Between 1941 and 1945, thousands of German Jews, in fear for their lives, made the choice to flee their impending deportations and live submerged in the shadows of the Nazi capital. Drawing on a wealth of archival evidence and interviews with survivors, this book reconstructs the daily lives of Jews who stayed in Berlin during the war years. Contrary to the received wisdom that “hidden” Jews stayed in attics and cellars and had minimal contact with the outside world, the author reveals a cohort of remarkable individuals who were constantly on the move and actively fought to ensure their own survival.
Lilo was just a teenager when the Nazis took away her parents in 1942. She never saw them again. When they also took away her brother she was alone at 19 years in a dangerous world. Until she heard one familiar voice call her name.
This work tells the story of seven hidden jews in Hitler's Berlin. Rather than risking so-called resettlement they found themselves living in a shadowy underworld where they had to survive without identity cards and ration books.
- An insider's guide to Berlin's hidden gems and lesser-known spots - Written by a true local, filled with independent advice, based on thorough research and the author's personal opinions - An inspirational and practical guideto the city's most interesting places, buildings, restaurants, shops, museums, galleries, neighborhoods, gardens and cafes, presented in 100 original lists of 5 secrets - Photography by Philipp Bögle - A recently updated edition in Luster's successful and attractive series of city guides The 500 Hidden Secrets of Berlin is the perfect book for those who wish to discover the city without ending up in all the usual tourist haunts, as well as for residents who are keen to track down the city's best-kept secrets. In The 500 Hidden Secrets of Berlin, Nathalie Dewalhens shares hundreds of must-know addresses in the German capital, like the unexpected authentic coffee bar around the corner of Checkpoint Charlie, or the apartment where David Bowie stayed while composing some of his best songs. Or how about trying a pizza topped with purple potato crisps at one of the hippest pizzerias in town? Visit the boutique of an unconventional fashion designer with Iranian roots, or venture off to a peaceful lake outside the city, where you can enjoy a drink sitting on the wooden boardwalk, or check out a hip food market on the banks of the Spree? Berlin has so much to offer, and this guide will help you decide where to begin.
New York Times Bestseller: The true story of twelve Jews who went underground in Nazi Berlin—and survived: “Consummately suspenseful” (Los Angeles Times). When Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, approximately one hundred sixty thousand Jews called Berlin home. By 1943 less than five thousand remained in the nation’s capital, the epicenter of Nazism, and by the end of the war, that number had dwindled to one thousand. All the others had died in air raids, starved to death, committed suicide, or been shipped off to the death camps. In this captivating and harrowing book, Leonard Gross details the real-life stories of a dozen Jewish men and women who spent the final twenty-seven months of World War II underground, hiding in plain sight, defying both the Gestapo and, even worse, Jewish “catchers” ready to report them to the Nazis in order to avoid the gas chambers themselves. A teenage orphan, a black-market jewel trader, a stylish young designer, and a progressive intellectual were among the few who managed to survive. Through their own resourcefulness, bravery, and at times, sheer luck, these Jews managed to evade the tragic fates of so many others. Gross has woven these true stories of perseverance into a heartbreaking, suspenseful, and moving account with the narrative force of a thriller. Compiled from extensive interviews, The Last Jews in Berlin reveals these individuals’ astounding determination, against all odds, to live each day knowing it could be their last.
A heart-stopping survivor story and brilliant historical investigation that offers unprecedented insight into daily life in the Third Reich and the Holocaust and the powers and pitfalls of memory. At the outbreak of World War II, Marianne Strauss, the sheltered daughter of well-to-do German Jews, was an ordinary girl, concerned with studies, friends, and romance. Almost overnight she was transformed into a woman of spirit and defiance, a fighter who, when the Gestapo came for her family, seized the moment and went underground. On the run for two years, Marianne traveled across Nazi Germany without papers, aided by a remarkable resistance organization, previously unknown and unsung. Drawing on an astonishing cache of documents as well as interviews on three continents, historian Mark Roseman reconstructs Marianne's odyssey and reveals aspects of life in the Third Reich long hidden from view. As Roseman excavates the past, he also puts forward a new and sympathetic interpretation of the troubling discrepancies between fact and recollection that so often cloud survivors' accounts. A detective story, a love story, a story of great courage and survival under the harshest conditions, A Past in Hiding is also a poignant investigation into the nature of memory, authenticity, and truth.
The persecution of lesbians and gay men by the Nazis is a subject that has been constantly debated during the last decade, providing a theme for books, articles, and plays. Until recently the discussion has remained speculative: most of the relevant documents were stored in closed East German archives, and access was denied to scholars and researchers. As a result of the unification of East and West Germany, these archives are now open. Hidden Holocaust, by the German scholars Gunter Grau and Claudia Shoppmann of Humboldt Uinversity, Berlin, demonstrates that the eradication of homosexuals was a declared gol of the Nazis even before they took power in 1933, and provide proof of the systematic anti-gay campaigns, the methods used tjo justify discrimination, and the incarceration mutilation and murder of gay men and women in Nazi concentration camps. A chilling but groud-breaking work in gay and lesbian studies.
An extraordinary story of strength, resilience, hope, and salvation, Betty Lauer's book chronicles Berta Weissberger's six-year terrifying odyssey in Nazi-occupied Poland. After dying her hair blonde and studying the catechism in hopes of passing as Christian Poles, Berta, her mother, and her sister live a life of constant vigilance and fear. It is only through her abiding faith in a higher power that she is enabled to survive while hiding in plain sight.
To live among wolves, first you must become one... An unmissable new spy thriller from best-selling master of the genre, Alex Gerlis. War is coming to Europe. British spymaster Barnaby Allen begins recruiting a network of agents in Germany. With diplomatic relations quickly unravelling, this pack of spies soon comes into their own: the horse-loving German at home in Berlin’s underground; the young American sports journalist; the mysterious Luftwaffe officer; the Japanese diplomat and the most unlikely one of all... the SS officer’s wife. Despite constant danger and the ever-present threats of discovery and betrayal, Allen’s network unearths top-secret plans for a new German fighter plane – and a truly devastating intelligence prize... an audacious Japanese plan to attack the United States. But can they prove it? The race is on. An unputdownable and atmospheric Second World War espionage thriller, Agent in Berlin will grip you to the very end. Perfect for readers of David Young, Robert Harris and Rory Clements. Praise for Agent in Berlin 'Gerlis proves himself a master of spy fiction to rival John le Carré, Robert Harris and other leading lights with this gripping and entertaining novel set mostly in the frenzied world of pre-war Berlin' David Young, author of Stasi Child 'Everything slots together perfectly in this hugely atmospheric and powerfully character-driven story set in Germany at the rise of Nazism ... a brilliant new addition to the genre' Chris Lloyd, author of The Unwanted Dead 'Amazing plotting, packs a real punch' Mark 'Billy' Billingham, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Hard Way 'The first volume of a promising new series, Alex Gerlis handles an ensemble cast with panache' Financial Times 'An unmissable spy thriller from bestselling master of the genre Alex Gerlis' Spybrary Podcast
