Christabel Bielenberg and Nazi Germany (History Eyewitness)

Grade 5-9?Up-close and personal looks at two momentous periods of Western history are provided through these eye-witness accounts. Christabel Bielenberg's experiences in Germany during the decade of Hitler's power give poignant emphasis to the effect of totalitarian oppression on the private lives of individuals. Her husband was sent to a concentration camp, and she herself confronted the Gestapo and placed herself in danger to protest his imprisonment. Helen Williams, an Englishwoman living in Paris in 1793-94, wrote an account of the Reign of Terror when the guillotine claimed thousands of victims. This narrative, with its reports of rumors and daily news, records her fears for herself and her family, her experiences in the grim prisons of Paris, and the mounting frenzy of trials and executions that led to the sudden and violent fall of the tyrant. The slim volumes are plentifully illustrated with well-chosen photographs and posters from Germany, and, in the case of France, contemporary and appropriately gruesome prints of arrests and beheadings. Since the texts are sometimes biased or factually mistaken, both books contain notes to tie the narratives to historical events and explain specific comments or viewpoints. Introductory notes give brief biographies of the women and the circumstances of their writing. The material has been edited and "additional material" supplied, which leaves many questions about the publishing history of these accounts and the reliability of the texts for serious research. But for making history come alive for today's readers, these books are acceptable.?Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Christabel Bielenberg was born in England, the daughter of middle-class English/Irish parents. She became a German citizen in 1934 when she married Peter Bielenberg, a young law student from a prominent Hamburg family. Christabel is memoir as history, covering the war years 1932 through 1945, and written with "one advantage perhaps over those whose knowledge must needs depend on documents: I am English, I was German, and above all I was there." At the time of their marriage, she and Peter brush off her family's warnings about problems in Germany and concentrate on finding an appropriate house. Peter finishes law school, and Christabel gives birth to two sons. By 1939 however, it becomes obvious that "something had gone terribly wrong with the works. [Germany] had become like some prison turned inside out, with the criminals in command." When harassment of communists, labor leaders, and Jewish people is legalized, no one, not even their neighbors, can be trusted anymore. When Peter joins a military organization intent on ousting Hitler from power in late 1939, Christabel supports his decision and they begin a dangerously secret life. Written from the perspective of a stay-at-home wife and mother and filled with political, cultural, and domestic detail, Christabel presents a lucid, important and often-neglected view of the anti-Hitler movement in the German Military during World War II. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. -- From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Jesse Larsen