My Childhood in Nazi Germany

by Elsbeth Emmerich, Robert Hull

The author describes her daily life as a child in Nazi Germany and discusses how developments in the war affected her personal relationships and changed where she lived.

Genres: History

64 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1991

Reviews

[Carolyn]

I was fascinated to read this book. I had never read anything from the German citizen's point of view during WWII. Very interesting. If you are looking for some sort of social commentary, there is not a whole lot in it (other than Elsbeth's family did not support Hitler). It truly is a recollection of living in Germany during WWII and what life was like with bombings, etc. I enjoyed it!

[Camilla Tilly]

I had mixed feelings about this book as most people have about the Germans and their deeds over 25 years. The woman that wrote this book, was 5 years old when the Germans attacked Poland in 1939 and 11 years old when the war ended. As an adult grandmother, she is trying to tell her grandchildren what she lived through. But at the same time, it feels like her wanting to clear her name and that of her father's. And that is what bothered me about this book. Or one of the things that bothered me. There is no excuse for what the German people put the world through. And I say the German people, because had they not supported Hitler and his party, there would not have been a war, there would not have been a holocaust. And her grandfather might have been a communist and against the Nazzis. Her parents might have been un-political. But as long as one does turn a blind eye and doesn't stand up and say no when one can, then one is really as guilty as the ones supporting the system wholeheartedly.
The author lost her father in 1942. January to be precise. Outside Leningrad. He died three days after a gun shot wound, since the ambulance service no longer functioned. The author wants to pass on her hatred for war, her extreme sense of loss, having to grow up without a father and not really understanding why.
My other problem with the book is that it was written 60 years after the war. But the author writes it from the viewpoint of a 5-year-old. At the same time, she adds what she found out later on in life. I think the book would have become more meaningful and made more of an impact, if she would have done a little bit more of research and had added that. Interviewed relatives etc. Instead of writing a whole book making excuses that she understood nothing.