Voices from the Other Side Inspiring German WWII Memoirs Jean Goodwin Messinger 9780615950075 Books
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Living in the US during World War II (AND Korea, AND VietNam, AND Iraq AND Afghanistan) was/is safe and comfortable for most people. But war is ugly wherever it occurs, not only on the battlefield but also for the populations living in the countries living on or near the belligerents and their corresponding combat zones. They can be subjected to destructive aerial bombardment, displacement, vital life shortages, political intimidation, occupation by foreign troops, and all the fear and suffering that accompanies those wartime situations.The German stories in this book are a sample of such conditions, as told by civilian "victims" as well as military personnel describing hardship and suffering unknown to American civilians. They also offered descriptions of their coming to America-the "Promised Land"-and their successes here.These subjects were mostly from the Front Range of Colorado. The memoirs presented here are a fraction of what is out there waiting to be recorded; every American city and state could likely publish its own version from their immigrant residents. Don't wait. Time is getting short as these valuable chroniclers age.
Voices from the Other Side Inspiring German WWII Memoirs Jean Goodwin Messinger 9780615950075 Books
Great book, super interesting reading about German civilian experiences before and during WWII. I enjoyed every story, but some were too brief, the longer ones were more riveting. I applaud author Jean Messinger for compiling these survivor histories before time runs out..Product details
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Tags : Voices from the Other Side: Inspiring German WWII Memoirs [Jean Goodwin Messinger] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Living in the US during World War II (AND Korea, AND VietNam, AND Iraq AND Afghanistan) was/is safe and comfortable for most people. But war is ugly wherever it occurs,Jean Goodwin Messinger,Voices from the Other Side: Inspiring German WWII Memoirs,Pelican Press,0615950078,History - General
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Voices from the Other Side Inspiring German WWII Memoirs Jean Goodwin Messinger 9780615950075 Books Reviews
Colorado author Jean Goodwin Messenger could be considered the official reporter of Colorado history and chronicler of events. She was born and raised in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, graduated from Lawrence College in Appleton, Wisconsin, and has lived in Colorado since 1952. Colorado Springs was home to Jean and her husband for nearly forty years. After teaching school for several years, at age fifty, she earned a master's degree in art and architectural history from Denver University. A survey of her book points to the fact that in so many ways she is the Colorado expert on many subjects!
Her latest book - VOICES FROM THE OTHER SIDE INSPIRIING GERMAN WW II MEMOIRS is a work of commitment on the part of the author. She has carefully interviewed those people who were in Germany during Hitler's changes and somehow lived through it. The book is divided in to memoirs, not chapters, and each memoir contains first hand accounts of what it was like in Germany during WW II - especially for those who for one reason or another were forced into exile and worse for not siding with the Third Reich. Each story is accompanied by photographs of the writer and the family of the writer of each memoir. The stories have recurrent themes - survival, the dream of escaping to America to avoid persecution and death, the manner in which adjusted to life both in Germany and the surrounding countries affected by Hitler's megalomaniacal greed to rule the planet with pure German stock.
These are stories that open our eyes and hearts to what happens to people living in wartime in countries where their futures are at constant risk. Men, women, children, young lads forced into the military, and many tales of transplantation to the USA. We need to be reminded of this side of war, especially as we are in a time when totalitarianism by the wealthy threatens the very foundation of the founding of a democratic society. Is so many ways this book is a Red Alert to pay attention, learn from the past, and have the courage to speak out against the oligarchy that threatens to `buy' our government and further push the schism between the haves and have nots. Grady Harp, November 14
A number of memoirs have been written by Jewish survivors of WWII, but rarely do we see a collection of the stories of ordinary Germans who also lived through those years. Jean Messinger has collected a couple dozen stories and recollections, mostly from those she has met living in Colorado. Most of the stories are from those who were children or came of age during the war. Some grew up in homes that supported Hitler (usually due to the economic prosperity that came after many years of hardship), but most were ambivalent or against him. Some are told in the person's own words and some are told by the author, and in some stories I thought it interesting the facts that were left out. The question of what happened to Jewish neighbors was often not a something anyone felt safe wondering too much about, and several talked of being turned in to authorities over trivial statements. (Incidentally, two of the stories in this collection are from Jews.) And overall, this was actually quite an interesting book to read. Many of the memoirs show hardship after losing homes or family members. I'm not the only one who's wondered how such an atrocity could happen among an entire population, and while this book doesn't try to offer an answer it's interesting to see the recollections of people who lived through such a fascinating and terrible chapter of history. (I received a free copy of the book from the author in exchange for an unbiased review.)
Most wartime memoirs that I have seen (to include Vietnam, Korea and World War II) have come from the American soldier's perspective. These usually are poorly written, describe unsavory behaviors and conditions and, in my opinion, paint the author in a poor light. Voices from the Other Side is a collection of memoirs from the perspective of German citizens that were in Germany during World War II. These stories are unlike any others I have read and give real insight into life in Germany during the war.
Each story relayed in this collection is told from the perspective of someone who was in Nazi Germany at the time of WW2. Some were young school children. Some were teens. Some were Austrian citizens when Germany annexed Austria. Very few were adults at the time as living survivors of WW2 have dwindled in number. Each one relates a story with similar themes fear of Russian occupation, inability to get supplies or even basic necessities like clean water, atrocious conditions, hope for the future, cooperation between strangers trying to survive, generosity, narrow escapes and more.
This collection showed me two things. First, it showed me a side of WW2 to which I had never been exposed. I had almost exclusively heard the side of the Allies prior to these memoirs and even then almost all available information has been military or strictly historical in nature. Instead, each story here describes aspects of being in Europe during some or all of the war, and the majority have very little to do with military. Second, it shows just how strong the German people are they are emotionally tough, they have a will to survive and they have incredible spirit.
There are 25 memoirs in this collection and each one is different, not just in content but in language style. Some of the tellers are more articulate than others though all do a good job of communicating their stories in English. To me this is an asset as it makes the reading even more interesting and gives each story more life and character.
A long time ago I learned to listen to older men and women that have experienced more in life than me and have stories that cannot afford to be lost. This collection of WW2 memoirs takes me back to when I learned that valuable lesson - these are stories from people who have seen and done incredible things at a very difficult time in history and their stories are too important to simply be forgotten or lost when they're gone. If you like history and want to learn some things about WW2 life that you won't ever see elsewhere, this is an amazing collection worth a slow and thoughtful read.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book to read and review. The fact that it was complimentary has no bearing on my review.
Great book, super interesting reading about German civilian experiences before and during WWII. I enjoyed every story, but some were too brief, the longer ones were more riveting. I applaud author Jean Messinger for compiling these survivor histories before time runs out..
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