A Woman in Berlin Critique - Essay Example

History and Political Science Topic: A Woman in Berlin A) In desperate situations an individual’s power of reason turns desperate and one becomes willing to avail any options, which in the ordinary course, one would not have accepted. With the loot and plunder of the Russian soldiers in full swing, the author yet did not give up her efforts to record the day to day post-war developments in the diary. “The earliest entries were literally notes from the underground, recorded in a basement where the author sought shelter from air-raids, artillery fired, looters—and ultimately rape by the victorious Russians.”(ix) As things normalized, the anonymous author of this book put an option before the Russian Officer her willingness to become a courtesan of the army, to seek protection against rape. This indicates the urge for self-preservation in a human being to the extent of availing such grim unworthy options. But the Russians had no educated Officer class to take appropriate decisions and exercise proper control over their men. Most of the officers were peasants as also the troops he commanded, but under the protection of the higher-ups in the army, she got better facilities, and then secured a typewriter through a friend to produce a fair copy of her jottings. Ultimately, she settled in America. (B.)The living conditions of the German people were absolutely horrid. They mostly occupied the basements of the bombed buildings and had no proper ration and clothing. Living in a war situation presents innumerable difficulties for the party that has lost in the war. Firstly, it is most humiliating to live as a loser. Secondly, what would be the next step of the army personnel, under whose mercy they have to spend time, is another serious problem. Many of the survivors shifted from one basement to another. In normal circumstances such pathetic living conditions are unthinkable. (C)In the present case, the residents have mostly supported each other, and for rejecting such advances there should be very strong reasons, such as conflict amongst different nationalities. (D)Human memory is very short, and one cannot say that the sufferings undergone by a particular generation of any country will be remembered by them for all time to come. But what happened is part of the history that cannot be obliterated by anyone. The coming generations, as students of history or the citizens of the country will continue to evaluate the facts. The politicians and the administrators of the country are not likely to commit the same mistakes that caused immense harm to the economy and damage to the psyche of the people. 2. (A) The men of the German force, were suddenly thrown into humiliating circumstances. They had lost everything, their prestige, rank, property and in many cases their family members were dead or missing. The end of war was a great relief, and they were confronted with a new set of economic problems. Many of them had lost their thinking power and were in a state bordering insanity. (B). The perspectives in which stories relating to their experiences were told differed in details but not in substance much. German soldiers talked about their bravery at the fronts. The author elucidates the issue thus: “And they loved to tell their stories which always involved exploits that showed them in a good light.”(149) I think that the German soldiers were not responsible for the plight in which they were put into. When they were asked to surrender by the higher authorities, they had no option but to surrender. They had no role in directing the politics of the state. Only the grave issue before them was to take care of their family and household. In that grim situation anyone would turn cynical. Many had to confront the situation of loss of life of their family members, rape of their wife and children by the Russian soldiers, total destruction of the property etc. In no way such soldiers were liable for condemnation for their so-called impotence. (C) After the ravaging World War II at the fronts where guns and tanks emitted incessant fire, another dark war began immediately on cease-fire/termination of war. This aspect of the war was more horrible as it was directed against the defenseless, those who had not participated in the war directly and they were women and children. “A Woman in Berlin,” is one such collection of real life incidents. . With the fall of the German capital, a period of shocking incidents of agony followed that would prick hard the conscience of humankind for a long time to come. German women took shelter in the basement of the bombed buildings, starved for water and food, and were dragged out to be repeatedly raped. Rape is the ultimate shame for a woman. It is an attack on the character and essential human dignity of the defenseless but the marauding and drunk Soviet troops indulged in looting and rape without any sort of human consideration. As for the treatment of such women by their husbands when they came to know about the rape incidents, it was not helpful and their contention that their wives should have committed suicide is the inhuman approach. Great human understanding and an attitude of sympathy is needed to tackle such personal situations. Women had none to protect them. They preferred to remain silent and they were in a highly disadvantageous position to give any narrations about their private suffering. Most of them pretended that they were lucky to escape the atrocities committed by the Russian army. The author writes about their predicament, “We on the other hand will have to keep politely mum; each one of us will have to act as if she in particular was spared. Otherwise no man is going to want to touch us anymore."(149) Women had no option, and all that they wished was to forget those dark days. 3. (A) The publishing history of the book is highly interesting and intriguing. Such an important book from the point of view of human history had to wait for some decades before getting popular. It was first published in an English translation in America in 1954 and in UK in 1955. The German language edition saw the light of the day much later in 1960 and it immediately set uproar. The rulers of the Germany did want to remember the darkest episode in the history of their country, and the horrible details of rape and plunder were too much for the younger generation of Germany to put up with. With the result, the authoress did not want its copies to be printed again during her lifetime. She died in 2001 and the book was republished in 2003. (B) The contents of the book have been introduced thus: “The events described are extraordinary; the author, a woman living in Berlin, took meticulous note of everything that happened to her as well as her neighbors and friends from late April to mid-June 1945—a time when Germany was defeated. Hitler committed suicide, and Berlin was occupied by the Red Army.”(Foreword, ix) With an opportunity to report sensationalism, the tabloids were doing overtime, but what happened in Berlin was not moral breakdown, it was total moral collapse. “According to the best estimate, more than 100,000 women were raped after the conquest of Berlin.”(xi) The term ‘rape babies’ was often used in reporting. The author’s diary may fail to pass the test of a researched document, but why it should be fraudulent? No woman would like to give a fraudulent war-time account related to her own character and that of her friends and relatives. Survivors of the spring of 1945 attest similar details. The book is a great personal account from the perspective of history related to the war, but as for the psychological aspects of the episodes, it is a masterpiece. To what extent a human being will go to save one’s own life, and what were the compelling circumstances to do it? The incidents related in the book need to be studied from the point of view of sociology, psychology, and morality. (C) The authoress of the book was reportedly the Berlin journalist Marta Hiller (1911-2001) and her identity in relation to the book was kept secret. Apart from the deliberately created controversies about its veracity, the author had no motivated aggrandizement for wealth in which case she would have encouraged for the publication of the reprint, when the first edition was sold out. That would have fetched her lots of money too. She was neither a frustrated novelist nor she wished sensationalism to gain popularity and earn wealth. The author indeed was an incredible woman. She had literary talents, her sixth sense worked well to face the Russian male brutes and she bore cruelty heroically. Under such grim circumstances anyone would become cynical, but as a true journalist she maintained immaculate and authentic records to serve the cause of history. She had no reasons to lie; she had no intention to submit the manuscript to a literary agent of the time for financial gains. Submission to the sexual demands of the Russian officers was inevitable under the circumstances. Her condition was precarious and to survive with as much honor as possible was the only alternative for her, apart from committing suicide. She wrote that she was obliged to find "a single wolf to keep away the pack. An officer, as high-ranking as possible, a commandant, a general, whatever I can manage..."(64) One should not be judgmental about the morality of her conduct. She was brave and took the best possible decision, so that she was saved from repeatedly being raped by all and sundry of the Russian army. The world was astonished to know such revealing and factual details and all this contributed to the tremendous reception the book received. When it was made into a movie, it kindled more curiosity with the discerning public. Conclusion: One should say Hitler was the co-author of the book “A Woman in Berlin.” He in the end, instead of accepting responsibility for the defeat like a true leader, committed suicide and was directly responsible for the post-war dastardly consequences that had to be faced by the German soldiers, men, women and children. He rendered the greatest disservice to his own people and to humankind. As for the author, measure your own humanity before passing judgment suggesting to her other options. She just had no options, and she did the best under the circumstances. She has served the cause of history and the book has now received the attention it deserved. Works Cited Anonymous. A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City--A Diary. Trans. Philip Boehm. Metropolitan Books, 2005. Print. Read More