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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
Eva Bruhns is a young Polish interpreter who is enlisted to translate testimonys for the Frankfurt Auschwitz trial in 1963. Despite the objections of her conventional family and rich, stuffy fiance Jürgen, Eva feels like she needs to help the Polish witnesses. Many people in Eva's life tell her the victims just want money, they are making things sound worse than it was, it just isn't possible that *that* many people were murdered, the trial is a waste of time, and people should just leave the past in the past. However as the trial progresses Eva begins to realise the full extent of her countries evilness during the war and begins to question her families own history. Everyone is keeping secrets and as the story unfolds, the secrets are revealed and Eva is irrevocably changed by what she learns.
Hesse has captured the tipping point for German society, the increased hope at the improved economic situation, the collective war amnesia that so many wanted to maintain, and how the trial forced people to confront their country's actions and the role they played, no matter how small. After all it is hard to ignore a genocide when it's laid out in front of everyone. While the characters are fictional Hesse has used some real testimonies from the Frankfurt Auschwitz trial, which bring a heaviness to the novel. Although I felt for Eva who is forced to confront her family and history, it also felt uncomfortable. The next generation had to face what their parents and grandparents had done, and shape how they wanted their country to be. Despite the heavy topic I enjoyed the story and the damaged characters, particularly the dysfunctional Bruhns family.
Hesse has captured the tipping point for German society, the increased hope at the improved economic situation, the collective war amnesia that so many wanted to maintain, and how the trial forced people to confront their country's actions and the role they played, no matter how small. After all it is hard to ignore a genocide when it's laid out in front of everyone. While the characters are fictional Hesse has used some real testimonies from the Frankfurt Auschwitz trial, which bring a heaviness to the novel. Although I felt for Eva who is forced to confront her family and history, it also felt uncomfortable. The next generation had to face what their parents and grandparents had done, and shape how they wanted their country to be. Despite the heavy topic I enjoyed the story and the damaged characters, particularly the dysfunctional Bruhns family.
This book took a turn I was not expecting! I have always read books about the Holocaust mainly from freedom-fighters and the victims point of view. I have never read it from the point of view of someone that seemingly had nothing to do with it. It was interesting to take a look at the post-World War II Germany and get reactions of the Germans. I have always been told by foreign exchange students that they aren't taught about the Holocaust in school, and I know a lot of people don't think it ever happened, but to "listen" to what was probably a lot of those citizens thoughts after the war, and during the trials, it was very interesting and a completely different perspective. I did enjoy this book, however, it was not completely what I had anticipated. I wanted more focus on the main character Eva and the trials. I feel as if the side stories of Annegret and Jurgen were unimportant and unnecessary. The formatting of the book also threw me for a loop, but this could be due to the book being translated. However, before I got into the book, I had to keep rereading because the point of view would switch from one paragraph to the next with no warning, which really detracted from my overall enjoyment.
What if you found out, that everything you knew about your family was a lie?
For Eva Bruhns, it's entirely possible everything she knew about her country is a lie as well. When hired as a translator in the Frankfurt Trials, she begins to really learn of the unthinkable horrors that took place, and prosecutors are determined to bring the Nazis to justice for those crimes during World War II.
She doesn't remember much of the war, and memories are especially foggy since life has gone on in her hometown of Frankfurt - the streets are clean and the buildings rebuilt. She's in love and anxious to marry and start her life.
But as the trials begin - Eva begins to question her parents and their refusal to talk about the war, which leads to questioning everything else about her life.
You will fall in love with Eva right away. She is flawed but also fiery and steadfast and I adored everything about her. She struggles to understand what's coming to light and her passion and determination gets stronger as the atrocities of the war are uncovered.
The German House is a beautiful story, an emotional read, and such a thought provoking look at coming of age amidst the guilt of a family and their country.
For Eva Bruhns, it's entirely possible everything she knew about her country is a lie as well. When hired as a translator in the Frankfurt Trials, she begins to really learn of the unthinkable horrors that took place, and prosecutors are determined to bring the Nazis to justice for those crimes during World War II.
She doesn't remember much of the war, and memories are especially foggy since life has gone on in her hometown of Frankfurt - the streets are clean and the buildings rebuilt. She's in love and anxious to marry and start her life.
But as the trials begin - Eva begins to question her parents and their refusal to talk about the war, which leads to questioning everything else about her life.
You will fall in love with Eva right away. She is flawed but also fiery and steadfast and I adored everything about her. She struggles to understand what's coming to light and her passion and determination gets stronger as the atrocities of the war are uncovered.
The German House is a beautiful story, an emotional read, and such a thought provoking look at coming of age amidst the guilt of a family and their country.
For all the WWII novels that exist, there really aren’t that many set after the war, and that’s part of what made this one so fascinating. We are always told Germany has come to terms with its past (…debatable the extent to which that is true or meaningful) but it did not happen over night. This was a really great exploration of that second generation learning about truth and culpability. The pacing of the story is good, and it has that thoughtful quality of novels written by German authors (in some ways reminding me of Erpenbeck’s Go Went Gone) that I really like, but isn’t necessarily for everyone. I’m left with questions and the sense that I didn’t fully understand everything, but I think that’s the point.
The German House is a fascinating look at the 1963 Frankfurt Auschwitz trials, a period in history that I was not aware of and is brought to life in this new novel. While most today people are aware of the history of Auschwitz and have most likely heard of the Nuremburg trials that took place immediately following WWII, these trials in Germany revealing the true nature of the crimes committed in the concentration camp were actually quite shocking to the public at the time. The trials focused on 22 defendants who were SS personal serving at Auschwitz-Birkenau, and our story places us right in the middle with our main protagonist, Eva, who is a Polish translator tapped to help communicate the witness statements.
The story alternates between both Eva’s role in the trials and the ongoing family drama happening outside her work. She is recently engaged to a man she’s not sure she loves, and in the process of researching and translating in the trial, she uncovers some dark family secrets. The story is a slow build as Eva puts the pieces of her own history together, culminating in a big reveal regarding both the trial and her own place in life.
What shocked me the most about this book is the emphasis on how little people knew of what happened during the war, and the depths to which they would go to bury those secrets. I have read a lot of WWII fiction over the past couple of years, but none quite like this. This was disturbing, if only for its descriptions of how well people can forget the past. I see why the author, who is German herself, felt strongly about telling this story, because it is so easy to forget and pretend these terrible things never happened. It’s much harder to come to terms with the atrocities committed by people you live next to.
While I really loved the historical look at this subject, I did struggle a bit with the story telling aspect. It jumped around a lot, though knowing the author’s background as a screenwriter, I can forgive that. My biggest complaint is that I didn’t find Eva particularly likable, but I also am not sure if she’s supposed to be. Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to WWII historical fiction fans, because I believe it is a new perspective that needs to be shared, and I am grateful to the author for writing this!
The story alternates between both Eva’s role in the trials and the ongoing family drama happening outside her work. She is recently engaged to a man she’s not sure she loves, and in the process of researching and translating in the trial, she uncovers some dark family secrets. The story is a slow build as Eva puts the pieces of her own history together, culminating in a big reveal regarding both the trial and her own place in life.
What shocked me the most about this book is the emphasis on how little people knew of what happened during the war, and the depths to which they would go to bury those secrets. I have read a lot of WWII fiction over the past couple of years, but none quite like this. This was disturbing, if only for its descriptions of how well people can forget the past. I see why the author, who is German herself, felt strongly about telling this story, because it is so easy to forget and pretend these terrible things never happened. It’s much harder to come to terms with the atrocities committed by people you live next to.
While I really loved the historical look at this subject, I did struggle a bit with the story telling aspect. It jumped around a lot, though knowing the author’s background as a screenwriter, I can forgive that. My biggest complaint is that I didn’t find Eva particularly likable, but I also am not sure if she’s supposed to be. Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to WWII historical fiction fans, because I believe it is a new perspective that needs to be shared, and I am grateful to the author for writing this!
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
dark
emotional
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I would have rated it 5 stars if Purzel didn't die lol.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Deutsches Haus ist ein Roman über den Schmerz und die Hilflosigkeit im Angesicht unserer eigenen Historie.