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A review by cstefko
Those Who Forget: My Family's Story in Nazi Europe - A Memoir, a History, a Warning by Geraldine Schwarz
4.0
4 stars
As always happens when I read a book about history, I'm left saddened by how utterly inadequate my schooling was in that department. And as the author points out in her concluding chapter, such willful ignorance on the part of society has allowed fascism to begin taking root here in the US. It's not a coincidence that right-wing state governments are clamping down on teaching a holistic view of history in favor of promoting pro-America propaganda.
Anyway...
I would recommend this book if you want to learn more about the Holocaust, but especially how the complicity of everyday citizens allowed it to happen in front of them. Schwarz is writing from the perspective of being the descendent of grandparents who were such "mitläufer," and she is pretty realistic/honest when it comes to how much blame she attributes to them and others like them. She then moves on to her father's generation and the start of the "memory work" that continues to this day. Since Schwarz is French-German and was born in France, she is in the unique situation of having experienced both countries' post-war responses through her family and her personal schooling and work life. The French definitely don't come off innocent, let's put it that way. Finally, Schwarz examines the modern rise of fascism in other European countries, such as Italy, Poland, and Austria, as well as England's stubborn refusal to acknowledge its colonial past. I was not surprised to hear that Schwarz was inspired to write this book after the election of Donald Trump. You would have to have your head under a rock to not have noticed the parallels between Trump and past fascist leaders like Hitler, Mussolini, etc.
My only minor complaint about this book is that Schwarz can be repetitive at times, and went off on a few too many tangents about herself and about culture, including a weird paragraph about French vs German poets' conception of love. It wasn't relevant. There were also a few places where I felt like I was being dropped into a new stage of history without enough background information (particularly when she discussed former East Germany), but a lot of that is probably down to my gaps in knowledge. But for the most part, I think she supported her thesis well and certainly illuminated some harsh but necessary truths.
As always happens when I read a book about history, I'm left saddened by how utterly inadequate my schooling was in that department. And as the author points out in her concluding chapter, such willful ignorance on the part of society has allowed fascism to begin taking root here in the US. It's not a coincidence that right-wing state governments are clamping down on teaching a holistic view of history in favor of promoting pro-America propaganda.
Anyway...
I would recommend this book if you want to learn more about the Holocaust, but especially how the complicity of everyday citizens allowed it to happen in front of them. Schwarz is writing from the perspective of being the descendent of grandparents who were such "mitläufer," and she is pretty realistic/honest when it comes to how much blame she attributes to them and others like them. She then moves on to her father's generation and the start of the "memory work" that continues to this day. Since Schwarz is French-German and was born in France, she is in the unique situation of having experienced both countries' post-war responses through her family and her personal schooling and work life. The French definitely don't come off innocent, let's put it that way. Finally, Schwarz examines the modern rise of fascism in other European countries, such as Italy, Poland, and Austria, as well as England's stubborn refusal to acknowledge its colonial past. I was not surprised to hear that Schwarz was inspired to write this book after the election of Donald Trump. You would have to have your head under a rock to not have noticed the parallels between Trump and past fascist leaders like Hitler, Mussolini, etc.
My only minor complaint about this book is that Schwarz can be repetitive at times, and went off on a few too many tangents about herself and about culture, including a weird paragraph about French vs German poets' conception of love. It wasn't relevant. There were also a few places where I felt like I was being dropped into a new stage of history without enough background information (particularly when she discussed former East Germany), but a lot of that is probably down to my gaps in knowledge. But for the most part, I think she supported her thesis well and certainly illuminated some harsh but necessary truths.