What were the women of Germany doing during the Third Reich? What were they thinking? And what do they have to say a half century later?In Frauen we hear their voices––most for the first time. Alison Owings interviewed and here records the words of twenty-nine German women who were there: Working for the Resistance. Joining the Nazi Party. Outsmarting the Gestapo. Disliking a Jewish neighbor. Hiding a Jewish friend. Witnessing "Kristallnacht." Witnessing the firebombing of Dresden. Shooting at Allied planes. Welcoming Allied troops. Being a prisoner. And being a guard. The women recall their own and others' enthusiasm; doubt; fear; fury; cowardice; guilt; and anguish.Alison Owings; in her pursuit of such memories; was invited into the homes of these women. Because she is neither Jewish nor German; and because she speaks fluent colloquial German; many of the women she interviewed felt comfortable enough with her to unlock the past. What they have to say will surprise Americans; just as they surprised the women themselves.Not since Marcel Ophuls's controversial film The Sorrow and the Pity have we been on such intimate terms with "the enemy." In this case; the story is that of the women; those who did not make policy but were forced to participate in its effects and to witness its results. What they did and did not do is not just a reflection on them and their country––it also leads us to question what actions we might have taken in their place. The interviews do not allow for easy; smug answers.
#2048629 in Books Henry Patrick 2013-12-05Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.50 x .50 x 5.51l; #File Name: 0813226163216 pagesWe Only Know Men The Rescue of Jews in France During the Holocaust
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