Be Specific About Books To I Will Bear Witness 1933-41 A Diary of the Nazi Years (I Will Bear Witness #1)
| Original Title: | Ich will Zeugnis ablegen bis zum Letzten |
| ISBN: | 0375753788 (ISBN13: 9780375753787) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | I Will Bear Witness #1 |
Victor Klemperer
Paperback | Pages: 544 pages Rating: 4.24 | 1925 Users | 110 Reviews
Mention Regarding Books I Will Bear Witness 1933-41 A Diary of the Nazi Years (I Will Bear Witness #1)
| Title | : | I Will Bear Witness 1933-41 A Diary of the Nazi Years (I Will Bear Witness #1) |
| Author | : | Victor Klemperer |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 544 pages |
| Published | : | November 15th 1999 by Modern Library (first published 1995) |
| Categories | : | History. Nonfiction. World War II. Holocaust. War. Autobiography. Memoir. Biography |
Description Supposing Books I Will Bear Witness 1933-41 A Diary of the Nazi Years (I Will Bear Witness #1)
The publication of Victor Klemperer's secret diaries brings to light one of the most extraordinary documents of the Nazi period. "In its cool, lucid style and power of observation," said The New York Times, "it is the best written, most evocative, most observant record of daily life in the Third Reich." I Will Bear Witness is a work of literature as well as a revelation of the day-by-day horror of the Nazi years. A Dresden Jew, a veteran of World War I, a man of letters and historian of great sophistication, Klemperer recognized the danger of Hitler as early as 1933. His diaries, written in secrecy, provide a vivid account of everyday life in Hitler's Germany. What makes this book so remarkable, aside from its literary distinction, is Klemperer's preoccupation with the thoughts and actions of ordinary Germans: Berger the greengrocer, who was given Klemperer's house ("anti-Hitlerist, but of course pleased at the good exchange"), the fishmonger, the baker, the much-visited dentist. All offer their thoughts and theories on the progress of the war: Will England hold out? Who listens to Goebbels? How much longer will it last? This symphony of voices is ordered by the brilliant, grumbling Klemperer, struggling to complete his work on eighteenth-century France while documenting the ever- tightening Nazi grip. He loses first his professorship and then his car, his phone, his house, even his typewriter, and is forced to move into a Jews' House (the last step before the camps), put his cat to death (Jews may not own pets), and suffer countless other indignities. Despite the danger his diaries would pose if discovered, Klemperer sees it as his duty to record events. "I continue to write," he notes in 1941 after a terrifying run-in with the police. "This is my heroics. I want to bear witness, precise witness, until the very end." When a neighbor remarks that, in his isolation, Klemperer will not be able to cover the main events of the war, he writes: "It's not the big things that are important, but the everyday life of tyranny, which may be forgotten. A thousand mosquito bites are worse than a blow on the head. I observe, I note, the mosquito bites." This book covers the years from 1933 to 1941. Volume Two, from 1941 to 1945, will be published in 1999.Rating Regarding Books I Will Bear Witness 1933-41 A Diary of the Nazi Years (I Will Bear Witness #1)
Ratings: 4.24 From 1925 Users | 110 ReviewsWrite Up Regarding Books I Will Bear Witness 1933-41 A Diary of the Nazi Years (I Will Bear Witness #1)
I struggled through this book and ultimately ended up abandoning it. It was interesting, but I wasn't prepared for its length and the many dry passages. But it's a book I would try to take on again after preparing for an intense, rapid, marathon reading session (and would probably, then, be willing to up its rating).Most surprising was how quickly after 1933 that the vise began to tighten on Klemperer and his fellow Jews. Second most surprising is how orderly and law-abiding it all was, in a twisted sense. Over the next 12 years, the Jews' rights and privileges were reduced one by one, as Klemperer lost lost his prestigious university job, his house, his food rations, his rights to use Dresden's transportation, etc. Then when almost all Jewish rights were gone and the deportation orders began to be
must wade thru mundane details for the nuggets-I may revisit this at some time. There is a vol.2 1941-1945 that may be more exciting.
I found this diary fascinating and believe it's an indispensable work of history -- almost one-of-a-kind. You see a lot of diaries and memoirs from the Holocaust/WW2 years, but not much from the mid- to late-1930s and the rise of Hitler. Reading Klemperer's diary, which covers January 1933 through December 1941, you can see how the fascist state gradually chipped away at the rights of Jews, and the Holocaust was accomplished in little baby steps. I can summarize it like this:Jewish civil
An astonishing document that's unlike anything else I know that might fit under the heading of Nazi period memoirs. The perspective it provides that of Jewish academic Victor Klemperer and his "Aryan" wife living in Dresden during a time of state-sponsored genocide beggars description. Moreover, it's very well written. Do read both volumes.
This was a great account of life under the Nazis. I found it both educational and riveting. I've re-read this book several times, each time picking up something new I hadn't remembered or noticed the last.
I Will Bear Witness, 1933-1941 & 1942-1945A Diary of the Nazi YearsBy Victor KlempererVictor Klemperer was a professor of French literature, specializing in the Enlightenment, employed at the Technical University of Dresden at the time the Nazis came to power in 1933. At that point in his career he already had a few scholarly works in print and was planning another, a project on the 18th century he continued researching and writing until circumstances forced him to postpone that work. But he
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