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The File on Fraulein Berg
In Belfast 1944, Fraulein Berg arrives to teach German at Kate, Harriet and Sally's school. The girls decide that as she's German she must be an enemy and they set to proving it. The story is told by Kate years later, haunted by their silly acts and often wondering what happened to Fraulein Berg.
204 pages, Paperback
First published June 14, 1980
3 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
Joan Lingard
92 books63 followersJoan Lingard was born in Edinburgh, in the Old Town, but grew up in Belfast where she lived until she was 18. She attended Strandtown Primary and then got a scholarship into Bloomfied Collegiate. She has three daughters and five grandchildren, and now lives in Edinburgh with her Canadian husband.
Lingard has written novels for both adults and children. She is probably most famous for the teenage-aimed Kevin and Sadie series, which have sold over one million copies and have been reprinted many times since.
Her first novel Liam's Daughter was an adult-orientated novel published in 1963. Her first children's novel was The Twelfth Day of July (the first of the five Kevin and Sadie books) in 1970.
Lingard received the prestigious West German award the "Buxtehuder Bulle" in 1986 for Across the Barricades. Tug of War has also received great success: shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal 1989, The Federation of Children's Book Group Award 1989, runner up in the Lancashire Children's Book Club of the year 1990 and shortlisted for the Sheffield Book Award. In 1998, her book Tom and the Tree House won the Scottish Arts Council Children's Book Award. Her most recent novel, What to Do About Holly was released in August 2009.
Lingard was awarded an MBE in 1998 for services to children's literature.
Lingard has written novels for both adults and children. She is probably most famous for the teenage-aimed Kevin and Sadie series, which have sold over one million copies and have been reprinted many times since.
Her first novel Liam's Daughter was an adult-orientated novel published in 1963. Her first children's novel was The Twelfth Day of July (the first of the five Kevin and Sadie books) in 1970.
Lingard received the prestigious West German award the "Buxtehuder Bulle" in 1986 for Across the Barricades. Tug of War has also received great success: shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal 1989, The Federation of Children's Book Group Award 1989, runner up in the Lancashire Children's Book Club of the year 1990 and shortlisted for the Sheffield Book Award. In 1998, her book Tom and the Tree House won the Scottish Arts Council Children's Book Award. Her most recent novel, What to Do About Holly was released in August 2009.
Lingard was awarded an MBE in 1998 for services to children's literature.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 24, 2018
Joan Lingard's 1980 novel The File on Fräulein Berg examines how during times of war, children can easily and dangerously be capable of nasty, abusive and even borderline evil behaviour, as they imitate their elders and the general mood of a nation at war (and that sometimes, children actually go even further, as what their parents and other adults often only express as opinions and feelings, the children then turn into actions, into deeds).
Set in 1944 Belfast, The File on Fräulein Berg focusses on three teenage girls who have somehow convinced themselves that their high school German teacher is a Nazi spy. And thus, Kate, Sally and Harriet strive to make Fräulein Berg's life miserable with their misguided rabid nationalism, for all intents and purposes acting very much like spies themselves, the very vice of which they and WRONGFULLY have accused Fräulein Berg (who is, in fact, a Jewish refugee and the only member of her family to have escaped the horrors of the Holocaust).
Although Joan Lingard deftly and with an understated, yet always palpable sense of outrage exposes dangerous and empty nationalism (in both adults and children), personally, I think there should be somewhat more direct and overt specific criticism levelled at the three main protagonists (or perhaps, considering how the three girls harass and continuously spy on poor Fräulein Berg, the three main antagonists). For even if they are, indeed, to a certain point imitating the adults around them, their parents, their teachers etc., it is NOT the adults but Kate, Sally and Harriet who actively harass, monitor and track their German teacher (turning their elders' feelings and opinions about Germany and the Germans into actions and nasty, dirty deeds). The three girls do not think, they simply act out, and even in the future, even during the epilogue, adult Sally still kind of seems to try to partially downplay the seriousness of how they acted as teenagers, how they acted towards Fräulein Berg (although realising that spying on Fräulein Berg was bigoted and hateful, Sally almost to a point justifies their behaviour as teenagers and sees it as simply a silly girlish prank, mostly and supposedly because Kate, Harriet and she, like so many others in wartime Britain, were inundated with and by propaganda and were told, were taught to despise and mistrust anything German). It therefore seems and feels rather painfully as though Sally is making a bit of an excuse, and while I do NOT believe that Joan Lingard is in any way justifying that excuse as acceptable, I also feel that there is not enough personal criticism presented. The three girls actively and with very much malicious intent stalk their German teacher on a continuous basis and that they were exposed to propaganda against Germans, sorry, but that does not take away from their actions and from their personal responsibility and self achieved culpability.
Also, finally, and especially for me as a German Canadian (and as such, also as someone who was often relentlessly bullied and verbally harangued when my family immigrated to Canada in the late 70s, being called a Nazi simply because of my background, my being German), there (at least in my opinion) does remain a strong and rather uncomfortable undercurrent present in The File on Fräulein Berg, namely that if Fräulein Berg were, in fact, not Jewish, the bigoted and nasty attitudes and spying, the stalking ways of the three teenagers could, or perhaps even would be at least possibly and partially justified, perhaps even acceptable. And thus, while having Fräulein Berg appear as a Jewish refugee (a victim of the Nazis) makes the harassment and nastiness she encounters from Kate and her gang all the more immediate and heart-breaking, it does, although likely inadvertently, leave the rather unfortunate impression that a WWII stalking and monitoring of a German teacher in Britain who is not Jewish would be at least somewhat and possibly even totally acceptable and appropriate.
Now that being all said, and even with my minor issues regarding this novel, or rather certain aspects thereof, The File on Fräulein Berg remains most highly recommended, and presents in and of itself a strongly articulated anti-war message, and an equally strong proclamation against any and all forms of rabid nationalism, as well as the propaganda, the abhorrent behaviours and actions that can so easily stem from this (and how it can and does especially negatively affect impressionable children, causing them to behave in nastily loathsome, and even potentially dangerously criminal fashions).
Set in 1944 Belfast, The File on Fräulein Berg focusses on three teenage girls who have somehow convinced themselves that their high school German teacher is a Nazi spy. And thus, Kate, Sally and Harriet strive to make Fräulein Berg's life miserable with their misguided rabid nationalism, for all intents and purposes acting very much like spies themselves, the very vice of which they and WRONGFULLY have accused Fräulein Berg (who is, in fact, a Jewish refugee and the only member of her family to have escaped the horrors of the Holocaust).
Although Joan Lingard deftly and with an understated, yet always palpable sense of outrage exposes dangerous and empty nationalism (in both adults and children), personally, I think there should be somewhat more direct and overt specific criticism levelled at the three main protagonists (or perhaps, considering how the three girls harass and continuously spy on poor Fräulein Berg, the three main antagonists). For even if they are, indeed, to a certain point imitating the adults around them, their parents, their teachers etc., it is NOT the adults but Kate, Sally and Harriet who actively harass, monitor and track their German teacher (turning their elders' feelings and opinions about Germany and the Germans into actions and nasty, dirty deeds). The three girls do not think, they simply act out, and even in the future, even during the epilogue, adult Sally still kind of seems to try to partially downplay the seriousness of how they acted as teenagers, how they acted towards Fräulein Berg (although realising that spying on Fräulein Berg was bigoted and hateful, Sally almost to a point justifies their behaviour as teenagers and sees it as simply a silly girlish prank, mostly and supposedly because Kate, Harriet and she, like so many others in wartime Britain, were inundated with and by propaganda and were told, were taught to despise and mistrust anything German). It therefore seems and feels rather painfully as though Sally is making a bit of an excuse, and while I do NOT believe that Joan Lingard is in any way justifying that excuse as acceptable, I also feel that there is not enough personal criticism presented. The three girls actively and with very much malicious intent stalk their German teacher on a continuous basis and that they were exposed to propaganda against Germans, sorry, but that does not take away from their actions and from their personal responsibility and self achieved culpability.
Also, finally, and especially for me as a German Canadian (and as such, also as someone who was often relentlessly bullied and verbally harangued when my family immigrated to Canada in the late 70s, being called a Nazi simply because of my background, my being German), there (at least in my opinion) does remain a strong and rather uncomfortable undercurrent present in The File on Fräulein Berg, namely that if Fräulein Berg were, in fact, not Jewish, the bigoted and nasty attitudes and spying, the stalking ways of the three teenagers could, or perhaps even would be at least possibly and partially justified, perhaps even acceptable. And thus, while having Fräulein Berg appear as a Jewish refugee (a victim of the Nazis) makes the harassment and nastiness she encounters from Kate and her gang all the more immediate and heart-breaking, it does, although likely inadvertently, leave the rather unfortunate impression that a WWII stalking and monitoring of a German teacher in Britain who is not Jewish would be at least somewhat and possibly even totally acceptable and appropriate.
Now that being all said, and even with my minor issues regarding this novel, or rather certain aspects thereof, The File on Fräulein Berg remains most highly recommended, and presents in and of itself a strongly articulated anti-war message, and an equally strong proclamation against any and all forms of rabid nationalism, as well as the propaganda, the abhorrent behaviours and actions that can so easily stem from this (and how it can and does especially negatively affect impressionable children, causing them to behave in nastily loathsome, and even potentially dangerously criminal fashions).
November 23, 2019
I greatly enjoyed this story about three young friends growing up in Ireland during the war. The characters were interesting, three girls from different backgrounds with very different parents.
A new teacher arrives and she is German. Instantly the girls start speculating that she could be a spy and fuelled by a dangerous mixture of nationalism, a 'them and us' attitude from their own situation as Catholics and Protestants, the war propaganda and an ignorance towards a human beings feelings they set out to watch Frauline Berg and warn off those who get close to her.
It's a sad story but feels realistic, it seems quite plausible that this could happen amidst the general hysteria of the war propaganda and it's equally as poignant that these girls do not come across as evil bullies in any other part of their lives, apart from their actions to Frauline Berg I quite liked them but their ignorance made all but one of the friends seem totally oblivious of the implications of their actions to this poor young woman.
The end seemed wrapped up a bit too neatly for me, it felt as if all was forgotten and forgiven and it all turned out well in the end. I suppose it was the era but I'm surprised nobody talked to the girls about their behaviour although a lot of it went unknown, but sadly I suspect this was the general feeling at the time by adults too, that Germany and all Germans were the enemy. One of the girls mother's wisely said 'be careful when you say everybody, it's a very big word'
A new teacher arrives and she is German. Instantly the girls start speculating that she could be a spy and fuelled by a dangerous mixture of nationalism, a 'them and us' attitude from their own situation as Catholics and Protestants, the war propaganda and an ignorance towards a human beings feelings they set out to watch Frauline Berg and warn off those who get close to her.
It's a sad story but feels realistic, it seems quite plausible that this could happen amidst the general hysteria of the war propaganda and it's equally as poignant that these girls do not come across as evil bullies in any other part of their lives, apart from their actions to Frauline Berg I quite liked them but their ignorance made all but one of the friends seem totally oblivious of the implications of their actions to this poor young woman.
The end seemed wrapped up a bit too neatly for me, it felt as if all was forgotten and forgiven and it all turned out well in the end. I suppose it was the era but I'm surprised nobody talked to the girls about their behaviour although a lot of it went unknown, but sadly I suspect this was the general feeling at the time by adults too, that Germany and all Germans were the enemy. One of the girls mother's wisely said 'be careful when you say everybody, it's a very big word'
January 30, 2024
I got this book for Christmas 1981, I was 12 years old and devoured every page, I was a huge fan of Joan Lingard especially the Kevin and Sadie books. 43 years later and another Christmas, I so enjoyed reading this again, I particularly remembered the train journey from Belfast to Dublin, smuggling clothes, jewellery and food back across the boarder. A beautifully told story of three school girls and their fantasies about a German refugee who comes to teach at their school. They wrongly think she is a German spy, actually she is a kind but lonely young woman, we are never told her back story but perhaps she is Jewish. Joan Lingard was a master at describing the ordinary and making the ordinary worth celebrating, trips to the cinema, ice-cream after, tea at a teenage friends house, it is all here :-)
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews