At the end of World War Ii roughly 300;000 American Gis were deployed as occupation forces in Germany. Many of them quickly developed intimate relations with their former enemies. Those informal interactions played a significant role in the transformation of Germany from enemy to ally of the United States; argues Petra Goedde in her engrossing book. Goedde finds that as American soldiers fraternized with German civilians; particularly as they formed sexual relationships with women; they developed a feminized image of Germany that contrasted sharply with their wartime image of the aggressive Nazi stormtrooper. A perception of German "victimhood" emerged that was fostered by the German population and adopted by Americans. According to Goedde; this new view of Germany provided a foundation for the political rapprochement that developed between the two countries even before the advent of the Cold War. Her provocative findings suggest that the study of foreign relations should focus on interactions not only between politicians and diplomats but also between ordinary citizens.
#1075595 in Books 2014-04-29Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.25 x 1.06 x 5.50l; 1.15 #File Name: 0300197527320 pages
Review
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Wonderful and important book!By Karen G-KAside from being beautifully written and intensely engaging; Exit Berlin is one of the most important books written about this horrible period of time in our history. This is for several reasons. There are few; if any; books written from the perspective of Jews in America during the Shoah (Holocaust). Through the hundreds of letters and replies to which she had access; author Charlotte Bonelli has shared an eyewitness account of one family's desperate attempts to escape the Nazi terror and one woman's desperate attempt; with the help of her cousins; to help these relatives; many of whom she did not even know.The author's extensive research into US and world events to provide a context for those letters; and the additional information she gained from traveling to Europe to interview descendants of the letter-writers; provides the reader with facts about contemporary US history; the depression; immigration law; the US economy; conditions in some other countries to which Jews fled; and more. At the same time; the book is a study in the lost art of letter writing. In today's society we rely on instant communication; such as email and text messaging; and a delay in a response of more than 5 minutes causes the sender to wonder if the message is being ignored. The author beautifully shares with us a time in which sending a letter to a loved one sometimes meant an 8 week delay until you knew it was received; a time when postage was so expensive relative to income; the sender; desperate to be sure a response was not delayed because of the cost; might enclose the return postage. Set in the context of trying to flee for their very lives; such a wait must have been harrowing.This book was beautifully written and easy to read. It was more than a collection of letters. It was a book that everyone should read in order to learn more about what these few people in the US knew was going on in Europe as the Holocaust was brewing and in full swing; and what these few people tried to do in their own small; but large; way. As I read; I could almost hear the words being spoken. Schindler's List told the story of one man trying to rescue as many people as he could from the inside. Here is a story of one woman; with the help of her cousins; trying to rescue them from the US. Steven Spielberg; take note!1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A fascinating glimpse into the life and times of a German Jewish refugee as seen through her correspondence.By Carolyn S.Charlotte Bonelli has done excellent work in bringing to life the world of Luzie Hatch; as discovered in a large collection of letters found after her death at the age of 89 in New York. Ms Bonelli has written a fascinating; well researched book that is eminently readable. We can be very thankful that this collection fell into her very capable hands; thus preserving and re-creating for us the important; tragic; moving and uplifting story of Luzie and her family. I strongly recommend it to anyone interested in the Holocaust and the history of the second World War.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A fascinating; exciting; and touching true storyBy J. A. StearnsExit Berlin is expertly crafted as Charlotte Bonelli weaves her historical commentary very gently between the myriad of letters sent among the Hecht Family; all of whom were desparate in their attempt to get to America to escape Hitler's growing monstrous methods. This revelation of what was actually happening in pre-WWII to the Jewish people in Germany was clear and heartbreaking and opened my eyes to the suffering mostly unknown to the rest of the world;This book should be mandatory reading when learning about the War and its beginnings.
