9 reviews for:

Hitler, My Neighbor: Memories of a Jewish Childhood, 1929-1939

Adriana Hunter, Bertil Scali, Edgar Feuchtwanger

3.78 AVERAGE

bloodcamp's review

reflective fast-paced

3.5

alisse's review against another edition

5.0

I found this book fascinating. It’s written from the perspective of a young boy; one who spends his childhood looking out on Hitler’s Munich home. It reads like the diary entries of a child, with lots of recalled dialogue and conversations of the adults (his parents and other influential Germans and dignitaries) that surround him. It makes for a fast read in that sense. But the intimate look at who Hitler is and how he affects the Jewish family living literally under his nose is unlike anything I’ve read previously. And reading it now, reading how Hitler is like a spoiled child who throws tantrums—well, it’s insightful in how we view the past in light of the present.

snorthington's review against another edition

4.0

This book was told over the ten years of Hitler's rise to power and the outbreak of World War II. It is the recollection of a man in his nineties, told about when he was five to fifteen.

The perspective of a child to the changing world of Germany, and the adults reactions from thinking Hitler was a fringe player to genuine loathing then fear as he became more powerful was heartbreaking to read and a powerful voice that is often lost when we look back on this point in history.

Even in the darkest times, we can learn so much from the viewpoint of a child. In this case, one who was quite proud to be German ND fond of Hitler way on, to eventually come to hate Hitler and the Nazi party.

I definitely recommend checking this book out. it's a quick but powerful read, and a story worth sharing.

This book was originally published in French h, and the English translation released in 2017.

I received an ARC of those book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

emkathh's review against another edition

2.0

I didn't really find the book as interesting as I thought it would be. It isn't particularily well-written, which also makes the book a little dull despite it being about a very serious topic. I didn't feel like I got any more insight into Hitler's life or how it was to live during WW2 either. I'm not trying to downplay WW2, I'm simply saying that this book as a literary text is not that good.

samstet's review against another edition

5.0

This book was life changing. I used it as a primary source in my history paper about the Jewish experience is Nazi classrooms. It doesn’t really focus on that though. It’s the memoirs written after the fact by someone who as a boy lived in the heart of Berlin, coincidentally across the way from Hitler. Now, one reviewer did not like it cuz they thought they didn’t learn anything about Hitler and wwii. While this is written by a historian (professor, not pop historian). It’s written more as a primary source. I found it moving and touching to read the experiences of someone in their day to day lives. The beauty is in the reflections and details Feuchtwanger reveals to us. He personally deals with the effects of Nazism and anti-semitism. This is one of my all time favorite (though rather sad) books. (Also don’t always trust goodreads reviews for academic books (memoirs count imo) so check the state of the field)

ladykatka's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

2.5

The first 100 pages are so slow, boring, and forever taking I am surprised I finished this book at all. The second half went a lot quicker. 

florapants84's review against another edition

4.0

"He's right in front of us, outside his building...I can see he's cut himself shaving, as my father sometimes does. He has blue eyes. I didn't know that. You can't see that in photos. I thought his eyes were completely black. I've never seen him so close up. He has hairs in his nose, and a few in his ears. He's shorter than I thought."—Edgar Feuchtwanger, aged 6

Gah! What a memoir! It's just about perfectly written. Through sensory memories, Feuchtwanger takes us back to his quiet, upscale neighborhood in Munich circa 1929-1939. In 1929, when he's five years old, Hitler moves into an apartment across the street from him. He can look out his window and look directly into Hitler's bedroom and study. In the beginning, the new neighbor is the main topic at the dinner table of Edgar's family, who are authors and/or work in the publishing field. Also a great topic of interest is Hitler's Mein Kampf, which is a bestseller in Germany at the time.

However, as each year goes by and Edgar's neighbor works his way up the political ladder, the number of visitors to Prinzregentenplatz 16 become more numerous as well as notorious. Security is beefed up, and most nights he can see Hitler's shadow across drawn curtains. What's he cooking up tonight? What change in agenda or policy will be altered on this night?

"It's cold outside. You can't walk along the sidewalk outside Hitler's house now because there are barriers and, behind them, soldiers standing to attention, watching the Mercedes cars in the street. I recognize the guards because I pass them every day, but they don't notice me, an invisible little Jewish boy. I've been walking past this building all my life, and I watch them closely. I imagine what it must be like being Hitler. I wonder what he eats for breakfast. I see his shadow pass behind a window frame. He hates us. He hates me. Without even knowing I exist."

Then one morning, he wakes up to news of the Nuremberg laws, and his world is systematically turned upside down. Everything about his routine, school, friendships change on a dime. Now he's not just Edgar, but he's a Jew.

"Ralph has the whole uniform, and after school he and some of the other boys do their exercises [Hitler Youth]. On Saturdays they go hiking in the country, and they're planning to camp out one night. I sometimes wonder whether I could leave my family and stop being a Jew, be just a German like the others. I'd like to be free to decide who I am and be friends with Ralph again. Maybe we'll be friends again tomorrow."

So wonderfully told and structured. I love how this could have been a dense historical memoir, but it wasn't. It was elegantly sparse in keeping with the age of the narrator at the time. His knowledge of the world and politics is what he gathers from scraps of adult conversations he overhears. By this, we can see the foreshadowing of events to come, and we can understand why his parents and nanny are concerned about the way the tide is turning in the government. Later as he matures, you can see him working things out for himself, learning about his identity and embracing it...and then getting mad! Highly recommend!

sukhmanis_reading_corner's review against another edition

5.0

All I can say is, “wow!!” This book is written by Edgar Feuchtwanger, who recalled his memories of living opposite one of the most notorious historical evil human to walk this earth. He recalled seeing Hitler out and about. And he bore witness to Hitler’s evil and tyranny as his family and friends sought to make sense of what was happening to their beloved Germany. Who knew that a young five year old would live to recount Hitler’s whereabouts and speak do the evil, from a child’s perspective?

I do have to admit that this book was a little boring at times, but it is still an amazing read!

franschulman9's review against another edition

4.0

The book is a memoir of the author’s childhood as a German Jewish boy who lived in the same Munich neighborhood as Hitler. The structure is anecdotal and combines the story of his maturing from a young child to teenager with the horrors faced by himself and his family. His parents, who were intellectual, affluent, established and considered themselves German, chose to stay in Munich despite their fear of Hitler and how German society was changing, not applying for visas until after Kristallnacht. The book, which is translated from French, is written in simple language, as if a young person is telling the story, not a ninety year old looking back on a period of his life. Highly recommend for those interested in the Holocaust.