this ghost city states only Apparently they’ve taken Berlin by sea as well. We certainly have enough lakes around ) .
I was trying to imagine her life after war. Did she accept her horrible past, did she find love and peace of mind ? Where did she live ? In Germany ? I could dig a bit for her but decided not to do that. Not everything is for sale and I respect her silence after that diary. She gave a testimony already.
by
Poor words, you do not suffice .
Indeed, words are not enough to convey that horror. We, lucky ones, born after the war, living in the time of peace, have to summon all our imagination, all human compassion and empathy to be able to catch though a glimpse of that suffering and humiliation that people then experienced.
A woman in Berlin, written by anonymous German woman, spans two months of 1945, from April until the 20 of the June and is a chronicle from besieged and defeated city. And because author stays unnamed throughout whole story it gives us a wider perspective and allows to raise above this particular period and extend our view. This woman, being herself, can be obscure daughter of Hecuba , unhappy sister of Cassandra, distant relative of every woman raped and mutilated through and by the war.
Novel, in a form of a journal, is very well written. You feel that author is well educated and had some writing experience, her thoughts are clearly expressed and balanced. From some snippets you know she knew French and a bit of Russian, that travelled a lot before the war, oh irony to Russia too. She is sensitive and compassionate but her report is nothing but dry facts. You don’t find here any self-pity, she doesn’t make too much fuss about conditions she and her compatriots had to endure. Only unemotional report about daily food rations, never-ending ventures for water, plundering and hunting for some food, air raids and burning city.
People, hiding in the basements like some parody of cave-dwellers, form close community, after all what better brings people together than mutual misery ?; but it is rather fragile bond, it can easily be broken. The real community is created by women. Because they took on themselves that first the wildest attack of Russian victors. While men were hiding, protected by their wives and lovers, women had to face repeated rapes and constant violence.
It’s a grim reading though there are truly heartening moments and some humorous accents as well ( seeing some men in naval uniforms our guide to this ghost city states only Apparently they’ve taken Berlin by sea as well. We certainly have enough lakes around ) .
I was trying to imagine her life after war. Did she accept her horrible past, did she find love and peace of mind ? Where did she live ? In Germany ? I could dig a bit for her but decided not to do that. Not everything is for sale and I respect her silence after that diary. She gave a testimony already.
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Reading Progress
September 27, 2015
– Shelved
Started Reading
October 4, 2015
–
Finished Reading
October 5, 2015
–
5.79%
"Our fate is rolling in from the east and it will transform the climate , like another Ice Age . People ask why , tormenting themselves with pointless questions . But I just want to focus on today, the task at hand ."
page
18
October 5, 2015
–
12.86%
"We’re suddenly mere individuals , no longer members of the tribe , the German Nation . Old ties are broken ; friendship don’t extend further than three buildings away. There’s only the group of us , huddled in the cave , a clan , just like in prehistoric times . The horizon has shrunk to three hundred paces ."
page
40
October 5, 2015
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19.94%
"These days I keep noticing how my feelings towards men-and the feelings of all the other women-are changing. We feel sorry for them; they seem so miserable and powerless. The weaker sex. Deep down we women are experiencing a kind of collective disappointment . The Nazi world – ruled by men, glorifying the strong men – is beginning to crumble, and with it the myth of “Man”."
page
62
October 5, 2015
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42.12%
"Our lives are all rumours and melodrama , one big kitschy novel."
page
131
October 5, 2015
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61.09%
"All around is desolation, a wasteland , not a breath of life . This is the carcass of Berlin ."
page
190
October 5, 2015
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63.34%
"What about me ? Was I for … or against ? What’s clear is that I was there , that I breathed what was in the air , and it affected all of us even if we didn’t want it to ."
page
197
October 5, 2015
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65.92%
"…by insisting ‘that the sum total of tears always stays the same ‘ – i.e. in every nation of the world , no matter what flag or system of government , no matter which gods are worshipped or what the average income is , the sum total of tears , pain and fear that every person must pay for his existence is a constant ."
page
205
October 5, 2015
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65.92%
"And so the balance is maintained: well-fed nations wallow in neurosis and excesses , while people plagued with suffering , as we are now , may rely on numbness and apathy to help see them through- if not for that I’d be weeping morning, noon and night .But I’m not crying and neither is anyone else , and the fact that we aren’t is all part of natural law ."
page
205
October 5, 2015
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65.92%
"Of course , if you believe that the earthy sum of tears is fixed and immutable , then you’re not very well cut out to improve the world or to act any kind of grand scale ."
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205
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This review exposes the dehumanizing effects of war on all parties and makes explicit the inadequacy of words to describe its horrors. To refer to the Russian soldiers, or what was left of the ragged peasant boys who saw the women in their own families brutalized and murdered by the Germans, as "victors" is almost aggravating. To refer to the innocent women in occupied Berlin as the "spouses, mothers or sisters of Nazis" and therefore, deserving of unspeakable abuse, is an aberration. Your review evokes the powerlessness of language when the monstrous side of humanity shows its face. It also pays homage to all the faceless women who had to endure those two months and who might have lived on in silence and shame. Brave chronicler, brave reviewer. Thanks for bringing this book to my attention Agna, I will make sure to read it. A terrifying and poignant review.
A great review - I was thinking the exact same thought that words are not enough to convey the horror wile reading this book on the thirty years war which is essentially a litany of crime
There are many accounts of Polish , Jews , Russian , French and so on victims of war . But it is only part of equation and we can’t forget what happened to German civilians as well . Of course there are voices that Germans deserved all that misery but to see it that way is something terribly wrong , I think . It’s very difficult and delicate subject but revenge and cruelty doesn’t heal anyone , doesn't repair anything . It only satisfies our worst instincts .
An excellent review, thank you for this. This is a harrowing read, and yet there is a powerful sense of community and survival - humanity can and will endure even in such dreadful times.
Agnieszka wrote: "There are many accounts of Polish , Jews , Russian , French and so on victims of war . But it is only part of equation and we can’t forget what happened to German civilians as well . Of course the..."Completely agree, I hope my comment didn't reflect the opposite. I also forgot to mention that the massive abuse of women during the Berlin occupation is briefly referenced in All the Light We Cannot See. As you showed some interest in the book I thought the information might be of some use to you.
Unfortunately, this testimony is just one among the many possible ones that were written. This lady was brave to be able to publish it, but it seems she was criticised for it.Watched once a documentary interviewing people who had been born from those rapes. Harrowing.
You remind us once again of the importance of written words and the disembodied voice behind them which stoically narrates similar tales of horror and indicts, sometimes without disclosing its identity. This must have been a harrowing read no doubt but it is obvious you got so much out of the experience, Aga. Adding this to the tbr without hesitation.
If she stayed in Berlin, She'd have likely become a Trummerfrau:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%C3%B...
Books like this are like geology - a silent layer of experience shared by many in my Grandmother's generation. What influence these experiences had on the rest of their lives and the subsequent generations is something we are still learning.
Thank you very much for all comments .@ Kall , you’re right . This novel was published for the first time shortly after the war . But author had received then only contempt and rejection .
@ Dolors , your message was very clear to me and absolutely right . But I've read a bit about this novel and the movie on it as well and there were some such abusive and horrendous comments that I just can’t get it . Fortunately these contemptuous remarks were in minority . I’m not forgetting about suffering of my people but it doesn't mean that one should derive a satisfaction from these dreadful things these German women had experienced .
And , by the way , I’m constantly dismayed when it comes to the level of public debate on the Internet . I do not know how it is in your countries but in Poland people are sometimes so disrespectful and hateful . I’m wondering if it’s only stupidity or frustration or something else .
Not everything is for sale indeed. I haven't read many books set during war times but in whatever little experience I have stepping into their world, I have detected a common binding ethos: the battle for survival is fought with swords of courage and attacks are dodged with shields of perseverance. The victims aren't quitters, if only subdued at times. And you deem them right when you accord the friendships born from mutual misery a high place on the pedestal of humanity. Moving review, Agna; thanks for penning it in your nurturing, salubrious tone.
Personal firsthand accounts tell us what political histories of war can never do. This is where Anne Frank comes in, and all the other victims of madness that took over Europe, indeed the world, back then. The sad bit is that world war-like situation have never ceased. New narratives are being created in other places as we speak. And heavens know when will all that subside. A deeply evocative review. Thanks for bringing the book to our attention, Agni.
Very good review, Agniesz. This book had such an impact on me! It was a sort of turning point in that I now clearly could envision how the Germans must have felt at the fall of Berlin and for the first time I felt sorry for them. A sentiment I never had before, knowing how 10.000 people in Amsterdam had starved to death from hunger at that same time. My review is much the same as yours, but unfortunately in Dutch.
She was discovered, Agna, and her real name sometimes appears with literary analysis of the memoir. However, I do agree with your "not-everything-is-for-sale" comment. She had been living in Germany and was well-known, but I'd venture to say that she left Germany ( this is where I don't remember the details). She took some heat for revealing these details of war--which doesn't surprise us, right? Great review. This is one of my most cherished war memoirs.
Not everything is for sale indeed, Agna. And her anonymity was probably necessary for her to be able to be so open. Very moving review.
Cheryl wrote: "She was discovered, Agna, and her real name sometimes appears with literary analysis of the memoir. However, I do agree with your "not-everything-is-for-sale" comment. She had been living in German..."Cheryl - the author moved to Switzerland. She died in the past few years, which I assume may have been a reason for the book being republished
Wonderful review and thoughtful commentary by all. Thank you for bringing this book to my attention Agnieszka.
I was trying to imagine her life after war
Yes, me too, and hope she managed to retain her anonymity after this book was published, and that when her partner returned, that he never discovered what she had to do to keep food on the table. It seems so unjust that she can't take credit for her great descriptions of life in Berlin under the Russian occupation but I understand her fear that she wouldn't be forgiven. Some people would prefer a silly dead spouse to a sensible living one, it seems..