A fascinating piece of history
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We are very fortunate that this anonymous woman kept a diary of the terrible events that happened to her and many other German women living in berlin at the end of WWII,because otherwise this is a part of history that would forever remain hushed up.
The author writed with total honesty and clarity,without any self pity and even with a touch of black humour.This is a really fascinating diary written using the authors journalistic talent.It's a shame she never received the credit she deserved for this important piece of history within her lifetime.
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An essential book about Berlin in 1945
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Other than fully endorsing what other reviewers have said about the power of this extraordinary account of the ending of the war in Berlin, from April 1945 and the next two or three months, I would simply draw attention to the immediacy of the writing.
It makes highly uncomfortable reading to be taken right into the dusty, half-lit, and stinking basements, where the writer and other people sheltered during the final days, or to travel with her as she makes her way on her bicycle through the rubble of the city, and, yes, to hear of how she copes (and she does cope) with the ordeal of repeated rape. But you finish the book with the strongest possible sense of her dignity, humanity, intelligence and sheer determination to survive. This is essential reading.
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A shocking reminder...
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I read this book keeping in mind not only the described facts by the (anonymous) author, but the terrible circumstances it was written under... in my opinion it is a very valuable document that tells us about the terrible (and wonderful) things we all are capable of under war conditions, perhaps useful to wake up and keep in mind the effects our actions have on other human beigns... in my opinion, a series of facts that must not be forgotten, ever. An excellent reading, no doubt, light and deep at the time...
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Haunting
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I, like some of the other reviewers, first heard about this book while reading Beevor's Berlin: The Downfall. After buying it I was worried about how upsetting it might be and put off reading it for weeks. It is upsetting but all the more worth reading for it. The anonymous author's unflinching approach is distubing and the images the constructs are graphic but it is not without a certain gallows humour.
I would urge everyone to read this, it is an honest, personal account of the tragedy of war.
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a touching review of a difficult time.
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I bought this book and read the introduction by Anthony Beevor. It took me 6 months to finally bring myself to read the book which i did in one day. Many of the reviews already here explain the amazing detail that the author has placed in her diaries. Also mentioned are the facts that she writes rather nonchalant about the whole affair.
Its really what she doesn't write that hits you the most, she really is alone and the odd mention of a tear does speak of an aspect of sorrow that she doesnt want to portray. Even the idea that she might be pregnant with a Russian baby does not phase her in her quest to be almost too clinical about something most people would have a complete break down about.
A Woman In Berlin is more than a set of words put down on paper that has intellectual curiosity attached to it, this book will touch the very core of your soul and question why 'homo homini lupus' (man is like wolf to man).
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