Destined to Witness: Growing Up Black in Nazi Germany

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Destined to Witness: Growing Up Black in Nazi Germany

4.24 of 5 stars 4.24 · rating details · 362 ratings · 55 reviews

This is a story of the unexpected.In Destined to Witness, Hans Massaquoi has crafted a beautifully rendered memoir -- an astonishing true tale of how he came of age as a black child in Nazi Germany. The son of a prominent African and a German nurse, Hans remained behind with his mother when Hitler came to power, due to concerns about his fragile health, after his father re...more

Paperback, 480 pages

Published February 6th 2001 by William Morrow Paperbacks (first published October 20th 1999)

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The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer

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Jan 26, 2008 Juneus rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a gem and I cannot say why I read it except that I have read as much as I can about the Nazi era in an attempt to understand it. I have read about medical doctors in that time in Germany, the death hospitals in beautiful rural communities where the smoke from the chimneys had to be ignored by the populace, books by the children of the Nazi Leaders, a book by a young woman who was in the book business in a rural town, Sophie's Choice, Schindler's List, Eyewitness to history, some of Ayn R...more

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May 17, 2013 Gemma rated it 5 of 5 stars

I found this book at the library and was very interested to hear the personal account of someone who was black, not only living in, but growing up in Nazi Germany. Wow, is all I can say. This book is written so naturally, you really feel like you were there growing up with Hans. Every chapter, every paragraph, every sentence is insightful and interesting - I could not put this book down.
Here is a remarkable person (from a remarkable family) who experienced so many momentus, unforgetable experie...more

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Nov 15, 2011 BarbaraNathalie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was fascinated by Hans Massaquoi's story because of my interest in the Nazi era, and also because it was from a unique perspective. The young Hans is born illegitimally, in Hamburg, Germany, to a white, German nurse and an African student whose father serves as a diplomat to Germany from Liberia. Born in 1926, the author is a young school aged boy when Nazism becomes a part of every day experiences of innocent German children. A mixed-race child, he is subjected to relatively mild distain, exc...more

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Jan 07, 2013 Andre rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: you-should-read-this

I think one flaw of the book is that much of it deals with his time after WWII, therefore people might be dissapointed. However, it is on the other side interesting because by that the author shows that the Americans were not the big epitome of tolerance and freedom many still claim them to be.
Also the author's story is a good example for the power of nazi indoctrination during that time, since he himself fell for much of their propaganda. Also the way in which kids were practically forced into...more

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Aug 27, 2009 Pamela rated it 4 of 5 stars

I picked up this book because I was curious to the experiences of a black boy growing up in Nazi Germany were like. It's very unique. I didn't know what to expect, but I really liked the book.

Massaquoi has had an incredibly moving and interesting life, and tells it all so well. His experiences range over 3 continents, and he has been through both the best and the worst. From his perspective he explains everything in a very modest and unbiased way.

I was most amazed/surprised by his experience thr...more I picked up this book because I was curious to the experiences of a black boy growing up in Nazi Germany were like. It's very unique. I didn't know what to expect, but I really liked the book.

Massaquoi has had an incredibly moving and interesting life, and tells it all so well. His experiences range over 3 continents, and he has been through both the best and the worst. From his perspective he explains everything in a very modest and unbiased way.

I was most amazed/surprised by his experience through Nazi occupation. Where I thought he would stick out like a sore thumb with no place to hide, he made it through the whole occupation without having to hide. The Germans were so focused on expunging the Jews that he slipped right through the years without too much trouble. Yes, he wasn't accepted, but he wasn't dragged away to a concentration camp either. It was a strong story of his courage and learning to find ways to make himself inconspicuous from persecution.

I thought this book would be limited to the years of Nazi ruled Germany, but it went beyond these years to explain his experiences after the war as well. All of which continued to capture my attention. His travels to Africa and America reveal more racial bias that he has to overcome and learn to adapt to. It's encouraging to see how he makes it through every obstacle to make it to the US and to where he is now, living the American dream.

While the book reveals a lot about race relations, Massaquoi focuses on other ideas as well, such as relationships. He describes characters from his life, people who have influenced him and helped him, with great stories. These people he describes are very powerful to the book. One of which is his German mother and her infallible love and nurturing for him. It was very touching reading about her and other characters. One of my favorite stories from the reading is when Massaquoi gets caught stealing a toy soldier from a friend and his mother takes him to the police station and she asks "Officer, what do you suggest we do with this boy who has stolen a toy soldier from his friend?" The officer replies, playing along, "I think we should lock him up with the rest of the criminals." And Massaquoi pleads with his mom and officer to let him go, and of course, they "give him one more chance," and he learns his lesson. It's values like this he learns from his mother. He describes all of these people and the effects they have on him in a similar positive light.

On a last note, it's also really interesting to see the long-term effects America and Britain have had on places. While reading I learned so much about the smoking in Germany! As an American living here in Germany, I am constantly blown away by the masses of smokers. Reading Massaquoi made me realize the start to this dirty habit began after WWII where currency was in form of cigarette, and how Americans and the British gave them away like candy! This effect still shows in Germany, where they are today one biggest smoking countries of the world!

I really recommend this book to anyone. It's extremely strong and entertaining. (less)

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Jul 06, 2009 Daniel Hansson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Very interesting. I scary thing is that I can relate so much to some chapters, while obviously in others it is just too extreme and amazing. It is a unique history in many aspects but the fantastic thing about the main character is that he finds his way to black identity where many others suffering what he has suffered most likely would start to doubt themselves to eventually give up pride for self hatred, out of survival instinct. Instead he joins the civil rights' movement, goes on to serve it...more

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Nov 01, 2012 Jen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hans is the son of a German mother and a Liberian father, who survives the war relatively unscathed by the pervading political spirit of discrimination and persecution of "the other", largely thanks to the willingness of his own community to downplay his differences. Having avoided the fate of many other black Germans, particularly in the Rhineland, Hans finds himself caught up in the firebombing of Hamburg towards the end of the war.[return][return]Relatively speaking, there aren't many books a...more

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Mar 21, 2013 Denise rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club, memoirs

What to say about this book ... It tells a non-story. There was no climax, no major defining events. I'm not discrediting anything that Hans went through in Nazi Germany. He grew up in a very tenuous time and had to overcome much discrimination as the only African male in his fair skinned, blond haired, blue eyed community. He just doesn't know how to tell it. The book reads as a much too long, emotionless series of diary entries ... Today I woke up and this happened. Then I went here and did th...more

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Feb 21, 2013 Karen V. rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is an amazing man with an amazing story. I recently read his Obituary in the local paper and I was intrigued by his story. I have read quite a lot about Nazi Germany, Hitler and the Concentration Camps. It never, ever occurred to me that there was even a Black person living in Germany at that time - especially one with a white, German Mother. I was fascinated by Massaquoi's exploits as he tried to survive during the War. I truly admire his pluck and perseverance. And he wrote his book in a...more

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Apr 14, 2010 Nathan rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: franklin-library, history

The premise has promise, and indeed, Massaquoi is witness to momentous history. He is only, however, a witness. He seems to think that the accident of his identity endows him with some some great and original truth; it doesn't. 440 pages of brow-beating self-sympathizing culminate in a generic and unoriginal call against prejudice - a noble resolution, to be sure, but hardly worth the gratingly slow and painfully overwrought prose preceding, which seems mainly designed to show how clever the wri...more

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Dec 14, 2009 RL Seward rated it 5 of 5 stars

What I like best about this book is that Massaquoi gives a fair evaluation of the German people in his life. He differentiates between the kind Frau Beyle, the schoolteacher who looks out for him to the cruel school teacher Herr Dutke, the quintessential Nazi. He describes the attitudes that he sees people having towards the Party from the passionate supporter to the person who holds membership to get along and those who did the minimums to keep their parents happy. Even his own mother showed th...more

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Mar 07, 2012 Debbie rated it 5 of 5 stars

I read this years ago and all I can say is it is an amazing story! Who even knew that the disgusting arm of Nazi-ism and tragedy extended to blacks in Germany. When you think of that time period, you don’t even think blacks into the equation but I guess one should. Everyone of any minority was effected by the nature of the situation. This book gives a completely different point of view and experience. It is also a story of overcoming the odds while being the odd one in the midst of it all. I re...more

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Feb 06, 2011 Yasmin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Amazing is the word for this book as it was an amazing miracle that Mr. Massaquoi survived the Nazis and the bombing during the war. Really that he did survive is nothing short of a miracle. To be Jewish, homosexual, Communist or anyone that spoke against the Nazis was to announce your own death. How this apparent lone African-German live through it all is mind blowing. But while he survived it was not all good fortune through out. Many times he brushed with death, himself or his mother and yet...more Amazing is the word for this book as it was an amazing miracle that Mr. Massaquoi survived the Nazis and the bombing during the war. Really that he did survive is nothing short of a miracle. To be Jewish, homosexual, Communist or anyone that spoke against the Nazis was to announce your own death. How this apparent lone African-German live through it all is mind blowing. But while he survived it was not all good fortune through out. Many times he brushed with death, himself or his mother and yet they both had the courage to keep on taking one step, one more slogging hard step to live another day. Who knew what tomorrow would bring...To live through Nazi Germany and the war was one thing but to have thrown back in your face all that you struggled for in the United States during segragation. He compared the racism there with Nazi Germany only the difference was that in Nazi Germany it was obvious, in the United States they tried to keep it a hidden guilty secret. Once he asked did it change hearts when segregation ended? likely not. The blind ignorance and hatred towards others that are "diffrent" that don't "fit in" is still alive and thriving today. The face of racial hatred has barely altered in 70 years, barely altered in 100 years or even 1000 years when humanity began to hate its brother and its sister for what was on the surface. There is no easy answer to the question why do we hate only what we can see? Where is the logic to hate another for their skin or their manners? Why can't we love the spirit-the soul? Love for what lies beneath...their is no answer to blind hate, or is because the answer is too easy? Something inside ourselves makes us hate ourselves. Some demon that many would not know exists. Is the mind complicated? Hardly, we complicate ourselves when we are afraid of the answers. Are we afraid of the answers because it takes away any infallability we have of ourselves? Through what ever teaching we have had over the centuries, what ever religion or non religion we have been made to see ourselves as demi-gods. We have to be seen as above animals and in an essense above other human beings. Perhaps it was the only way to survive evolution, perhaps it was the only way to survive life in general. When you look at humans compared to other beings on this planet we are poorly equipped for survival-for the wills of nature. Now it is not so much the wills of nature that govern us it is ourselves. We are in a vice like grip to survive ourselves as we are locked in a combat to murder ourselves as in any chilling away ever thought up during Medieval years and the periods fed by war. By our own hated and blind ignorance we are chillingly murdering ourselves by pollution and the ever present destruction of war that has taken on a "new face" to win. To win, for victory, comes at a price to pay both by the "enemy" and the so-called "forces for good". As during WWII and now we are fighting for "freedom" and "democracy" as we are told by governments and military men via the media. But as Mr. Massaquoi went from Germany, to Africa and to the US all that was banded around about "freedom" and "democracy" frought for and protected eluded him. Men and women were not equal, how could that be freedom? Not all men and women could vote in elections, how could that be democracy? School children were banned from going to certain schools, later four would be brutally murdered in a church, others would protest and sit in jail for days...Freedom, democracy...where? This wasn't long ago, it still exists...where is freedom and democracy? What is it? Somone please explain not out of a text book, tell me what is it that has not been fed to you by teachers and politicans. Does anyone have an answer not subscribed by these things? Likely not.(less)

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Dec 16, 2009 sheena rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-japan

I think you should read this book if you're interested in hearing a pretty unique and unlikely story about Nazi Germany. I started typing and spat up this longish summary, I guess if it's intriguing at all you should look into getting the book.

Imagine you're a little black boy growing up in Nazi Germany. Everyday you eat messages about the superiority of the Aryan race. You go to zoos where Africans are on exhibit living in their "natural habitats." Your white mother loses her job because of yo...more I think you should read this book if you're interested in hearing a pretty unique and unlikely story about Nazi Germany. I started typing and spat up this longish summary, I guess if it's intriguing at all you should look into getting the book.

Imagine you're a little black boy growing up in Nazi Germany. Everyday you eat messages about the superiority of the Aryan race. You go to zoos where Africans are on exhibit living in their "natural habitats." Your white mother loses her job because of you, in birthing you she has disrespected the purity of her blood, and your father is not around. All of your classmates are eligible and required to become members of Hitler's Youth. You alone are denied, on the basis of your dark skin and sheep-like hair. In time you will be denied a higher education, freedom to play in playgrounds, and basic human respect.

As the years pass food becomes more and more scarce. People disappear. You are not allowed to register for the army and are told Germany will never be desperate enough to need to efforts of "you people." Later you'll realize the end of the Nazi-regime must be near, because you will be forced to serve, despite your inferiority. Growing up you have many conflicting feelings, as you've loved and worshiped Hitler for most of your life, but it becomes increasingly clear that as soon as the much larger "Jewish problem" is solved, your ass will be on the line, and that this man has very evil intentions.

Your teacher takes you to the Olympics, where you see Jesse Owens debunk the myth of Aryan superiority. Some say this is because like animals, blacks can be trained, and don't have to balance physicality with the intellectual distractions Aryans experience. Still, you have a new sense of pride.

Somehow you survive all of this. The Allied forces show up. You find all sorts of companionship with black soldiers, you've never seen so many black people in your life. Your honeymoon ends quickly, and you become disgusted that your so-called liberators still live in segregation, with fear of their own country-men. Finally you get in touch with your father, who is something of a Liberian big-shot. You go to Liberia, a free black country. You also visit to Nigeria, still under British rule. You sample so many of the different flavors of racism.

Then you go to America and wind up drafted for the US Army. Eventually you become a major editor for Ebony magazine.

(less)

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Sep 01, 2008 Nandi Crawford rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone interested in WW2, Germany

Recommended to Nandi by: Ebony; they did a great spread on the book and I got it from the

Shelves: bios-autos-and-memoirs, historical, holocaust, world-war-2

I read this book just as it came out, and I never forgot it. You have this young man born in Germany to a German mother and a African diplomat(Liberian). To me, he was treated with indifference and some hatred as a child,sadly, he even wanted to be a Hitler Youth, but he wasn't allowed to join, and even though he was one of the smartest kids in his class, due to Aryan dictates, he was not allowed to attend college or even join the military. He was able to take up a trade as a machinist and AFTER...more

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Jul 19, 2012 Peri Collins rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a unique perspective on life in Nazi Germany that will interest those who are interested in WWII, Nazi activities and what was happening with "regular" people behind the Nazi curtain of propaganda. For black Americans I believe it will touch some familiar chords and also make one step back and realize that even worse than being oppressed due to one's race is having that experience without the support system of family, friends or community who can understand the experience.

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Mar 04, 2013 Douwe rated it 5 of 5 stars

what an amazing story.. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, not only was the story gripping it was also very well written. Would strongly recommend this book. For me the story was particularly interesting as I (partly) grew up in Hamburg and moved back for a few years as an adult. A story very much told through the eyes of making it seem as though you are as close to it as you can be through a book.

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Oct 08, 2009 Dana rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a memoir of a half African half German boy that grew up during the rise of the Third Reich. So poignant the innocence of a little boy feeling his national pride and not yet understanding he was not accepted as a true desirable German in Hitler's Germany. A compelling story with some good WW2 history.

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Oct 10, 2012 Shelley rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography, historical-fiction, favorites

A fantastic read for anyone who wants to really understand what it was like growing up in Berlin during the time of Hitler's rise to power. What was the thinking of ordinary citizens? Also, the author's personal story is riveting, an excellent coming of age story with unimaginable obstacles and triumphs.

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Nov 09, 2011 Trudi rated it 3 of 5 stars

What an interesting book - a biography. Hans Massaquoi is the son of a German woman and a Liberian man - growing up black in Hitler's Germany. Lots of details about living in Germany during WWII and later in Liberia and then the U.S. A very different perspective on life in WWII and postwar Germany.

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Dec 10, 2010 Peregrine 12 rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of WWII history; people who like to be surprised by reality

Incredibly powerful and totally unexpected. Read this book if you: A) have an interest in WWII German history, or B) can't believe that a black man could have lived through Nazi Germany outside of a Konzentrazionslager. If it hadn't actually happened, I doubt whether I could have believed it even possible.

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Jun 24, 2010 Kristin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A 4.5 star book. This is such a fascinating look at the war and the years leading up to it from a source I'm sure many people would not have thought existed in Germany. At least not without getting tossed into a concentration camp. An excellent read.

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Nov 13, 2010 Cina rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was a great book. It was interesting to read a true story of growing up black in natzi Germany. No one really thinks of the black experience during that era in Germany so his stories of his childhood provided a glimpse into it.

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Sep 08, 2011 Kharla Restauro rated it 4 of 5 stars

Another epic page turner depicting racism and inequality during the third reich. Reading actually starts to feel like first hand experience alongside Hans and his story in the era of the beast and how he manages to surpass it.

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Aug 07, 2009 Elena is currently reading it

Interesting, but he isn't exactly humble about things. Understandably, I suppose, but it does slow down the pace to read things such as the hot 30 something woman sought him out when he was 15.

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Oct 29, 2012 Marit rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ein super Buch. Es zeigt dem Leser eine andere Seite von Hitlers Deutschland. Sehr interessant geschrieben und teilweise richtig spannend. Ich kann es sehr weiter empfehlen.

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Jan 07, 2013 Pilar Cuder rated it 3 of 5 stars

Fascinating memoir of the author's childhood and adolescence as a mixed-raced kid (Liberian father and German mother) in Hamburg during the Nazi period. An inspiring tale of survival and resourcefulness despite the odds.

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Sep 18, 2010 Charisse rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What a life changing book. I couldnt even begin to describe the impact it has made and I encourage anybody who is even remotely interested to read it for themselves :)

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Jun 08, 2012 Michael rated it 5 of 5 stars

one of the best books i've ever read about growing up in nazi germany...and this guy was black!an amazing book, very educating

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Jun 29, 2009 Sarah Honkanen rated it 3 of 5 stars

heres an interesting read. true story. this title jumped out at me at the book store.

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About Hans J. Massaquoi

Hans-Jürgen Massaquoi is a German American journalist and author, the son of a German mother and Liberian Vai father. His paternal grandfather was Momulu Massaquoi, the consul general of Liberia in Germany at the time and the first African diplomat to represent his country in Germany.

Growing up in Hamburg, Massaquoi suffered severe discrimination during the Nazi dictatorship, an experience he late...more

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“Initially, the purveyors of racism need no more than the silent acquiescence of the public ... [I]t is never too soon to confront bigotry and racism whenever, wherever, and in whatever form it raises its ugly head. It is incumbent upon all people to confront even the slightest hint of racist thought or action with zero tolerance.” — 4 people liked it

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