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Some Girls, Some Hats and Hitler: A True Love Story Rediscovered
The astonishing true journey of Trudi Kanter, an Austrian Jew, whose courage, resourcefulness, and perseverance kept both her and her beloved safe during the Nazi invasion is a rediscovered masterpiece.
In London, in 1984, Trudi Kanter's remarkable memoir was published by N. Spearman. Largely unread, it went out of print until it was re-discovered by a British editor in 2011 and now, for the first time, it is available to readers everywhere.
In 1938, Trudi Miller, stunningly beautiful, chic, and charismatic, was a hat designer for the best-dressed women in Vienna. She frequented cafes. She had suitors. She flew to Paris to see the latest fashions. And she fell deeply in love with Walter Ehrlich, a charming and romantic businessman. But as Hitler’s tanks roll into Austria, the world this young Jewish couple knows and loves collapses leaving them desperate to find a way to survive.
Some Girls, Some Hats and Hitler is an enchanting true story that moves from Vienna to Prague to blitzed London, as Trudi seeks safety for her and Walter amid the horror engulfing Europe. In prose that cuts straight to the bone, Trudi Kanter has shared her indelible story. Some Girls, Some Hats and Hitler is destined to become a World War II classic.
In London, in 1984, Trudi Kanter's remarkable memoir was published by N. Spearman. Largely unread, it went out of print until it was re-discovered by a British editor in 2011 and now, for the first time, it is available to readers everywhere.
In 1938, Trudi Miller, stunningly beautiful, chic, and charismatic, was a hat designer for the best-dressed women in Vienna. She frequented cafes. She had suitors. She flew to Paris to see the latest fashions. And she fell deeply in love with Walter Ehrlich, a charming and romantic businessman. But as Hitler’s tanks roll into Austria, the world this young Jewish couple knows and loves collapses leaving them desperate to find a way to survive.
Some Girls, Some Hats and Hitler is an enchanting true story that moves from Vienna to Prague to blitzed London, as Trudi seeks safety for her and Walter amid the horror engulfing Europe. In prose that cuts straight to the bone, Trudi Kanter has shared her indelible story. Some Girls, Some Hats and Hitler is destined to become a World War II classic.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1984
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 326 reviews
June 28, 2016
This is a hard book to review. How to entertain a question of 'value' when holding in one's hands a memoir of holocaust years written by a resourceful and fashion-conscious woman who manages to escape Vienna? It is not the deepest of books. It holds the reader at arms' length and insists on noticing so many 'mundane' things, which I think is part of what makes it an important piece of writing.
I have read so much about Viennese Jews who loved their city, though they were often excluded and treated in injurious ways. The heartbreak of WWII includes the feeling of being spurned by a lover. Kanter feels the injustice and injury of being scorned by a beloved city, but she doesn't focus here too long. Her focus jumps and slips, it doesn't remain fixed. There is a skittishness and yet a very determined focus in here. Kanter will not let us in too deeply, and she is adamant about that. She will tell the story she is willing to tell, and that is all. There is a fierce privacy in here, even as there is a breezy, conversational air of invitation.
Kanter rescues herself, her husband, her parents, from Vienna. She stays alive in England during the years of bombardment. She offers vivid descriptions of people, fashion and food, homes and neighborhoods. She talks of hope, despair and desire.
There is a feeling of 'for everything spoken, there are six things unsaid.' On one hand it can be frustrating, but on the other hand seems appropriate. There are the stories we choose to tell, the stories we choose not to tell. There are the stories we can live with, and those we can't. Sometimes what we choose to tell is told directly to protect us from having to reveal things that are more than we can tolerate or make peace with. And so I respect her choices, the invitation and its boundaries.
I have read so much about Viennese Jews who loved their city, though they were often excluded and treated in injurious ways. The heartbreak of WWII includes the feeling of being spurned by a lover. Kanter feels the injustice and injury of being scorned by a beloved city, but she doesn't focus here too long. Her focus jumps and slips, it doesn't remain fixed. There is a skittishness and yet a very determined focus in here. Kanter will not let us in too deeply, and she is adamant about that. She will tell the story she is willing to tell, and that is all. There is a fierce privacy in here, even as there is a breezy, conversational air of invitation.
Kanter rescues herself, her husband, her parents, from Vienna. She stays alive in England during the years of bombardment. She offers vivid descriptions of people, fashion and food, homes and neighborhoods. She talks of hope, despair and desire.
There is a feeling of 'for everything spoken, there are six things unsaid.' On one hand it can be frustrating, but on the other hand seems appropriate. There are the stories we choose to tell, the stories we choose not to tell. There are the stories we can live with, and those we can't. Sometimes what we choose to tell is told directly to protect us from having to reveal things that are more than we can tolerate or make peace with. And so I respect her choices, the invitation and its boundaries.
December 13, 2014
I would give this book a 3.5. I enjoyed her writing style and learned from her story of survival. For example, I did not know England had internment camps.
Trudi's relationship with Pipi was more interesting and deeper than her relationship with her husband, Walter. Walter's physical traits were described many times, but he rarely came to life as a person. Yet, saving Walter dominated her thoughts and actions. It was unclear what Walter brought to the relationship.
I agree with other reviewers in finding Trudi's narrative to be shallow and superficial, especially in her description of others. I wanted more growth and appreciation for the life they were able to build as compared to those left behind unable to escape. I wanted to learn that she and Walter helped others escape or helped other refugees fleeing from the horrors left behind.
However, I appreciated Trudi's determination, spirit, and will to live. Worth the read - just needed more.
Trudi's relationship with Pipi was more interesting and deeper than her relationship with her husband, Walter. Walter's physical traits were described many times, but he rarely came to life as a person. Yet, saving Walter dominated her thoughts and actions. It was unclear what Walter brought to the relationship.
I agree with other reviewers in finding Trudi's narrative to be shallow and superficial, especially in her description of others. I wanted more growth and appreciation for the life they were able to build as compared to those left behind unable to escape. I wanted to learn that she and Walter helped others escape or helped other refugees fleeing from the horrors left behind.
However, I appreciated Trudi's determination, spirit, and will to live. Worth the read - just needed more.
May 31, 2012
JOY...READ. THIS. BOOK. If you want to understand what it was really like to live under the Nazis...not yet another fictional black and white account.
This is real.
The world of chic Vienna is so well conveyed and with charm and grace...elegant prose... and we see and imagine the life Trudi had..and it is fun to read. Yes. Fun.
Then, all gets turned around but instead of writers who use hindsight...we wee how Trudi fights back for her business and her family and people do help her...it is remarkable.
She survives but so often by sheer chance.. that no fiction writer could come up with...and the love story is desperately moving.
I read this in two days and she's still in my head.
Glorious.
This is real.
The world of chic Vienna is so well conveyed and with charm and grace...elegant prose... and we see and imagine the life Trudi had..and it is fun to read. Yes. Fun.
Then, all gets turned around but instead of writers who use hindsight...we wee how Trudi fights back for her business and her family and people do help her...it is remarkable.
She survives but so often by sheer chance.. that no fiction writer could come up with...and the love story is desperately moving.
I read this in two days and she's still in my head.
Glorious.
August 10, 2016
This is Trudi Kantor's story of escaping Vienna, Austria and living through the war years in London. Trudi was a fashionable young woman who owned a hat shop. She designed her own hats, often after visiting Paris to go to the fashion shows to see what was "in fashion" for hats. She loved her city; she loved fashion; and she loved Walter Ehrlich. She seems to have been separated from, but still great friends with, her first husband Pepi when the book starts. After she meets Walter and falls in love she and Pepi divorce so she can marry Walter, but Pepi remains a great and helpful friend to not only Trudi but also Walter. Trudi's father is Jewish but her mother is not. Walter is Jewish. When the Germans occupy Venice, Trudi begins to plot their escape (hers, Walters, and her parents). In this memoir, she tells the story of their escape and life in London, including the internment of her husband and father because they were Austrian.
Trudi is not an author; she's a hat designer and an excellent one at that. She wrote this memoir in 1984. She doesn't give us a chronological description, but rather tells chronological vignettes that provide a glimpse into the difficulties faced, the hardships endured, and how she felt at certain times, including, sometimes, a detailed description of what she wore. Trudi tells of the friends and strangers who helped her, from the unknown cab driver to the doorman (member of the Nazi party) to the neighbors in her building, and others. She was resourceful and lucky.
This is an easy to read book. You will meet many interesting folks but will not learn what happens to all of them. For the most part, it is told with a fair amount of distance. The narrator relates what happened as almost as if she were an observer. It is a good addition to the stories of those who managed to get away.
Trudi is not an author; she's a hat designer and an excellent one at that. She wrote this memoir in 1984. She doesn't give us a chronological description, but rather tells chronological vignettes that provide a glimpse into the difficulties faced, the hardships endured, and how she felt at certain times, including, sometimes, a detailed description of what she wore. Trudi tells of the friends and strangers who helped her, from the unknown cab driver to the doorman (member of the Nazi party) to the neighbors in her building, and others. She was resourceful and lucky.
This is an easy to read book. You will meet many interesting folks but will not learn what happens to all of them. For the most part, it is told with a fair amount of distance. The narrator relates what happened as almost as if she were an observer. It is a good addition to the stories of those who managed to get away.
February 6, 2013
Who doesn't love buried treasure, especially when it's of the literary variety? Part love story and part intimate history of the Nazis' 1938 arrival in Vienna, Some Girls, Some Hats and Hitler was originally released—and promptly forgotten—in 1984. Wandering through a bookshop a few years ago, a British editor discovered the out-of-print memoir and decided to republish it. What makes the book so instantly mesmerizing is Trudi Kanter herself, who fashioned sentences just the way she fashioned hats as a milliner in late 1930s Vienna—each a dazzling, delicate object of delight. When Hitler overruns Austria, there is plenty of tension to draw the story forward: Jews are forced to wash the sidewalks with acid, her husband, Walter, is hunted by the SS, and Kanter must find visas that will allow them to escape to England. But what distinguishes this particular tale is the lavish portrait of Vienna just before the war, back when people went to cafés for "elevenses, delicate snacks and pastries with cream," and Sunday afternoon dates took place in forested gardens under chestnut trees. Her yearning for this vanished life creates the kind of dark, dreamy melody that causes you to fall for this lost Vienna too. And yet, Kanter is aware of what this era was built on. "The poor were getting poorer; the rich, richer," she announces in retrospect. In 1935, "hats became smaller and smaller" until "a feather and a sequin was a hat." In 1938, that age of decadence ends with the arrival of the Nazis. Kanter escapes the atrocities in her hometown but not its devastating losses—including her own young, dazzled way of looking at the world from that time when, as she describes, "Kisses fly in all directions. I try to catch them in my green butterfly net."
Read more: http://www.oprah.com/blogs/index.html...
August 18, 2012
I loved this book and I hope it eventually gets the recognition it deserves among WWII memoirs. It's not written in any kind of lofty prose but it's accessible, eventful, and emotional. I also like that a large part of the story is centered in Vienna and the city itself remains a character throughout, always recalled while the author is trying to adjust elsewhere. There are so many stories from locations like occupied Paris and war-torn Germany but relatively few from Vienna, especially one told by someone with a lifelong love for the city. Unlike some other stories of Jewish survival in the face of Nazi persecution, hers isn't remarkable and unbelievable - just clever and careful and that makes it interesting; so often I've read about Jewish survivors who are described simply, like "obtained a visa, escaped to Britain before things got too bad". It wasn't that simple and her story details it.
And I love her storytelling voice - she's honest, even when it doesn't make her look good. She's overt and sexual with a lot of depth and human connection while maintaining enviable cleverness and intelligence.
I read, maybe in the intro, that it might not have gotten as many accolades because of her writing about men and clothes. She writes about these but never shallowly, more in connection to a greater picture, and it establishes her as a person with a firmly rooted life and loves - excellent in her line of work and deeply passionate in her life.
It does suffer from an atrocious title though.
And I love her storytelling voice - she's honest, even when it doesn't make her look good. She's overt and sexual with a lot of depth and human connection while maintaining enviable cleverness and intelligence.
I read, maybe in the intro, that it might not have gotten as many accolades because of her writing about men and clothes. She writes about these but never shallowly, more in connection to a greater picture, and it establishes her as a person with a firmly rooted life and loves - excellent in her line of work and deeply passionate in her life.
It does suffer from an atrocious title though.
September 27, 2012
The overall story is interesting but the writing style is horrible. Difficult to follow direction of thought as situations require interpretation that is not common knowledge in today's society and country. There is a lot if self promotion of author's sexual prowess and desirability. It didn't relate to the storyline, in most cases and seemed self congratulatory. At the same time, the author's "true love" tended toward vanity as well. She didn't trust him with fidelity and it seemed to almost be a contest to see who could garner the most attention from the opposite sex. Very distracting from the other storyline.
The storyline of how Trudi figured out how to save herself and those closest to her is interesting. I was also unaware that England interned possible enemies of the state in deplorable camps in Liverpool.
Quick read and educational. I found the extraneous information to either exhibit a great deal of vanity and misguided drama or a huge cultural chasm.
The storyline of how Trudi figured out how to save herself and those closest to her is interesting. I was also unaware that England interned possible enemies of the state in deplorable camps in Liverpool.
Quick read and educational. I found the extraneous information to either exhibit a great deal of vanity and misguided drama or a huge cultural chasm.
January 22, 2013
The title grabbed me and then the story sucked me in. This was compelling, lyrical writing and very hard to put down. In the 1980s Trudi Kanter self-published the story of her escape from WWII Vienna with her husband Walter. The book then fell into obscurity. Thankfully, it was rediscovered and published by Scribner. From the introduction by Linda Grant:
"...There was...an instinctive shrinking away from accounts of the war that did not treat it with the seriousness and solemnity of historians. Trudi must have seemed too shallow, too preoccupied with hats and men to be a sympathetic narrator of the life of the refugee. After all, the emigres and exiles who flooded to England in the thirties, Sigmund Freud among them, were conductors, composers, poets, publishers, and cinematographers. Milliners were de trop. Her book went down into oblivion. Some readers believed it to be a novel."
I found Trudi's "shallowness" to be a testament to humanity. In the midst of horror, we still yearn for a world of red roses and romantic drives in the Vienna Woods, however distant they have become. Trudi was an artist who loved beautiful things. Is her story any more or less worthy of telling than that of the "serious" people? Her gift was to be able to mobilize her skills and energy, putting everything she had into surviving. She got some lucky breaks, to be sure, but she never stopped trying to escape.
One of the most powerful scenes is when she sees the Kohlmarkt area where she lives, blanketed with Nazi flags after the Germans march into Austria:
The shock slowly disappeared, but I feel gripped by a thick, sticky feeling. It paralyzes me. Sticking to my hands; I can't work. To my legs; I can't walk. To my brain; I can't think or sleep. Fear fills my black dreams, turning them round and round, sitting heavily on my chest. I can't breathe.
Few people know the real meaning of fear, its hopeless, crushing effect. Fear had been in me for a long time. This indescribable atmosphere. There was something hovering over me, urging me. What did I do? I carried on, stubbornly, pretending to be deaf. Stupid? Of course, but helpless, too. I was in love. No changes, please. No yesterdays, no tomorrows. I was a coward.
Not anymore. I scrutinize myself with critical eyes. Is it just a front? Is there a crushed face under the mask? No, I am strong now. I will do everything possible to make sure we escape.
And she did.
"...There was...an instinctive shrinking away from accounts of the war that did not treat it with the seriousness and solemnity of historians. Trudi must have seemed too shallow, too preoccupied with hats and men to be a sympathetic narrator of the life of the refugee. After all, the emigres and exiles who flooded to England in the thirties, Sigmund Freud among them, were conductors, composers, poets, publishers, and cinematographers. Milliners were de trop. Her book went down into oblivion. Some readers believed it to be a novel."
I found Trudi's "shallowness" to be a testament to humanity. In the midst of horror, we still yearn for a world of red roses and romantic drives in the Vienna Woods, however distant they have become. Trudi was an artist who loved beautiful things. Is her story any more or less worthy of telling than that of the "serious" people? Her gift was to be able to mobilize her skills and energy, putting everything she had into surviving. She got some lucky breaks, to be sure, but she never stopped trying to escape.
One of the most powerful scenes is when she sees the Kohlmarkt area where she lives, blanketed with Nazi flags after the Germans march into Austria:
The shock slowly disappeared, but I feel gripped by a thick, sticky feeling. It paralyzes me. Sticking to my hands; I can't work. To my legs; I can't walk. To my brain; I can't think or sleep. Fear fills my black dreams, turning them round and round, sitting heavily on my chest. I can't breathe.
Few people know the real meaning of fear, its hopeless, crushing effect. Fear had been in me for a long time. This indescribable atmosphere. There was something hovering over me, urging me. What did I do? I carried on, stubbornly, pretending to be deaf. Stupid? Of course, but helpless, too. I was in love. No changes, please. No yesterdays, no tomorrows. I was a coward.
Not anymore. I scrutinize myself with critical eyes. Is it just a front? Is there a crushed face under the mask? No, I am strong now. I will do everything possible to make sure we escape.
And she did.
February 26, 2013
If there is one character in literature who I keep being reminded of in my reading, it's Holly Golightly. Trudi (Ehrlich) Katnter could be the Holly Golightly of World War II survivalists. Her city is Vienna. Her talent is hat-making. Her writing style is delightful and big-eyed. She gets her man and sincerely loves him despite other suitors steadily popping up, she's insanely jealous, and her quick and resourceful mind and can-do attitude save the day countless times, and...she knows class.
This is a WWII memoir unlike any other I've read. Trudi, whose father is a jeweler, is half-Jewish and raised in a fashionable Vienna. She owns her own hat-making business. She visits the fashion world of Paris and London. She is a successful woman surrounded by 1940s women of power, money, sexual prowess, and beauty. Walter, her second husband, is a successful inventor and businessman in the soft drink industry.
I really don't want to tell her story of escaping Vienna in 1938 and how she and her parents and husband survived London's war years. She doesn't gloss over hardships, but her attitude makes them all palatable.
This would make a great addition to high school libraries. I think teenage girls, and women of all ages for that matter, would enjoy her breezy, yet detailed, way of description. Also she sets an inspirational example. Even though they lose so much, they begin again. She and Walter believe in each other and support each other and are always willing to do what they can for others.
At times, the telling was a bit messy and I needed to reread a passage to see if I missed something. There is also a little jumping around. Some passages are dated, most are not. But I didn't feel this detracted much from my reading pleasure. And, since she had passed away by the time the book was rediscovered and republished, there could be no fact-checking. It is, simply, Trudi's telling, Trudi's book.
This is a WWII memoir unlike any other I've read. Trudi, whose father is a jeweler, is half-Jewish and raised in a fashionable Vienna. She owns her own hat-making business. She visits the fashion world of Paris and London. She is a successful woman surrounded by 1940s women of power, money, sexual prowess, and beauty. Walter, her second husband, is a successful inventor and businessman in the soft drink industry.
I really don't want to tell her story of escaping Vienna in 1938 and how she and her parents and husband survived London's war years. She doesn't gloss over hardships, but her attitude makes them all palatable.
This would make a great addition to high school libraries. I think teenage girls, and women of all ages for that matter, would enjoy her breezy, yet detailed, way of description. Also she sets an inspirational example. Even though they lose so much, they begin again. She and Walter believe in each other and support each other and are always willing to do what they can for others.
At times, the telling was a bit messy and I needed to reread a passage to see if I missed something. There is also a little jumping around. Some passages are dated, most are not. But I didn't feel this detracted much from my reading pleasure. And, since she had passed away by the time the book was rediscovered and republished, there could be no fact-checking. It is, simply, Trudi's telling, Trudi's book.
August 13, 2012
Really excellent, a beautiful account of some of Europe's ugliest moments. An interesting perspective (fashionable, successful, upper class Jewish female) and additional complications (divorce, remarriage,suicide) make for a unique read.
June 10, 2016
This book seemed like it was told through journal entries as opposed to a straight novel, so it got/sounded disjointed at times. Even though it was hard to understand and connect with the characters, I still enjoyed the story. It was refreshing to read a Holocaust/WWII story with a happy ending.
April 2, 2014
"Some Girs, Some Hats and Hitler: A True Love Story". With a title like this, I really wanted to like this book. I found this story to be bland. It was a combination of a love story and a first person account of surviving the war, but it wasn't enough of either for me. It wasn't a compelling love story or a compelling war story. The story of a strong woman who is smart and determined to save her husband and her parents has the potential to be a great book, but this fell short in my opinion. I found the relationship between Trudi and Walter to not be one of love but of protection, and she seemed to still be in love with Pepi. Her account of the war was not what I expected: there was no detail, there was no emotion. In reading this book, having not known anything about the war, I would only know the years it took place and the countries it affected. I had high expectations for this book, and unfortunately they all fell short.
September 15, 2015
This book has the kind of title that makes you want to give it another title; but it reads somewhere between Suite Française and A Moveable Feast. Beautiful memoir, with detailed descriptions of what fabulous velvet thing was worn and what bubbly concoction imbibed on moony summer nights, all without dripping with sentimentality. The details speak for themselves. And then, the war: with its accompanying urgency and anxiety, lives turned completely upside down. But still, we're back to details: the lamp she found for their new wobbly kitchen table, a batch of cheap flowers at the window, some petty jealousy after a dinner party. Agh, they loved each other. Cry at the end of this book, why not.
February 3, 2021
I just finished this book with tears and a heavy heart. Some Girls, Some Hats and Hitler: A True Love Story, is unlike anything I've read before. There were certain points in the book (roughly 1/4 into the book) where I felt like I was struggling to connect even though I enjoyed a new perspective into Trudi's life right before WWII broke out. After that I couldn't put it down and finished the book in one sitting.
The book is written more like diary entries so don't expect a straight forward storyline in my opinion. I had no idea that England had internment camps and it just connected so much to even how messed up humanity is today sadly. This memoir was a different look into WWII instead of solely focused on concentration camps or escaping Nazis. It shows the thoughts, life, simple things that are important and overall resiliency Trudi faced. It showed how human she was and I don't know if I'll ever forget her story.
The book is written more like diary entries so don't expect a straight forward storyline in my opinion. I had no idea that England had internment camps and it just connected so much to even how messed up humanity is today sadly. This memoir was a different look into WWII instead of solely focused on concentration camps or escaping Nazis. It shows the thoughts, life, simple things that are important and overall resiliency Trudi faced. It showed how human she was and I don't know if I'll ever forget her story.
May 3, 2020
Sebuah Memoir tentang Trudi Kanter, seorang pengusaha topi yang berasal dari Vienna, Austria, yang menjadi pelarian sewaktu perang dunia ke-2. Trudi adalah seorang yg berbangsa Yahudi. Kisah ini lebih kepada cinta dan kekeluargaan, dimana Trudi berusaha untuk membawa suami dan ibu bapa beliau berhijrah ke England dan cabaran-cabaran yang beliau hadapi. Secara keseluruhan, buku ini menarik, jalan penceritaan senang untuk difahami.
August 15, 2016
On looking at the title and cover one might think this book is a work of fiction, but in actual fact it is a memoir that was originally independently published in 1984 and quickly went out of print and was forgotten. It was written by Trudi Kanter and published six years before her death. A young woman involved in the publishing industry had bought a copy in 1989 and carried it around with her for years until she reached a position where she was able to bring it out and suggest it be republished. As far as the publishers could tell, Trudi had no family with any copywright claim and as of when this edition was published, no one had stepped forward to lay any claim.
Trudi was a milliner who owned her own business in Vienna at the time Hitler came into power. Although his name features in the title, he really only comes into the story as a result of the rules he made and the soldiers from Germany who were part of the group who moved into Vienna after the Anschluss. Trudi was apparently an attractive women who never wanted for admirers. She had been married once and as she begins her memoir she was still in process of getting a divorce. She met Walter Erlich and quickly fell in love with him (while maintaining a decent relationship with her ex).
Trudi's father was Jewish although her mother was not and Trudi was smart enough to realize early on that the future was not looking good for those of the Jewish ethnicity. Her new love Walter was also Jewish. Trudi was a woman who could see a problem and act quickly. Walter was a man who liked to take his time and look at a situation from all angles before slowly deciding what to do. Her memoir tells the story of how she and Walter were able to leave Austria after it had been annexed by the Germans, and make their way to England. Eventually they were also able to help bring Trudi's parents to England but in spite of warnings to get out, none of Walter's extended family survived the war.
Life did not suddenly become easy upon their arrival in England. As I read it I couldn't help but think of the refugees who make their way to Canada and the US now from other war-torn countries. people resented their presence and felt they were taking jobs from others who might need them. Adapting to a new currency and trying to understand and learn a new language (often heavily accented) wasn't easy and when the air raids began life was even harder. Walter and Trudi's father were interned as possible threats and the initial conditions they were kept in were deplorable.
How they were released and how they came to really make their home in Britain throughout the war is of great social interest. The reader does not hear all the horrible details of what is happening in Europe or all the hardships they face, but enough is told to give the broad strokes to a picture of what life was like for the new refugees.
I am not sure exactly what audience Trudi hoped would read her book. Certainly there is enough of the fashion and relationship details to make this a book which might appeal to women. I struggled a little with her writing style in the early chapters because it was almost as if she was telling her story as it was happening. I got past that and this is a story that will be staying on my bookshelves.
Trudi was a milliner who owned her own business in Vienna at the time Hitler came into power. Although his name features in the title, he really only comes into the story as a result of the rules he made and the soldiers from Germany who were part of the group who moved into Vienna after the Anschluss. Trudi was apparently an attractive women who never wanted for admirers. She had been married once and as she begins her memoir she was still in process of getting a divorce. She met Walter Erlich and quickly fell in love with him (while maintaining a decent relationship with her ex).
Trudi's father was Jewish although her mother was not and Trudi was smart enough to realize early on that the future was not looking good for those of the Jewish ethnicity. Her new love Walter was also Jewish. Trudi was a woman who could see a problem and act quickly. Walter was a man who liked to take his time and look at a situation from all angles before slowly deciding what to do. Her memoir tells the story of how she and Walter were able to leave Austria after it had been annexed by the Germans, and make their way to England. Eventually they were also able to help bring Trudi's parents to England but in spite of warnings to get out, none of Walter's extended family survived the war.
Life did not suddenly become easy upon their arrival in England. As I read it I couldn't help but think of the refugees who make their way to Canada and the US now from other war-torn countries. people resented their presence and felt they were taking jobs from others who might need them. Adapting to a new currency and trying to understand and learn a new language (often heavily accented) wasn't easy and when the air raids began life was even harder. Walter and Trudi's father were interned as possible threats and the initial conditions they were kept in were deplorable.
How they were released and how they came to really make their home in Britain throughout the war is of great social interest. The reader does not hear all the horrible details of what is happening in Europe or all the hardships they face, but enough is told to give the broad strokes to a picture of what life was like for the new refugees.
I am not sure exactly what audience Trudi hoped would read her book. Certainly there is enough of the fashion and relationship details to make this a book which might appeal to women. I struggled a little with her writing style in the early chapters because it was almost as if she was telling her story as it was happening. I got past that and this is a story that will be staying on my bookshelves.
September 17, 2021
Οι πρωτογενείς και άμεσες μαρτυρίες γύρω από ιστορικά γεγονότα έχουν πάντα για τους ιστορικούς μεγάλη σημασία. Είναι λογικό, λοιπόν, να ενθουσιάζονται, όταν ανακαλύπτουν τέτοια χειρόγραφα σε αναπάντεχα μέρη, σε ξεχασμένες βιβλιοθήκες ή κοινά βιβλιοπωλεία.
Μια τέτοια περίπτωση αποτελεί και το χειρόγραφο της Τρούντι Κάντερ με τίτλο Κάποια κορίτσια, κάποια καπέλα και ο Χίτλερ, το οποίο ανακαλύφθηκε τυχαία σε ένα παλαιοβιβλιοπωλείο του Λονδίνου από μια Αγγλίδα επιμελήτρια εκδόσεων. Μόνο που σε αυτή την περίπτωση, εκτός από τους ιστορικούς έχουν κάθε λόγο να πανηγυρίζουν και οι απανταχού βιβλιόφιλοι, και δη οι οπαδοί του καλού ιστορικού μυθιστορήματος, αφού εκτός από ιστορικό ντοκουμέντο το βιβλίο της Κάντερ αποτελεί, συγχρόνως, και ένα εξαίσιο λογοτεχνικό ανάγνωσμα.
Η Τρούντι Κάντερ ήταν μια Εβραία επιτυχημένη πιλοποιός, η οποία λάτρευε τη ζωή της, τη δουλειά της, τη μόδα και τον αγαπημένο της, τον επίσης Εβραίο Βάλτερ, στη Βιέννη του Μεσοπολέμου. Η ζωή της κυλούσε ξέγνοιαστα μέχρι το 1938 και το αποκαλούμενο Anschluss, την προσάρτηση δηλαδή της Αυστρίας στο Γ΄ Ράιχ από τους ναζί. Τότε ο κόσμος της Τρούντι μοιάζει να καταρρέει και όλα αλλάζουν δραματικά προς το χειρότερο, αφού τόσο η ίδια όσο και οι Εβραίοι κοντινοί της άνθρωποι βρίσκονται ξαφνικά αντιμέτωποι με το φάσμα της εξόντωσης.
Tόσο η ίδια όσο και οι Εβραίοι κοντινοί της άνθρωποι βρίσκονται ξαφνικά αντιμέτωποι με το φάσμα της εξόντωσης.
Η συγγραφέας έγραψε το βιβλίο στη δύση του βίου της, ως μία παρακαταθήκη αναμνήσεων και ιστορικής μνήμης. Περιγράφει με ενάργεια τη ζωή της στη Βιέννη πριν από την εισβολή του Χίτλερ, τη γνωριμία της με τον αγαπημένο της Βάλτερ, τις αλλαγές που επέφερε η προσάρτηση της Αυστρίας στη ζωή της, τις αγωνιώδεις προσπάθειές της να ξεφύγουν από τον κίνδυνο, αλλά και τη ζωή της στο Λονδίνο, όπου ευτυχώς καταφεύγει έγκαιρα, μαζί με τον Βάλτερ το 1938.
Πρόκειται για μια συγκινητική ιστορία αγάπης αλλά και για μια ρεαλιστική εξιστόρηση της περιόδου λίγο πριν από το ξέσπασμα του Δεύτερου Παγκόσμιου Πολέμου και των πρώτων χρόνων του, όπως τη βίωσαν οι άνθρωποι της εποχής και κυρίως οι Εβραίοι της Βιέννης.Η Κάντερ, χωρίς να είναι επαγγελματίας συγγραφέας, καταφέρνει να περιγράψει μέσα από ολοζώντανους διαλόγους τα πογκρόμ και τα μέτρα κατά των Εβραίων, την κατευναστική πολιτική του πρωθυπουργού της Μεγάλης Βρετανίας Τσάμπερλεν, τους βομβαρδισμούς του Λονδίνου και τη Μάχη της Αγγλίας, μα κυρίως τις τεράστιες δυσκολίες που αντιμετώπισαν οι Εβραίοι της Κεντρικής Ευρώπης στην προσπάθειά τους να διαφύγουν από τους ναζί.
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Μια τέτοια περίπτωση αποτελεί και το χειρόγραφο της Τρούντι Κάντερ με τίτλο Κάποια κορίτσια, κάποια καπέλα και ο Χίτλερ, το οποίο ανακαλύφθηκε τυχαία σε ένα παλαιοβιβλιοπωλείο του Λονδίνου από μια Αγγλίδα επιμελήτρια εκδόσεων. Μόνο που σε αυτή την περίπτωση, εκτός από τους ιστορικούς έχουν κάθε λόγο να πανηγυρίζουν και οι απανταχού βιβλιόφιλοι, και δη οι οπαδοί του καλού ιστορικού μυθιστορήματος, αφού εκτός από ιστορικό ντοκουμέντο το βιβλίο της Κάντερ αποτελεί, συγχρόνως, και ένα εξαίσιο λογοτεχνικό ανάγνωσμα.
Η Τρούντι Κάντερ ήταν μια Εβραία επιτυχημένη πιλοποιός, η οποία λάτρευε τη ζωή της, τη δουλειά της, τη μόδα και τον αγαπημένο της, τον επίσης Εβραίο Βάλτερ, στη Βιέννη του Μεσοπολέμου. Η ζωή της κυλούσε ξέγνοιαστα μέχρι το 1938 και το αποκαλούμενο Anschluss, την προσάρτηση δηλαδή της Αυστρίας στο Γ΄ Ράιχ από τους ναζί. Τότε ο κόσμος της Τρούντι μοιάζει να καταρρέει και όλα αλλάζουν δραματικά προς το χειρότερο, αφού τόσο η ίδια όσο και οι Εβραίοι κοντινοί της άνθρωποι βρίσκονται ξαφνικά αντιμέτωποι με το φάσμα της εξόντωσης.
Tόσο η ίδια όσο και οι Εβραίοι κοντινοί της άνθρωποι βρίσκονται ξαφνικά αντιμέτωποι με το φάσμα της εξόντωσης.
Η συγγραφέας έγραψε το βιβλίο στη δύση του βίου της, ως μία παρακαταθήκη αναμνήσεων και ιστορικής μνήμης. Περιγράφει με ενάργεια τη ζωή της στη Βιέννη πριν από την εισβολή του Χίτλερ, τη γνωριμία της με τον αγαπημένο της Βάλτερ, τις αλλαγές που επέφερε η προσάρτηση της Αυστρίας στη ζωή της, τις αγωνιώδεις προσπάθειές της να ξεφύγουν από τον κίνδυνο, αλλά και τη ζωή της στο Λονδίνο, όπου ευτυχώς καταφεύγει έγκαιρα, μαζί με τον Βάλτερ το 1938.
Πρόκειται για μια συγκινητική ιστορία αγάπης αλλά και για μια ρεαλιστική εξιστόρηση της περιόδου λίγο πριν από το ξέσπασμα του Δεύτερου Παγκόσμιου Πολέμου και των πρώτων χρόνων του, όπως τη βίωσαν οι άνθρωποι της εποχής και κυρίως οι Εβραίοι της Βιέννης.Η Κάντερ, χωρίς να είναι επαγγελματίας συγγραφέας, καταφέρνει να περιγράψει μέσα από ολοζώντανους διαλόγους τα πογκρόμ και τα μέτρα κατά των Εβραίων, την κατευναστική πολιτική του πρωθυπουργού της Μεγάλης Βρετανίας Τσάμπερλεν, τους βομβαρδισμούς του Λονδίνου και τη Μάχη της Αγγλίας, μα κυρίως τις τεράστιες δυσκολίες που αντιμετώπισαν οι Εβραίοι της Κεντρικής Ευρώπης στην προσπάθειά τους να διαφύγουν από τους ναζί.
Η υπόλοιπη κριτική στη bookpress
August 2, 2012
I wanted to really like this book... I tried very hard to like it a lot.
I think the fact that I started this book and got to the third chapter , then switched to reading The Snow Child (got to third chapter), then switched to reading Terry Pratchet ( which I finished )then went back to 'some girls some hats' and read a couple more chapters ... then switched to The Two Week Wait ( which I absolutely devoured) then bought and read and enjoyed all of The book of tomorrow ... then reluctantly went back to reading Some Girls Some Hats...shows that I wasn't going to give this book 5 stars.
I finished it because I made myself finish it. I liked it , but it didn't blow me away ... it obviously didn't hold my interest or I wouldn't have put it down so often.
I did worry for the characters and Walter did frustrate me ... and I wanted to know what happened and how.... but I didn't feel the need to know NOW !
I think the fact that I started this book and got to the third chapter , then switched to reading The Snow Child (got to third chapter), then switched to reading Terry Pratchet ( which I finished )then went back to 'some girls some hats' and read a couple more chapters ... then switched to The Two Week Wait ( which I absolutely devoured) then bought and read and enjoyed all of The book of tomorrow ... then reluctantly went back to reading Some Girls Some Hats...shows that I wasn't going to give this book 5 stars.
I finished it because I made myself finish it. I liked it , but it didn't blow me away ... it obviously didn't hold my interest or I wouldn't have put it down so often.
I did worry for the characters and Walter did frustrate me ... and I wanted to know what happened and how.... but I didn't feel the need to know NOW !
September 9, 2016
This book was an amazing historical novel that I would recommend to anyone interested in the time period of WWII, it was such an intriguing book that brought me to tears after reading it. This story is about Trudy, a young woman in the fashion industry, living in Vienna, Austria. When the Nazis crossed into Austria a plan was made to leave for England. Through out the book the story explains her, a half Jew and her husband who was fully Jewish and their experience through these hard times and trying to escape the Nazis. This meant trying to get English visas to cross the border and be safe in England, leaving almost everything behind to begin a new life in London. I enjoyed very much how this book kept me on edge, always made me want to read more and the very vivid description that made you feel partly of what they felt during this horrible time in history.
May 13, 2014
What a beautiful memoir... To think this was written by a woman many decades after the actual events...The imagery is amazing! The attention to detail goes above and beyond basic description to literally paint a picture for the audience. Unlike most Holocaust memoirs, this one takes into account the culture people tried to hang on to and the beauty left in the world at the time of the greatest atrocities. The balance she strikes in her writing is stunning, and that alone makes this worth reading. The other aspect that sets this novel apart, is the fact that she brings awareness to the people who barely escaped yet had to endure the stress and fear without the realization of encampment. The ups and downs are very poignantly expressed ad I loved every chapter of this book!
September 24, 2015
This is a memoir by a Jewish woman who was a hat designer/business owner in Vienna, and this is her story of surviving the war. Many times she and her husband and her parents were in peril. (Her husband was also Jewish). Her intelligence and determined spirit and talent for fashion (which got her jobs and visas) enabled her to survive. Of course there's always luck too, and the kindness of strangers. They went from Vienna to Prague to London; Hitler's attacks followed them. Fascinating and heart-breaking, if you like WWII memoirs you will love this!
February 12, 2013
Another entry in the genre of We-were-having-a-lovely-time-then-the-Nazis-came-and-we-ran-away. Prose like lead.
April 26, 2021
Don't waste your time. There are too many good books out there and this isn't one of them.
January 4, 2021
As the author of a memoir that made a (very) little splash before dropping off the charts, I'm pleased to see this one being rediscovered. Trudi Kanter's story is both gripping and eminently readable. It's a story that should be read, and one I can hardly imagine anyone disliking.
In 1938, Trudi had her own business in the European fashion industry—specifically, in ladies' hats. Imagine a line of work so given to pleasure and beauty juxtaposed with what began happening in that time period, i.e., the Holocaust. She was Jewish (at least, half-Jewish), with a Jewish husband, and they lived in Vienna.
When she is on a buying trip to Paris, friends beg her not to return home, saying, "You're too young to die." But she does return, and immediately thereafter Austria is annexed by Nazi Germany. Abruptly, Jews have no rights. Their bank accounts are frozen. Any Jew caught on the streets may be detained, or worse. Trudi's focus shifts from designing stylish new hats to getting herself, her husband Walter, and her parents out of the country.
Reading this with our knowledge of history, we know what their fate will be if they don't escape. But I can also understand Walter's reluctance to acknowledge what is happening. Had I been there, I might have been like Walter, because I'm a creature of habit. I have a record of holding on to good things past their expiration date.
In closing I must mention my admiration for the way this book is organized. Handfuls of numbered one- and two-page subchapters are grouped within larger named chapters that trace the outline of the narrative, e.g., Swastika Flags and "Walter, We Must Run." Even within the subchapters there are breaks, sometime with switches from past-tense to present-tense narration. I think this mirrors the way memory works. The result is a series of vignettes that flow together perfectly. This structure contributes to easier reading. When the topic is hats, the light touch makes clear that it's all in fun. When the topic is oppression, smaller doses of each atrocity make the going more tolerable. I can't avoid contrasting this with my own memoir, which has lengthy chapters. I had misgivings about that when writing it, but didn't see a remedy. Trudi Kanter's book is a model for anyone who labors as I do with an overly methodical, analytical perspective. It's now on my short list of favorite memoirs.
In 1938, Trudi had her own business in the European fashion industry—specifically, in ladies' hats. Imagine a line of work so given to pleasure and beauty juxtaposed with what began happening in that time period, i.e., the Holocaust. She was Jewish (at least, half-Jewish), with a Jewish husband, and they lived in Vienna.
When she is on a buying trip to Paris, friends beg her not to return home, saying, "You're too young to die." But she does return, and immediately thereafter Austria is annexed by Nazi Germany. Abruptly, Jews have no rights. Their bank accounts are frozen. Any Jew caught on the streets may be detained, or worse. Trudi's focus shifts from designing stylish new hats to getting herself, her husband Walter, and her parents out of the country.
Reading this with our knowledge of history, we know what their fate will be if they don't escape. But I can also understand Walter's reluctance to acknowledge what is happening. Had I been there, I might have been like Walter, because I'm a creature of habit. I have a record of holding on to good things past their expiration date.
In closing I must mention my admiration for the way this book is organized. Handfuls of numbered one- and two-page subchapters are grouped within larger named chapters that trace the outline of the narrative, e.g., Swastika Flags and "Walter, We Must Run." Even within the subchapters there are breaks, sometime with switches from past-tense to present-tense narration. I think this mirrors the way memory works. The result is a series of vignettes that flow together perfectly. This structure contributes to easier reading. When the topic is hats, the light touch makes clear that it's all in fun. When the topic is oppression, smaller doses of each atrocity make the going more tolerable. I can't avoid contrasting this with my own memoir, which has lengthy chapters. I had misgivings about that when writing it, but didn't see a remedy. Trudi Kanter's book is a model for anyone who labors as I do with an overly methodical, analytical perspective. It's now on my short list of favorite memoirs.
February 13, 2022
Well, this is a remarkable book. I loved it. It has a totally misleading cover design. It looks like some kind of Mills and Boon novel. In fact, it’s a remarkable story of courage and resilience in World War II, by a woman called Trudi who is a successful milliner in Vienna in the 30s.
She manages to evade capture by the Nazis and also to escape to London, and also, incredibly, to save her husband and parents too. She then settles in London and goes into business as a milliner once more.
The really striking thing is that this book sank into obscurity, as did Trudi. I suppose alongside Holocaust accounts by men, this account may seem on the surface rather trivial and quotidian, with its beautifully observed descriptions of clothes and interior design.
However, the surface beauty of the Vienna of the 30s gives way to the murderous activities of the Nazis. Trudi captures brilliantly the feelings of loss, fear, longing, and sense of belonging snatched away as she is forced to escape the German advance across Europe.
I would recommend this book to you with all my heart. It deserves to be so much better known. My copy is a library one. It’s been borrowed three times in the last ten years. This is a huge pity.
Thank you to Ariana Neumann for recommending this book in the bibliography to her own work: When Time Stopped, which is another stunning piece of work about the search into Neumann’s family history.
She manages to evade capture by the Nazis and also to escape to London, and also, incredibly, to save her husband and parents too. She then settles in London and goes into business as a milliner once more.
The really striking thing is that this book sank into obscurity, as did Trudi. I suppose alongside Holocaust accounts by men, this account may seem on the surface rather trivial and quotidian, with its beautifully observed descriptions of clothes and interior design.
However, the surface beauty of the Vienna of the 30s gives way to the murderous activities of the Nazis. Trudi captures brilliantly the feelings of loss, fear, longing, and sense of belonging snatched away as she is forced to escape the German advance across Europe.
I would recommend this book to you with all my heart. It deserves to be so much better known. My copy is a library one. It’s been borrowed three times in the last ten years. This is a huge pity.
Thank you to Ariana Neumann for recommending this book in the bibliography to her own work: When Time Stopped, which is another stunning piece of work about the search into Neumann’s family history.
May 26, 2022
My mother having gone through her adolescence under German occupation of Norway, I've long been interested in women's memoirs of the war. This one by a Jewish Viennese milliner details her escape from Austria via Czechoslovakia to London and her ultimately successful efforts on behalf of her husband and parents.
Gertrude Ellis (nee Kanter) was a young, petite bourgeois, owner of her own company, a regular visitor to Paris for the elite shows of the latest fashions. She was no intellectual. No reading beyond the daily papers is ever mentioned. She was, however, exceptionally aware of the aesthetics of personal appearance, of furnishings, of food presentation. She was also very aware, albeit uncritically, of quotidian sexual politics. Pretty much all the males and females in her tales were scoping each other, flirting, engaged in infidelities and affairs. Beyond providing one perspective on the war, this is also an account of her love life, in particular as it related to her second husband and fellow refugee, Walter, who predeceased her in 1960.
The virtue of this account may lie with its very ordinariness. Despite being a bit shocked by her attitudes as regards sex, I found her account moving.
Gertrude Ellis (nee Kanter) was a young, petite bourgeois, owner of her own company, a regular visitor to Paris for the elite shows of the latest fashions. She was no intellectual. No reading beyond the daily papers is ever mentioned. She was, however, exceptionally aware of the aesthetics of personal appearance, of furnishings, of food presentation. She was also very aware, albeit uncritically, of quotidian sexual politics. Pretty much all the males and females in her tales were scoping each other, flirting, engaged in infidelities and affairs. Beyond providing one perspective on the war, this is also an account of her love life, in particular as it related to her second husband and fellow refugee, Walter, who predeceased her in 1960.
The virtue of this account may lie with its very ordinariness. Despite being a bit shocked by her attitudes as regards sex, I found her account moving.
July 18, 2017
The author, Trudi Kanter, was born and lived in Vienna. In 1935, just as she met and fell in love with Walter Ehrlich, the Nazis invade.
This is a shorter book, but it's powerful. Trudi described her business, her family, and the fear as they try to leave the country. Her husband Walter is Jewish and while Trudi can get herself out of the country, Walter is not as easy. But she is determined. Either they both go, or neither will.
Some of the prose is a little jagged. It's her memoir and she's not a skilled writer. But she's recounting her story and it's powerful. The people in the story were real. Some of them lived and some of them died and you knew them as real people.
I thought it was very insightful.
This is a shorter book, but it's powerful. Trudi described her business, her family, and the fear as they try to leave the country. Her husband Walter is Jewish and while Trudi can get herself out of the country, Walter is not as easy. But she is determined. Either they both go, or neither will.
Some of the prose is a little jagged. It's her memoir and she's not a skilled writer. But she's recounting her story and it's powerful. The people in the story were real. Some of them lived and some of them died and you knew them as real people.
I thought it was very insightful.
February 20, 2019
Proving once again that a title and a cover can sell...this was an impulse buy that I finally got to a couple of days ago...and I couldn't put it down! A memoir set in Vienna during Hilter's invasion, it's a story unlike others I've read and, amazingly, despite the horrors of that time, this book is such an inspiration. The setting alone was a draw. Having studied in Vienna years ago, I could relate to her love of that city. But more importantly, this young woman's resilience, determination, and strength made me smile again and again. Sometimes naive, vain, and even silly, she was far more substantial than her love of hats and beautiful things would suggest. She was powerful, smart, and shrewd and I feel grateful for the hours I just spent getting to know her and her whole family.
August 22, 2019
Great read about a gutsy young women who was able to escape Nazi held Austria. A little disjointed, but great scenes of Vienna, Paris, and London - and being aliens in London. Struck with how many people did not flee Vienna or other places because they felt it would never get too bad. And struck with the terrible way these aliens were treated in England...by some, not all. Reminds me of today.
June 23, 2024
A book of true grit and determination. If you can stick with the style at the beginning it is worth the read. Details and insightful snippets of what life was really like in Vienna, Prague and London, how difficult it was to escape Central Europe at this time and the sheer resilience of Trudi to pull through with her family. I found it quite an inspiring read.
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