A Woman in Berlin - annette's comments

Jennie, I am so glad that you picked this book. I'm not sure I would have voluntarily picked it. But I must admit I'm a little dwarfed at having to write a review because my thoughts are everywhere. I tried to find some "book club" discussion questions on line...to no avail...so here goes. So I'm going to start with a few thoughts and observations and see what you guys say and then write some more.

I love journals, diaries, and memoirs based on diaries. As if you haven't noticed I share a love of the genre (with 3 blogs, facebook, a desk diary, and even now twittering). I find that journaling helps me sort out my feelings, form opinions, gives me a distraction, helps me cement memories, helps me cope with memories, and much more. I can really see how her scribblings, her notes helped her keep sane, gave her life some structure when everything was out of her control. Some hid in the attic...she hid in her words.

The book all too well depicts the horrors of "collateral" damage in war. Both militarily (bombs) and socially/culturally/personally. This was a time before tv, radios were out (mostly), newspapers had stopped, no email, no phones for the most part, AND this was the end of a long hard war that had starved its people (on both sides) physically, mentally, spiritually. These were battered, beaten people even before the Russians got there.

I was fascinated in a macacre way with the many ways that the people dealt with the horrors. From suicide, to hiding in dark, cramped spaces (for weeks without knowing when it would end), to fighting, to being clever, to going along to get along, to becoming informers, and every thing else. Its one of the reasons I think it would be hard to know just exactly what we'd do...

The question of waht would I have done? I think I might have done what Anonymous did. I certainly wouldn't have ever committed suicide to avoid what was coming. I might hide my daughter in an attic. But I'm not sure I could sit in essentially a closet, just waiting, for what? for how long?. And then of course, the only ones that COULD do that were people who had people on the outside who could bring them food and water.

There are so many of things that could be discussed about the rape (or the "forced intercourse"). so many I don't know where to start. It seemed there were many "reasons" for it. From revenge, from pent up exhaustion and rage, from drunkeness, to a bizarre, distorted loneliness (not for the violent rape but the "agreements" that arose out of the whole mess), and others. Many of the soliders viewed these women as "conquered" as "the enemy" as I suppose that loosened what little (if any) sense of propriety remained after the grueling and never ending battles on the Russian/German frontiers. But it isn't always just when the army is the "invading army". Keri, Kelly and I read The Wedding Officer which is about Naples towards the end of the war when the US and its allies have liberated southern italy from the germans. Astonishingly, there was a lot of rape going on BY THE LIBERATORS. That was one of the sub plots in the book...what was the difference between life under the liberators versus under the nazis? AND the US ARMY decided to send whores beyond the German lines to the cities where the German soldiers took their R&R. They sent them up there to join whore houses so the German soldiers would get syphillis. That's right. They inspected women who had become prostitures in Naples (usually because they were starving and had already been raped and had no way to make a living)...if they had syphillis INSTEAD of treating them...they sent them to have sex with the Germans. This is true...not just fiction...the novel was based on a number of memoirs and military documents. So they were using women as ammunition...impersonal ammunition.

Just makes you wonder about men, some men, does it not?

Okay...I've run out of steam...but do have more to say. what have you got to say?