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Hannah's Dress: Berlin 1904 - 2014

Pascale Hugues,

Nick Somers (Translator)

3.91 · Rating details · 66 ratings · 19 reviews

Hannah's Dress tells the dizzying story of Berlin's modern history. Curious to learn more about the city she has lived in for over twenty years, journalist Pascale Hugues investigates the lives of the men, women and children who have occupied her ordinary street during the course of the last century. We see the street being built in 1904 and the arrival of the first famili

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Kindle Edition, 275 pages

Published April 28th 2017 by Polity (first published 2014)

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Apr 22, 2017 Susan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

When author Pascale Hugues moved to Berlin, she had the inspired idea to write the biography of her street. It is unassuming; her apartment in a renovated older building. There is an underground stop, a church, a small, scruffy square, a little alley linking the street to a major road and a pizza shop. Berlin, like so many other cities in Europe, bear the scars of war. The modern and the old live side by side, with new buildings replaced those that were bombed.

This is the story, then, of a stree When author Pascale Hugues moved to Berlin, she had the inspired idea to write the biography of her street. It is unassuming; her apartment in a renovated older building. There is an underground stop, a church, a small, scruffy square, a little alley linking the street to a major road and a pizza shop. Berlin, like so many other cities in Europe, bear the scars of war. The modern and the old live side by side, with new buildings replaced those that were bombed.

This is the story, then, of a street from 1904 – 2014. Of course, you can take any street, virtually anywhere, and unearth a thousand stories and characters. The central theme of this novel is the way that Germany is still coming to terms with its wartime past. Over 100 Jewish inhabitants of Pascale’s street were deported in the war and the title of the book comes from Hannah Kroner-Segal, whose childhood friend, Susanne Wachsner, made her an evening dress to wear on the voyage to the United States in 1939, when she fled Berlin with her parents.

It is obvious that there are still scars present in Berlin which are not only linked to buildings, but also to people. Hugues reports that there was uproar in her building over a commemorative plaque for the thirteen Jewish residents deported. Many of these tales are heart breaking indeed. There is Mr and Mrs Kutschera, whose children, Ger and Karin, died in Poland. Painful returns; such as a visit by John Ron, who revisited the street in 1957 after having fled nineteen years before and others who made new lives elsewhere.

This is not just about the war though and it is fascinating to read about a little corner of the world in the beginning of a century. Of a street born in 1904, whose most famous resident was David Bowie, who lived in Berlin from 1976 to 1978 (there is not much beyond a mention of Bowie, if you are considering reading the book because of that). Rather than the famous though, this is the story of normal lives; particularly those whose everyday existence was torn apart by the turbulent times in which they lived.

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Jun 28, 2017 Roman Clodia rated it liked it

Hugues uses contemporary methodologies of oral and micro-history to think about the history of C20th Germany via a single small street in Berlin. Her focus is narrow and deep but, almost inevitably, becomes unbalanced with most of the material coming from the Nazi era. On this short street alone 106 Jews were deported and that number, far more manageable in human terms than the 11 million, drives home its point with power. One of these was Lilli Ernsthaft, a Jewish woman who survived and returne ...more

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Mar 11, 2018 Susan rated it really liked it

Shelves: germany

I see that other Goodreads reviewers agree with my ambivalence about this book, to which I gave 4* rather than 3 because I liked so much of it. This young French writer is living in an apartment in Berlin when conflict arises among the residents about whether to commemorate and memorialize the Jews that lived in the building and were killed by the Nazis. Her interest piqued, she advertises in an international Jewish German paper and receives a surprising number of answers from people who lived i ...more

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Oct 04, 2017 Tracy Rowan rated it liked it

I've learned over the years to tell a story in the small details. The bouquet of plucked dandelions scattered around the place where a child was kidnapped, is a lot more affecting than the screaming and crying and screech of tires. That's what Hughes is doing in this book, she's telling her story in the details, in vignettes about the lives of the people who essentially created the culture of the street she lives on, both while they lived there and afterward. And in doing this, she tells the sto ...more

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Mar 12, 2017 Brian rated it really liked it · review of another edition

In Hannah's Dress Pascale Hugues, a French journalist living in Berlin, investigates the history of her street which at the beginning of the twentieth century was occupied by wealthy bourgeois families, many of them Jewish. Everything changed with the arrival of the Nazi party, of course. A few of the Jewish occupants managed to get out in time, to America or Israel, abandoning or selling properties and belongings for a pittance, but most ended up victims of the Nazi killing machine.

At the hear In Hannah's Dress Pascale Hugues, a French journalist living in Berlin, investigates the history of her street which at the beginning of the twentieth century was occupied by wealthy bourgeois families, many of them Jewish. Everything changed with the arrival of the Nazi party, of course. A few of the Jewish occupants managed to get out in time, to America or Israel, abandoning or selling properties and belongings for a pittance, but most ended up victims of the Nazi killing machine.

At the heart of the book is the poignant story of two friends, one of whom, Hannah, escapes to America. The other, who joins a queue for a permit to leave the country fifteen minutes too late, ends up being carted off on one of the special trains that took Jewish people away to their deaths.

The book is not only about the Jewish residents. Pascale Hugues finds out everything she can about the street and its residents, the ones who did well out of the Nazi era, the ones who moved into the vacated apartments, the damage wreaked by Allied bombing, the architectural transformation as post-war Berliners tried to re-build the city and escape from their history, the businesses that came and went, the social and cultural changes and, with the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the flat where prog-rock band Tangerine Dream lived and where David Bowie briefly stayed, and the gentrification that has finally begun to endow the street with a modern version of its original status.

For me, the most interesting thing about the book, is the small details like the shopkeeper who assured her that the bomb damage was so great because it was orchestrated by Jews bent on revenge, or the bureaucratic labyrinth faced by those Jews who survived and struggled to reclaim some of their property or to seek compensation.

It is let down by a rather stilted translation. Tenses are badly handled and word-order still feels distinctly Germanic in places. Nevertheless, it's an impressive piece of social history. We are so used to contemplating the horrific scale of the Holocaust. By focusing on the little indignities, Pascal Hugues makes it feel so much more personal. ...more

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Jan 12, 2017 Bonnye Reed rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-or-pdf, read-2017

GNab I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Pascale Hugues, and Polity in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all, for sharing your hard work with me. This English version was translated by Jon Delogu, with passages from the German translated by Nick Somers.

This proved to be a very compelling book, from an unusual perspective. Pascale Hugues, a French journalist living in Berlin, tells us about the residents, businesses and local attitudes of the street where she l ...more

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May 08, 2018 January Gray rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A must read. As a Holocaust researcher, I really enjoyed this book. It was a different take on things. Well written.

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Aug 08, 2019 AngelaC rated it really liked it

A delightful non-fiction book retelling the stories of the people who lived in the author's street in Berlin, mainly in the interwar years, through a series of vignettes. Many of the stories are very poignant, told by people who are now in their twilight years but for whom the memories of the street remain crystal clear. One such is the story of Hannah's dress, made by a young Jewish dressmaker for her best friend. The friend manages to escape Nazi Germany with her family; the young dressmaker d ...more

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Mar 05, 2019 Kristin rated it really liked it

Shelves: eurolit, nonfic

I loved the conceit of this book—the history of Berlin in the 20th century as told through the lives of ordinary people in Schoenberg. (Fair warning: there are a lot of heartbreaking Holocaust stories.) The book is engaging and well written.
I’d love to see someone do something similar with Toronto or Vancouver (my cities).

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Dec 22, 2020 Danielle Crowley rated it it was amazing

Fascinating history of a street in Berlin from its creation to 2014. The author who lived on the street has got to know the elderly characters who have lived on the street and researching others who have left especially the Jewish residents during Hitlers rein. For readers that have an interest in history and genealogy this is a amazing read.

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Jun 12, 2018 Bill Davidson rated it liked it

An excellent oral history of the residents in pre and postwar years but wanders off the point towards the end when she seems to become totally absorbed by the residency of Tangerine Dream and David Bowie (who only stayed there for 48 hours)and detracted for me from the rest of the reminiscences.

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Jan 05, 2021 Harpalus rated it really liked it

Interesting windows into the history of Berlin. Reads somewhat as a long poem. Very intimate and quaint.

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May 09, 2022 Barbara Whitehead rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Fascinating

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Aug 23, 2018 Linda rated it really liked it

Shelves: biography, favourites-2018, non-fiction

The author decides to research the lives of families who have lived on her street in Berlin. She traces the street from 1904, during the war years, building of the Berlin Wall to present day.

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May 05, 2018 Mary Warnement rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: berlin, biography, germany, memoir, subway

Hugues is at her best in this memoir/biography of those who have lived on her street in Berlin when she focuses on the ordinary people's lives. Stretching to find celebrities to talk about, she sounds like a groupie desperate to say Washington slept here.

21 Hugues spends much time studying Berlin city archives, and I appreciate when she writes that time stops in the reading room. But I add, sometimes one travels back in time as well. Or brings the past alive.

I learned some new German words and ...more

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Apr 02, 2017 Janilyn Kocher rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Hannah's Dress is a very interesting read, but the title is completely inappropriate. The book is about the history of a Berlin street the author resides, from 1904-2014. The dress is just one story out of many included, And completely misleads readers. The author tracked down former residents and revealed their stories, all equally fascinating. How many people actually contemplate the precious owners of their home? This author did and shares a wealth of history about a street that continuously ...more

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Mar 24, 2017 Gina rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC Kindle version of this book
I enjoy historical fiction about WWI; however, I didn't care for this book.
If you enjoy dates and details of places and areas, you'll enjoy this book. ...more

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Mar 07, 2017 Vanessa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history, nonfiction, netgalley

A macro history made micro and, in doing so, provides a smart way in to what can be an overwhelming set of circumstances. 20th century Germany is endlessly fascinating - a very enjoyable read.

I received an eARC from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Oct 26, 2019 Michael Cunningham rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The writer has moved to Berlin and tries to discover the history of her street through its past occupants. Fascinating and moving. Highly recommended.

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