A Woman in Berlin - Anne's thoughts

I agree with Annette in the choice for this book. I probably wouldn't have picked it up on my own but am really glad that I read this. I've always had a weird fascination with World War II and had never heard much from this perspective before. I felt entirely naive as I was reading about this woman's life and all that she was encountering. How is it that in history classes we only hear about the suffering and hardships that happened to the Jews (not to be disrespectful by any means) and not more about what happened to normal citizens who were just trying to live their lives while the world around them was crumbling?

After having her life so torn apart, I am sure that Anonymous was thankful to be able to write it all down. I am prone to venting my frustrations and as I was reading could feel the same tone in her words as when I vent. (Not that I have anything to compare in my life with hers but the idea of venting was the same.)

I wondered as I read how I would have handled this situation had I been in her shoes. I again agree with Annette. I wouldn't have felt compelled to commit suicide, at least I don't think I would have. I might have hid. I might have accepted my fate knowing that I might be safer if I cooperated. I don't know. How awful to have to face the uncertainty of food, rape, war, disease, and pregnancy all at once!

One of the things that Anonymous said that touched me more than others was the following quote. It was found in the beginning of the book, before much of the horrors were taking place, and yet I got the feeling that Anonymous knew what was coming.
"Why are we so appalled at the thought of children being murdered? In three to four years the same children strike us as perfectly fit for shooting and maiming. Where do you draw the line? When their voices break? Because that’s what really gets me the most, thinking about these little boys: their voices, so high, so bright. Up to now being a soldier meant being a man. And being a man means being able to father a child. Wasting these boys before they reach maturity obviously runs against some fundamental law of nature, against our instinct, against every drive to preserve the species." Ugh! That just tears me up inside reading that. I think of my little boys and had we lived in that day and age how they would be soldiers way too soon - killing and possibly dying for a cause they could hardly understand, let alone support.

Overall, this book was touching. I feel more informed after reading this - more aware of the true meaning of "spoils of war." Thanks for recommending Jennie!