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cesttemps's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
shirleytupperfreeman's review
This was recommended by a co-worker and I loved it. So good. I knew nothing about Hans Massaquoi but what a life he led. Born in 1926 in Hamburg, Germany, he was the offspring of a white German mother and a black Liberian father who didn't stick around Germany all that long. Against so many odds, Massaquoi survived the perils of being non-Aryan in Nazi Germany. He wrote the memoir in his 70s after living a big life as a journalist and an editor of Ebony magazine, but his memory, accompanied by pictures, was prodigious. Great story of persistence, luck, resistance, love and beating the odds.
suspendedinair's review
4.0
I think you should read this book if you're interested in hearing a pretty unique and unlikely story about Nazi Germany. I started typing and spat up this longish summary, I guess if it's intriguing at all you should look into getting the book.
Imagine you're a little black boy growing up in Nazi Germany. Everyday you eat messages about the superiority of the Aryan race. You go to zoos where Africans are on exhibit living in their "natural habitats." Your white mother loses her job because of you, in birthing you she has disrespected the purity of her blood, and your father is not around. All of your classmates are eligible and required to become members of Hitler's Youth. You alone are denied, on the basis of your dark skin and sheep-like hair. In time you will be denied a higher education, freedom to play in playgrounds, and basic human respect.
As the years pass food becomes more and more scarce. People disappear. You are not allowed to register for the army and are told Germany will never be desperate enough to need to efforts of "you people." Later you'll realize the end of the Nazi-regime must be near, because you will be forced to serve, despite your inferiority. Growing up you have many conflicting feelings, as you've loved and worshiped Hitler for most of your life, but it becomes increasingly clear that as soon as the much larger "Jewish problem" is solved, your ass will be on the line, and that this man has very evil intentions.
Your teacher takes you to the Olympics, where you see Jesse Owens debunk the myth of Aryan superiority. Some say this is because like animals, blacks can be trained, and don't have to balance physicality with the intellectual distractions Aryans experience. Still, you have a new sense of pride.
Somehow you survive all of this. The Allied forces show up. You find all sorts of companionship with black soldiers, you've never seen so many black people in your life. Your honeymoon ends quickly, and you become disgusted that your so-called liberators still live in segregation, with fear of their own country-men. Finally you get in touch with your father, who is something of a Liberian big-shot. You go to Liberia, a free black country. You also visit to Nigeria, still under British rule. You sample so many of the different flavors of racism.
Then you go to America and wind up drafted for the US Army. Eventually you become a major editor for Ebony magazine.
Imagine you're a little black boy growing up in Nazi Germany. Everyday you eat messages about the superiority of the Aryan race. You go to zoos where Africans are on exhibit living in their "natural habitats." Your white mother loses her job because of you, in birthing you she has disrespected the purity of her blood, and your father is not around. All of your classmates are eligible and required to become members of Hitler's Youth. You alone are denied, on the basis of your dark skin and sheep-like hair. In time you will be denied a higher education, freedom to play in playgrounds, and basic human respect.
As the years pass food becomes more and more scarce. People disappear. You are not allowed to register for the army and are told Germany will never be desperate enough to need to efforts of "you people." Later you'll realize the end of the Nazi-regime must be near, because you will be forced to serve, despite your inferiority. Growing up you have many conflicting feelings, as you've loved and worshiped Hitler for most of your life, but it becomes increasingly clear that as soon as the much larger "Jewish problem" is solved, your ass will be on the line, and that this man has very evil intentions.
Your teacher takes you to the Olympics, where you see Jesse Owens debunk the myth of Aryan superiority. Some say this is because like animals, blacks can be trained, and don't have to balance physicality with the intellectual distractions Aryans experience. Still, you have a new sense of pride.
Somehow you survive all of this. The Allied forces show up. You find all sorts of companionship with black soldiers, you've never seen so many black people in your life. Your honeymoon ends quickly, and you become disgusted that your so-called liberators still live in segregation, with fear of their own country-men. Finally you get in touch with your father, who is something of a Liberian big-shot. You go to Liberia, a free black country. You also visit to Nigeria, still under British rule. You sample so many of the different flavors of racism.
Then you go to America and wind up drafted for the US Army. Eventually you become a major editor for Ebony magazine.
erin_lee's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.75
Unique perspective of Nazi Germany, excellent writing.
sarful's review
4.0
Fascinating. I wish we got a bit more about his time in the US, going from immigrant to journalist. But, what a life, what a story.
It was written in snapshots, and memories which isn’t my favorite way of memoirs, but the content was well worth reading.
It was written in snapshots, and memories which isn’t my favorite way of memoirs, but the content was well worth reading.