Car Tu Portes Mon Nom: Enfants De Dirigeants Nazis, Ils Témoignent

by Stephan Lebert

A l'origine de ce livre se trouve une série d'articles, publiés en 1959 par le journaliste Norbert Lebert dans la revue Weltbild, sur les enfants des principaux dignitaires nazis. Quarante ans après, son fils Stéphan Lebert, également journaliste, reprend contact avec ces mêmes personnes et, en les interrogeant sur leur parcours, complète le récit de son père. Ainsi se superposent deux instantanés de la vie de Wolf-Rüdiger Hess, Klaus von Schirach, Gudrun Himmler, Edda Göring, Niklas Frank et Martin Bormann : l'un, daté de 1959, relate d'une façon vivante et concrète leur enfance, leur vie après la défaite allemande en 1945 ainsi que leur jeunesse dans l'Allemagne de l'après-guerre ; l'autre, daté de 1999, met en lumière, à travers les questions essentielles que, pose Stephan Lebert, ce que fut leur relation avec leurs parents. Pour tous ces enfants, leur père était un être aimant et aimé. Quant à Hitler, il lut le parrain de la plupart des interviewés, qui gardent le souvenir d'un oncle gentil, toujours prêt à leur apporter des cadeaux. Mais comment réagirent-ils à la révélation des crimes de leurs pères, comment répondirent-ils aux persécutions et aux agressions qu'ils eurent à subir, à cause de leur filiation même, plus tard ? Si chacun a trouvé sa réponse personnelle, il semble qu'aucun d'entre eux n'ait réellement su se libérer de la figure du père, ni dégager sa vie du poids de cet héritage. Ce livre, puisé à la source même des témoignages, est un document exceptionnel sur le lien filial et la mémoire.

Norbert Lebert (1929-1993), reparler au Süddeutsche Zeitung de 1949 à 1959, puis journaliste indépendant, est l'auteur de nombreux ouvrages. Stephan Lebert, né en 1961, après avoir collaboré au Spiegel, est aujourd'hui rédacteur en chef du Berliner Tagesspiegel. Il a reçu le prestigieux prix Egon-Erwin-Kisch.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Holocaust, Biography, World War II, Germany, War

199 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Stephan Lebert attended the DJ (German Journalism School) in Munich. Since 1999 he has been editor-in-chief of the Berliner Tagesspiegel.

Reviews

[Mikey B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Children of Nazi Germany...

An excellent and probing treatment of the children of the Nazi leaders.

These are the children of Bormann, Hess, Goring - who met the Furhrer, received small gifts from him and may have sat on his lap. He was god-father to some of them.
The damage done (or the psychological baggage) to these individuals – now adults approaching old age – falls into two categories (I am simplifying). As the author says (and which annoyed him in the conversations); a tremendous wall was put up between ‘father-family’ and ‘father – politician – war criminal’. In one category there was no room for discussion of the latter subject area. As for the other group, both categories were breached (like Niklas Frank and Martin Bormann) and the abyss was approached.

All of this makes for a very interesting read and gives insights into the Nazi era. Although Klaus Von Shirach falls into the ‘wall’ category he does make an astute observation when he equates National Socialism with religion. One could add with Adolf Hitler as the Messiah.

The book also makes revelations on how Germany is coping with its’ inglorious past. The author makes an analogy that Germany is treating the Nazi criminals as a visit to the zoo – stare at the animals and quickly move on - without much reflection on how the animals behaved before they were caged.

A few extra notes:
1) This book is very good journalism and is the combination of father and son. The father (Norbert Lebert) made interviews in the mid-fifties with the sons and daughters of the Nazi leaders. His son, Stephan, followed the trail in the 1990’s. As Stephan acknowledges in the book - this is grueling – excavating the Nazi cult is not life-affirming.
2) The son of Martin Bormann , of the same name, found salvation in religion and converted to Catholicism. He wrote an auto-biography ‘Living Against the Shadow’ which appears to be unavailable in the English language.
3) It would be interesting to find a book on the less visible – but equally guilty perpetrators of crimes at the camps. Men (and women) who dealt daily with crimes against humanity still walk freely in the streets as alluded to a few times in the book.
4) Although Hess was regarded as a ‘fruit-cake’ by the Nuremburg tribunal – the correspondence he had with his children through-out his long internment was very lucid and rational.
5) If you suffer psychological distress due to parental issues this may not be the book for you.

[iva° · Rating 3 out of 5]

izvrsna ideja, intrigantna tema, ali relativno loše izvedena. norbert lebert, inače novinar, nastavio je tamo gdje je njegov otac (također novinar) stao: šezdesetih godina prošlog stoljeća norbertov otac intervjuirao je djecu nacista koji su tada imali između 15 i 30 godina, a norbert se pitao što je dalje bilo s tom djecom, potražio ih i 40 godina kasnije pokušao stupiti u kontakt. knjiga je isprepletena očevim zapisima i norbertovim novim saznanjima, ali sve je to prilično zbrkano pa sam se redovito trebala vraćati unazad, podsjećati se tko je tko i tko je koga... inače smatram tu temu izuzetno zanimljivom, moćnom, važnom i vrijednom dubokog istraživanja - a norbert je, kao novinar, svakako imao prilike učiniti je informativnijom, zanimljivijom, poučnijom, bogatijom i smislenijom. ovako ostavlja dojam da se jedan prosječan novinar, ne osobito talentiran niti osobito zagrižen za tematiku, primio prevelikoga zalogaja.

[Petra · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look at the children of the leading Nazis. How do they see their fathers & the roles they played? How did it affect their lives?
In general, this book's findings are vague and it's written in a somewhat confusing way. And its dated.
Sixty or so years ago, Norbert Lebert interviewed some of the children of Nazi leaders. His articles on these interviews found their way to his son after his death. His son, Stephan, also a journalist, tried to interview the same people 40 years after his father and this book, a comparison between the two interviews, was the result.
So, how did these children fare? In various ways and with various outward indications, most of them carry some guilt but it's mitigated with some general terms of "not my fault", "my father is misunderstood", "things aren't as portrayed", "he was a loving dad", etc.
Not surprisingly, the younger the children were at the end of the war, the more detached they were from their father's role. If the father was a loving father, he is remembered lovingly. If he was a cold father, he is not lovingly remembered. Those in their teen years or older at the end of the war, still see Socialism as a good thing in many ways.
All in all, this book is interesting as a look into guilt, blame, responsibility. As a person of German descent, how much blame do I carry for what happened? This question has crossed my mind many times and these children are so much closer to the pivotal personalities of the horrible happenings; my family are unknown peons in the war. How much more do these children question their quilt and their responsibility? How much has their lives been altered by their fathers?
One interesting concept that was partially explored was that the Germans do not talk about WWII. The schools tend to gloss over it in history class. Is that true, I wonder?
All in all, an interesting read but not deeply explored. That may not be the fault of the author but the silence & partial answers from the children (now senior citizens) themselves.

[Lejla · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Protiv Zla treba se ustrajno boriti. O Zlu treba pisati, ljude treba s njime upoznavati, na Zlo treba upozoravati, ono se ne smije prešućivati. Svaki zločin ima ime i prezime i mora se jasno reći tko je što učinio, tko je krivac a tko žrtva.

Knjiga koju imate u rukama dio je te borbe protiv Zla. U njoj su potresne ljudske sudbine koje svima nama poručuju što se dogodi s ljudima kad se priklone Zlu. Duboko emotivne ispovijesti djece ovih nacističkih zločinaca stalna su upozorenja svim naraštajima, današnjima i nadolazećima, da se ovakvo Zlo koje je pogodilo svijez u 20. stoljeću nikad više ne smije ponoviti.

Zlo koje je u prošlom stoljeću poprimilo različite oblike, u nacizmu, fašizmu i komunizmu. No svim je tim totalitarnim i zločinačkim ideologijama zajedničko jedno - milijuni žrtava. Nikad više!"

Prije početka čitanja ove knjige nisam očekivala mnogo. Međutim, mnogo sam dobila.
Knjiga je jednostavno napisana kombinujući ispovijesti djece 60-ih godina koje je prikupio otac, Norbert Lebert, i intervjua koje uspio dobiti sin, Stephan, više od 30 godina kasnije.

Zlo se, nažalost, ponovilo i jezivo je vidjeti sličnosti djece tadašnjih zločinaca sa djecom zločinaca iz zadnjeg rata. Zločini se veličaju, a zločinci kuju u zvijezde. Naravno da uvijek postoje izuzeci, i tako je i sa ovom djecom.
Ne treba pretjerivati i ići iz krajnosti u krajnost, kao što neki rade, ali treba imati hrabrosti prihvatiti da je to što je urađeno zločin i ne podržavati to.

Nikad više!

[Kellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an interesting book this was! I liked the way Stephan took his father’s work and expanded it. It is almost as though Stephan was learning about his father and his work right along with us, the reader. The subject is the children of the Nazi leaders. Norbert interviewed them in the 1950’s. Stephan made the attempt to interview the same ones in the 1990’s. Some of them who interviewed with Norbert, refused to meet with Stephan. Some of the children agree that their fathers were behind something evil and could not be forgiven. Others still loved their fathers, didn’t believe they did anything wrong and spent their lives trying to prove it. This is a subject that I feel compelled to learn about. It was such a unique time in history, I am fascinated by it. I like reading various aspects of Nazi Germany, especially like this one. I highly recommend this to WWII history buffs.

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Kakva je to sudbina biti dijete nekoga nacionalsocijalista, zločinca, ubijice? Kako s time izaći na kraj? Koliko se pati? Neće li ih cijeli život pratiti prokletstvo za koje zapravo uopće ne nose nikakvu odgovornost?"

Priče o životima djece najzloglasnijih Hitlerovih ljudi, mozgova najstrašnijih operacija Drugog svjetskog rata; o tome kako su se neki od njih preko noći odrekli svojih očeva i njihovih ideala, dok su neki do svojih zadnjih dana veličali njihove likove i djela i upropastili svoje živote radi ideologije apsolutnih luđaka i psihopata. Poruke, pouke niti nečega neviđenog nema, zlo se ponavlja i ponavljat će se, ljudi su najgora vrsta koja hoda planetom, a djeca i porodice nose naslijeđenu krivnju bez obzira na njihove stvarne stavove...

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considering the author had interviews his father conducted with children of high placed Nazis in the 50s and then revisted the subject of the interviews many years later,this is a short read.
We only get fragments of the interviews and never learn that much about the people or their infamous fathers,it all seemed a missed opportunity to me.I'm sure a much more detailed read will come out of the interviews themselves if another writer gets to use the material.It isn't a boring book and I did enjoy it but I felt there was much more missing.
It contains interviews with amongst others Wolf Rüdiger Hess,Edda Göring,Niklas Frank who is perhaps the most tortured and unique in terms of his hatred for his father.The daughter of Himmler an unrepentant Nazi who refused to do an updated interview or believe her father was wrong,Martin Bormann jr taught theology and was earlier a member of the priesthood,something his rabidly anti Christian father would've despised.
It is an interesting read but had the potential for much more.

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has three aspects. First, there are the initial interviews done in the late fifties. Second, there are the follow-ups done ca. 1999. Third, there are reflections about relations between children and parents, the present and the past. Most disquieting are those portions of the third which refer to sociological and psychological studies that indicate that the perpetrators of violence--in this case the Nazis--appear to suffer few psychological consequences while the victims of violence tend to bear psychic scars for life.

On the news last night it was reported that the nine-year-old Vietnamese girl featured in the iconic photograph of a naked napalm victim running, screaming, was finally to receive some reconstructive surgery. She was, of course, the victim of my government's aggression, one of millions. She has, for fifty years now, suffered continuous pain, physical and psychic, from the injuries done her.

[Nadia Amina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting book that gives you a new perspective on former Nazis. Because in addition to their jobs in which they did terrible deeds, they were also one thing: fathers. The stories of the children Frank, Hess, Bohrmann, Himmler, Göring and von Schirach are on the one hand frightening and on the other hand they show how innocent the children of these great personalities could be. I would recommend anyone who deals with the Nazi era to have this book on hand.

[layla · Rating 3 out of 5]

meh.

[deLille · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt more like I was reading an extended term paper in which a student named Norbert Lebert had compiled a copious amount of information on index cards and was having to assimilate all these note cards into a body of work by the term paper deadline, regardless of the holes in his research or the datedness of some of the material. The information in this book is presented in a rather disjointed style, as though Lebert is telling the story in the order of the index cards accumulated in his research, without bothering to organize his note cards or weave a more coherent story out of all his information.

There are some tidbits of information in here that are fascinating, but overall, the book could have used a really good editor and a lot more research.

[Kristine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting subject but the book is poorly organized and poorly written. I'm willing to overlook the "poorly written" part as it's a translation. Maybe it was better in the original German.

It came as no suprise to me that many of the children have their parents ideals. I imagine all their relatives were on the same page when their fathers were alive.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was really interesting information, but not really readable.

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of My Father’s Keeper (2001). This is the story of the sons and daughters of Himmler, Hess, Goering, and others. Journalists Stephan Lebert and his son Norbert conducted their interviews in 1959 and 2000, respectively.

The subjects’ coping mechanisms were largely unsuccessful. The most strategically useful approach (I won’t call it ‘successful’) was perhaps that of Martin Bormann, Jr., who retreated into the priesthood. [Note: There’s an afterword in My Father’s Keeper directing readers to Bormann, Jr’s. autobiography, Living Against the Shadow.]

The least useful mechanism? Denial. Gudrun Himmler maintained her father’s surname and her belief in his innocence, believe it or not, thus becoming virtually unemployable. She, more than the others, has become a target for hatred, much of it brought upon her by her coping method. (She persists in keeping both her family name and connections to former (?) National Socialists, who, I presume, sit around and mourn the loss of the Gemutlichkrieg of bygone days.) She is not popular, even with those who share her background.

Although psychologists are quoted in Lebert’s book, there’s little exploration of the psychology itself. We are looking at adults who, in childhood, lost their fathers either by execution, imprisonment, or premature death. The sentences were logical and justified, but no child can be left unmarked by the loss of a parent, let alone loss by judicial decree. Their situation is not unlike that of adult children of alcoholics: having an absent father responsible for his own downfall. Such children, depending on their age, are more or less severely damaged. The part played by actual drugs and alcohol in all of this should not be ignored.

Add to that the shame of being the progeny of Nazi murderers. Yes, they can tell themselves, “It was not I who did those horrendous things.” But only a sociopath would find that fully effective, and we are now well into the territory of the Unconscious and the enduring Paternal Archetype. The Unconscious has a logic all to itself and was the source of Hitler’s illogical, hatred-based evil. (Adolf was raised by a violent, sadistic alcoholic who at least once beat the boy into unconsciousness, according to eyewitness Alois Hitler, Jr., quoted by his son, Patrick Hitler.)]

On top of that, as if we need anything more, these children were maltreated by Allied interrogators and later by schools, teachers, children, and often by anyone else who found out who they were.

Also missing is any discussion of the mechanism of denial. It is an autonomic process, another product of the Unconscious, which protects us from things that are too much for us. The optic and auditory nerves do not terminate in the forebrain; they go first to the cerebellum, seat of the Guardienne. That is where memories are accessed (or blocked), too. See my book’s Appendix C for more information on the Guardienne.

I normally would include a few pithy quotes from the work, but I’ll let readers find them instead. There are many passages that epitomize the lives of these men and women and their fathers. My Father’s Keeper, at 243 pages, is a fast read, compelling and well-written. I read it in two sessions.

[Ana Rute Primo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Para quem, como eu, gosta de ler sobre a Segunda Guerra Mundial, vai gostar bastante deste livro.

Trata-se, pois, de um livro de não ficção que explora, ainda que de forma breve, o que se passou com as famílias dos dirigentes nazis depois do final da guerra na Alemanha até ao fim do século XX.

Poderíamos pensar que seria uma pesada herança que estes filhos carregariam aos ombros, mas será mesmo assim? Será que todos eles transportam o estigma do nome consigo?

Nesta obra, encontramos o mais variado tipo de sentimentos dos filhos em relação aos respetivos pais: os que odeiam os pais e tudo fazem para se demarcar desse peso, os que se mantiveram lado a lado apenas por uma questão de decoro afetivo, os que veneram os pais e defendem ferozmente o seu passado…

É difícil aceitar este último enquadramento, mas, após ter um vislumbre de como estas máquinas assassinas eram pais carinhosos em casa, que passavam tempo de qualidade com os seus filhos, brincavam com eles, dou comigo a pensar: como poderia ser de outra forma? Cresceram afastados do centro da ação e só conheceram o lado bom dos seus progenitores. Tento fazer o exercício de colocar-me no lugar dos filhos, mas não consigo…

É muito interessante verificar a evolução destas pessoas que foram entrevistadas pelos jornalistas Norbert e Stephan Lebert, pai e filho respetivamente, com um intervalo de quarenta anos.

Temos também uma breve passagem pelos julgamentos de Nuremberga e o impacto que tiveram nas famílias. Muitas esposas foram detidas com os seus próprios filhos ainda crianças. Gostava de conhecer mais ao pormenor o ponto de vista destas mulheres, as suas vivências, o seu envolvimento, o grau de conhecimento que tinham, o papel que desempenharam dentro e fora do período da guerra.

Se tiverem sugestões de leitura serão muito bem-vindas.

Por último, não posso deixar de falar na revisão de texto, se é que existiu, que está péssima, especialmente ao nível da pontuação. De resto, não sendo uma obra brilhante, está muito bem conseguida ainda que os temas sejam abordados um pouco superficialmente.

❤️ boasleituras.pt ❤️

[Robin Drummond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Norbert Lebert's book is a revisiting of his father's 1959 manuscript: Who were the children of the top Nazis? What happened to them after the end of the war?

Joseph and Magda Goebbels murdered their six children - in Hitler's bunker - then committed suicide as the Reich collapsed around them. What of the others? Children who bear the names: Hess, Bormann, Himmler, Frank and others lived on, carrying either the curse or the honor of those names (depending on your political and/or ideological persuasion). What of them?

The unique perspective of a 40 year lapse is most interesting in looking at the lives of the progeny. Did any of them change much from the early days after the war? Did any of them follow their parents' paths?

There seems to be only one of two ch0ices for these families: either the children spent their lives defending their parents (Himmler) or repudiating them (Bormann). There isn't much that deviates from these two paths. The larger question inevitably raised by this book is how did the world cope with so many with nefarious pasts? The answer isn't as complicated as some would try to explain.

In postwar Germany, on both sides of the wall, where were the administrators, the government functionaries, the bureaucrats to be found who could raise the country from the ashes and rebuild? Why, from the membership lists of the Nazi Party, of course. And rebuild they did.

The West mostly participated in a massive, communal expiation of sorts, acknowledging a hideous, prolonged past and understanding that such grandiosity must never happen again. The East mostly didn't, choosing instead to point across the wall and declare "There are the Nazis. Over there. Not here."

Lebert doesn't come to any specific conclusions about potential futures for twenty-first century Germany, but it's extremely interesting to today read his interviews with these individuals, through the lens of our current stage of society and western culture, especially given the political upheaval occurring on multiple fronts in the present.

[John McNair · Rating 4 out of 5]

A remarkable accounting of some of the grown children of prominent Nazi leaders. The translation from the German book (Du Denn trägst meinen Namen - "You Then Carry My Name") was exceptionally well done - the book reads as if a native English speaker wrote it. It was published in 2000, so most of the people written about have since passed away, and there are just about no Nazi children left (I think Edda Göring still lives). So, it's history. But it certainly more than scratches the surface of the whole German guilt issue, and it is interesting to see how that played out with the subjects - some lived in complete denial, others (well, one) annually masturbated on his father's photo on the anniversary of his hanging at Nuremberg. Two extremes. I should mention, as other reviewers have, that the author's father (also a journalist like his son and with some War Two issues of his own), had interviewed these "children" in 1959, and the son took it upon himself to follow-up 40 years later. So the book contains elements of both sets of interviews, and I found the revelations fascinating. Even just the every-day, getting on with life, one-trouser-leg-at-a-time detail, not to mention capture by the Allies and internment in camps post-war. Despite the brush of normalcy in most of the subjects' lives (excepting perhaps Gudrun Himmler, who was a cutting-edge neo-Nazi) the whole book was a chilling reminder that Nazism lives on, even in those who try to live in complete denial.

[Lau Maia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Também usas o meu nome chamou-me a atenção porque me tenho interessado cada vez mais por história mas não uma história qualquer. Uma história que me conte uma história, que me mostre o que aconteceu do ponto de visto de uma pessoa para que eu possa sentir a realidade. Isto que eu gosto de ler nem sempre é fácil de encontrar e como qualquer leitor tenho gostos específicos.
Sobre este livro posso dizer que a temática é algo que muito me interessa mas não apreciei a forma como estava escrito e o pobre de desenvolvimento de temáticas presentes no livro.
Em primeiro lugar acho que o livro peca por frases demasiado pequenas e por vezes disconexas, não sei se devido à tradução ou simplesmente porque sim. Em segundo lugar fiquei com vontade de saber muito mais sobre estes filhos e filhas mas o livro não desenvolve emocionalmente as personalidades. Entendo que talvez por não ter os meios para o fazer mas deixa água na boca de uma forma negativa.
De qualquer forma aconselho a ler quem se interessar pelo tema do nazismo e das pessoas envolvidas, vale sempre a pena descortinar um pouco desta história terrorifica.

[Autumn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and definitely sometimes disturbing account. Not an easy read. The author follows up on his father's interviews from 1959 on the children of high ranking leaders in the Third Reich. Appreciative of the perspective of a German author/journalist, though I don't always agree, which is fine. The hypocrisy of a population (any population, "ours," "theirs") is not always seen, which is bothersome: there's the idea of not blaming a child for their parent's crimes, yet that is exactly what happens to some of them here because of the last name they carry. Some of them have worked hard to be decent people, some of them have carried so much anger for their entire life that it's self-destructive, some you frankly dislike. Interesting but difficult to read.

[Kati · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got the impression that this book sounded like a great idea when Stephan Lebert pitched it, and by the time he realized it really wasn't, it was too late to back out of the contract, so he just put his head down and pushed through as fast and with as little pain as possible. It's very shallow, and doesn't do much to explore the psychology of the subjects or their lives. The younger Lebert even expresses relief within the book that some of the subjects refused to be interviewed by him. It seems perhaps the early research took him to a darker place than he was willing to go, so he just didn't go any further than he had to.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting quick read. Some insights into the privileged lives of children of high ranking Nazi members and impact when Germany lost the war. What is of even more interest is the fact of how many Germans claim no knowledge of what was happening yet so many were either directly fighing, working in prison camps or industry to supply the war or in youth organizations etc. And perhaps how even fewer have ever reported suffering remorse or requiring any form of psychological counselling. What does this say about humanity.

[Chris R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having just read a novel about the Nazi era, I picked this up at the local library.
It’s obviously not a light or pleasant read, in large part because often the children of monsters refuse to see them as monsters. That’s fascinating on some level, I guess, but also deeply dispiriting.
So don’t pick this up for a casual read. Appreciate, as well, that things are sometimes hard to follow. I don’t know if the translator is somehow at fault or the original pieces (interviews by a father and, years later, his son) are to blame.

[Herbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een boek over de kinderen van een aantal Nazi kopstukken. Het manuscript geschreven in 1959 en in 2000 terug opgepakt door de zoon van de toenmalige reporter/schrijver. Ik weet dat er ook in 2020 een hernieuwde editie is gepubliceerd en deze staat hier ergens in de kast. Hopelijk is deze beter als dit boek want hoewel het goed netjes en duidelijk is geschreven vind ik het niet echt een hoogvlieger.

[Maurizio Manco · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Ecco una delle conclusioni che ho tratto nei miei incontri con i figli dei nazisti: gli uni conducono una vita pietrificata, gli altri – che ammettono il dubbio, la rabbia, l’impotenza, la verità – hanno cominciato qualcosa che potremmo forse chiamare una danza sul trapezio, senza rete, al di sopra di un abisso profondo. Una danza di cui nessuno sa né quando né come finirà." (p. 154)

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciated and enjoyed that he expanded upon his father's 1959 manuscript with both newer analysis and interviews. He did use some references that I wasn't familiar with and had to go look up. However, given that the text had to be translated to English it's likely that his intended audience would've understood those references--perhaps rendering this criticism somewhat irrelevant.

[Thordur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Het boek 'Mijn vader was een nazi' is een zeer interessant boek op basis van de inhoud. Wat wel moeilijk is aan dit boek is dat je de inhoud moet kunnen begrijpen. Het is zeker geen makkelijk boek om te lezen. Op bepaalde momenten moet je in mijn ogen verschillende linken kunnen leggen. Ook blijf je soms nog met vragen zitten.

De opbouw van het boek lijkt me logisch, er komen verschillende getuigenissen in voor. Dit maakt het ook zo interessant omdat het niet van uit 1 perspectief kan bekeken worden.

Dit boek is in mijn ogen zeker een aanrader voor iedereen die geïnteresseerd zou zijn in dit onderwerp. Mijn algemene conclusie is dan dus ook dat ik het boek aan raad voor iedereen die zich een beetje interesseert in de geschiedenis.

[Tittirossa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ripercorre le interviste che il padre ha fatto agli stessi personaggi nel 1959.
Più un articolo di giornale che un libro, molto forte nell'emettere giudizi morali (che siano condivisibili non aiuta il libro a essere più "libro"), un po' meno nel lavoro giornalistico-autoriale.

[Shari Chernack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow - accidents of fate and consequences of birth are eerily intertwined in this fascinating book reflecting interviews of high-ranking Nazi children, conducted 40 years apart by father and son. Chilling.

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite an enjoyable look on the lives of some top Nazi's children. I enjoyed every page, though do wish things had been easier on Gudrun. Anyway, an interesting, honest read that I'd recommend to anyone looking for a different sort of Holocaust/Nazi/history book.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

How do the children of the most murderous Nazi officials reckon (or not) with their unchosen family history? There's a fascinating book somewhere in here, but it's written in such a jumbled, circuitous way that it's difficult to engage with.