A review by patsyv59
The House by the Lake: A Story of Germany by Thomas Harding

informative medium-paced

4.0

One of my all-too-rare forays into nonfiction.  Although the writing is a bit "pedestrian" the subject was right up my alley.  They book documents  twentieth century German history through the history of a singal  house, constructed on a lake in the 1920s as a weekend home for a Berlin Jewish doctor and his family, it changes hands multiple times - and each resident's story reflected the socio-political craziness of succeeding eras. The transition from Nazi Germany to Communist  East Germany  was fascinating, especially the de-natzification process and how futile that effort was.   The lakefront home was ultimately completely separated from the lake by extension of the East-West wall from Berlin.  Ultimately it was occupied by squatters and drug addicts, and then  abandoned until  the great-grandson of the original Jewish owner sought it out and organized to have it restored from decay and declared a building of historical interest.  It's now an educational center/museum!