Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: A Past in Hiding : Memory and Survival in Nazi Germany by Mark Roseman ISBN: 0-312-42065-X Publisher: Picador USA Pub. Date: 06 April, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.57 (7 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: U-boat story with a twist
Comment: Of all the stories I have read about U-boat Jews, this one surprised me the most. A daughter of privilege, Marianne Strauss watched as little by little her family's position--initially protected by Nazi contacts--and fortune diminished until every avenue of escape was closed. When the SS finally came for her, her parents and brother, she managed to escape and began two+ years of hiding in plain sight, successfully aided by an organization called the Bund (no relation to Kulturbund) as well as her own seemingly limitless daring and resoursefulness.
Having survived the war, one of her first tasks was to help disillusioned, emotionally crushed German youth. Shortly thereafter, she was contacted by a British military physician regarding the location of some of her surviving family--and Captain Dr. Basil Ellenbogen soon asked her to marry him. Marianne eventually settled in England with her husband where they raised a son, who later helped author Mark Roseman complete his research for this book after Marianne died in late 1996, and a daughter, who succumbed to anorexia at 18.
But what distinguished Marianne from other U-boats was how she came to see herself NOT as a pursued Jew but rather as just another German struggling thru the last days of the war--she never gave herself away because she completely removed the frightened look of the persecuted from her demeanor. She openly did everything forbidden to the Jews--road public transit, ate in restaurants, walked when and where she chose, went to the air raid shelters along with everyone else where she nursed the ill and cared for children, even obtained food rations--all without any official identification papers! Her boldness got her out of some very tight situations when she would laugh and joke with, or confront, as the situation required, Nazis or their citizen sympathizers. She was wary but she never cowered, and thus her "disguise" proved impenetrable. Even after the war and for the rest of her life, she never drew attention to herself as a victim or sought its special status.
This is the story of an amazing journey, and well worth the time it will take to read it.
Rating: 5
Summary: Amazing, if longwinded, detective story
Comment: I don't have alot to add to what has already been said about this gripping work. It is an amazing story that draws you in on several levels: as a case study of Jewish life in germany during the Nazi years; as a touching biographical account of an unique woman; as a reseachers detective story; etc. Genealogists might also be interested in the remarkable ways Roseman ferreted out data.
Bottom line: a remarkable story, very well told. Roseman is an incredible and tenacious researcher, and a pretty decent writer. It is a work out, and might have been better if condensed by maybe a 100 pages or so.
One pet point -- Rev. Dietrich Bonhoeffer's small role in teh narrative comes up a few times. He was a brother-in-law to one of the Wehrmacht generals who wanted Hitler dead and tried to rescue Jews. Bonhoeffer's own story has been told many times -- how he escaped Germany to be a professor in New York, but chose to return to fight Hitler and ended up martyred in a concentration camp. Anyway, Bonhoeffer's name appears in the book more often than the index indicates (see also p. 251, for example), and Roseman never mentions the interesting fact that he was a Lutheran pastor and theologian.
Also, poersonally I was longing for more photos as I tried to visualize the cats of characters.
Anyway, one of the best things I have read in awhile. Makes Melissa Mueller's bio. of Anne Frank seem dull.
Rating: 5
Summary: Coming out of hiding.
Comment: A Past in Hiding is the story of Marianne Strauss-Ellenbogen and her extraordinary survival during the Holocaust. Presenting us with one young woman's real life story, Roseman does not paint a picture of a saint but that of a real flesh and blood person who, like us all, had great strengths and also weaknesses. She was, after all, in her teens when she was confronted with events too difficult for her to comprehend. She was only a couple of years older than Anne Frank, but what a different reality! Roseman's investigation into Marianne's history engages us deeply in the day-to-day life of herself, her family and friends. We can follow how and why they misjudged the increasingly dangerous environment they lived in.
The book has a lot more to offer than that. Given Roseman's extensive knowledge of modern German history, he is able to draw a multi-layered picture of every day life for the Jewish community in Germany during the Nazi period. The investigation into the role of the Abwehr in protecting selected Jewish Germans is pertinent for the recent debate around the complicity of the regular army with the SS and Gestapo. Moving between historical chronology and present day commentary and personal reflection on Marianne, the author pieces together a mosaic like a jigsaw puzzle. For most readers it will shed new light on the complexities of this period in recent history like very few other books I have read.
Roseman writes in a style that combines the historical with the intimate personal. He conveys his assessment of the characters and situations with empathy for their situation and struggles. At the time he reflects on discrepancies in their statements and recollections of the past. One of the most dramatic documents in the book is the diary of Marianne's fiancé, Ernst. He was able to smuggle it out of the concentration camp Izbica thanks to an unconventional courier. One of the family acquaintances with probable links to the Gestapo, was nevertheless willing to act as courier for parcels from Marianne to Ernst; he also brought back this very rare contemporary account of life in the camp. Roseman digs into historical records to verify and complement the description. As part of his investigation, he interviewed the courier's widow as well as others who could add to the story.
I started reading A Past in Hiding primarily because, as a child growing up after the war, I knew some of the people connected with Marianne and the "Bund". It was Bund members who provided shelter to Marianne while she was on the run from 1943 to 1945, thus risking their own lives and security. The Bund was a small but committed group of humanitarians and socialists who helped numerous victims of the Holocaust. One of the survivors protected by the Bund, Lisa Jacob, became a friend of my family. She influenced my life more than she ever knew and also much more than even I understood for many years while growing up. However, my interest in this extraordinary book grew with each page that I was reading. It was difficult to put down.
A Past in Hiding has a lot to offer to the reader. Roseman's research into the life and times of Marianne brought him together with her and her family members as recent as the late 1990s. He also interviewed numerous other "witnesses" of her life and survival during the Nazi period. It was fortuitous that so many family documents as well as official records survived. Roseman studied diaries, correspondence and countless historical documents. His notes and the comprehensive bibliography reflect the thorough research that has gone into the book. As a result, at some level A Past in Hiding reads like a detective story, fully absorbing and dramatic. At another level, it is a very personal and critical account of Marianne and her contemporaries. At a third level, it is a study into the changed memory phenomenon, which can occur as a result of traumatic experiences. Last but not least, Roseman introduces the reader to the almost unknown movement of the "Bund" and their role in supporting victims of the Holocaust. An extraordinary book that should have a place in the mind and heart of many people.
 |
Title: Conscience and Courage : Rescuers of Jews During the Holocaust by Eva Fogelman ISBN: 0385420285 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 18 January, 1995 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
 |
Title: Fascist Modernities : Italy, 1922-1945 by Ruth Ben-Ghiat ISBN: 0520242165 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: 01 March, 2004 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
 |
Title: The Wannsee Conference and the Final Solution: A Reconsideration by Mark Roseman ISBN: 0805068104 Publisher: Metropolitan Books Pub. Date: 07 May, 2002 List Price(USD): $23.00 |
 |
Title: The Future of Nostalgia by Svetlana Boym ISBN: 0465007082 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 26 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
 |
Title: Different Voices: Women and the Holocaust by Carol Ann Rittner, John K. Roth, Kohn K. Roth ISBN: 155778504X Publisher: Paragon House Pub. Date: April, 1993 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
