Reviews

TW: war, holocaust, Nazi Germany, sexual abuse, physical abuse and torture.

This was my first book of 2021, and what a way to start!

This book starts with letters sent to Ingrid by her biological mother Susanna. She starts to read these letters from her life whilst she was Nazi Germany throughout WW2.

Susanna's parents and brother died in an accident and she was placed in the care of her godparents. Unfortuately Susanna's godmother is a Russian Jew, and is facing persecution and deportation. The sotry follows the struggles of Susanna and her apotive family as they attempt to navigate their different positions due to their ethnicity in war torn Germany.

This story is loosely based on real life events of Tania's family, and the journey of moving through Susanna's story was truly heartbreaking. I felt as though I was there, witnessing the atrocities right before my eyes, and that's when I knew this was an incredible book. I became so immersed in the story, I couldn't keep myself away from reading it.

Beautifully written and crafted, and I enjoyed seeing the different perspective of seeing how German citizens stood up to the uprisising of the Nazi party and didn't agree to their strong, barbaric and horrendeous views. I also listened to part of this on audiobook and I really appreciated then learning the correct pronunciations of the names in this story, which made me connect even more deeply.

shelleyrae's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Inspired by the author’s family history, Letters From Berlin by Tania Blanchard is a heartfelt story of love, courage, betrayal and survival during World War Two.

As the Third Reich escalates its purge of the Jewish people from Germany in 1943, eighteen-year-old Susanna Göttmann’s fears grow for the safety of her beloved godparents who have raised her since childhood. While both she and her Onkel Georg are Aryan, Tante Elya is a Russian Jew, and their son, Leo, is classified a ‘mischlinge’, a halfbreed. The ability of the family estate, Gut Birkenhof, on the outskirts of Berlin, to provide goods and materials for the Nazi’s has allowed Georg to keep his wife and son safe, but as the Party rhetoric intensifies, their situation grows increasingly precarious.

Letters From Berlin unfolds from Susanna’s perspective as a reasonably wealthy, educated Aryan in Berlin who loves her country but is appalled by the actions of the Nazi Party, and their treatment of the Jewish people. Her primary concern is naturally for her Aunt Elya, and Leo, with whom she has been in love since she was a child, and to help protect them she makes some naive, brave, and dangerous choices. I liked the character of Susanna, and felt for all she endured, especially when circumstances separated her from Leo, and resulted in the loss of her child.

The plot of Letters from Berlin doesn’t offer much in the way of surprises, but the story is nevertheless engaging. There are some tense and dramatic moments and the themes of war, prejudice, injustice, family and love are inherently emotive. That it’s loosely based on real experiences adds a layer of poignancy, and I was glad Blanchard offered an epilogue of sorts.

Blanchard’s portrayal of life in Berlin during the war is interesting. In mid 1943, when the story starts, there seems to be little change in the day to day life of the wealthier of Aryan citizens, but as the country’s enemies close in, and the activities of the resistance take their toll, the privations grow. Blanchard merges fact with fiction as she writes of the forced labor camps, the failed conspiracy to kill Hitler, the bombings that set zoo animals loose in the streets, and the chaos post ‘liberation’.

A touching historical fiction novel, Letters From Berlin is a satisfying read.

darladark's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

readingroom.blog

I wanted to love this book. However, I found the storyline just a little bit too predictable and the character of Susanne was somewhat annoying. The historical research was certainly extensive and this part was extremely interesting. A lot of WWII historical fiction is told from the perspective of British people and armies, but we are seeing more told from the German perspective. As we know now, there is never merely one group of people who all agree, and those with power can force others to make impossible decisions.