Blood and Banquets: A Berlin Social Diary

by Bella Fromm, Judith Rossner (Foreword by), Frederick T. Birchall (Introduction)

As a Berlin social reporter in the years leading up to WWII, Bella Fromm mingled with some of the most important and influential members of Hitler's rising Third Reich. Given the Nazis' appreciation for propaganda, this fact alone would be unremarkable, but her writings take on special interest when coupled with the knowledge that she received such access while openly proclaiming her own Jewish background and anti-Nazi sympathies. As she dutifully reported on the countless dinners, galas, and cultural events attended by German high society, Fromm also kept a secret diary that chronicled the seemingly inexplicable growth and horrifying consequences of National Socialism: "It's not curious that all this is beginning to make me feel like a stranger in my own country, that I am beginning to be aware of a feeling of hostility...."

Fearing for her life, Fromm fled Germany in 1938, smuggling her incriminating diary out in separate parcels before she left. First published in 1943, these recollections wear the patina of an Allied effort at public relations, but the prescient accuracy of her dire predictions is intriguing nonetheless. And, while invariably placing herself in the shining glow of absolute moral and ethical integrity, her insightful observations offer an interesting record of the many actions--both heroic and cowardly--she witnessed during this particularly ugly period of mass hysteria. --George Laney

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Memoir, Holocaust, World War II, Germany, Autobiography

338 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1942

Reviews

[Lewis Weinstein]

Fascinating ... I had a library copy and just ordered my own from amazon ... the kind of reference I will return to again and again as I write the sequel to A Flood of Evil. Frau Bella offers candid observations on everything.

It has been alleged by Henry Turner that much of Fromm's diary was fabricated after the fact, when she had emigrated to America and needed the book revenues. I haven't read Turner's report, and there are some passages that seem exaggerated, but most of it rings true to me.

[Denise]

This is one of the best 'diaries' or memoirs I have read concerning the Third Reich. Bella Fromm was a German Jewish woman who worked as a social columnist until the Nazis forbade Jews from being published under their own names. She traveled in international and diplomatic circles and met/observed all of the top Nazis, including Hitler. Her diary traces the beginnings of Hitler and his policies from the 20's up until 1938 when she was finally able to emigrate to the United States. It's very interesting, and I highly recommend it.

I would love to know what happened to Frau Fromm and her daughter after she finally got settled here but have been unable to find any information.

[Marian Alexander]

A fascinating view of Berlin in the early Hitler years. This is the personal journal of a german Jewish society columnist who travelled in connected diplomatic circles. She shares personal observations and comments on leading german figures, up to and including Hitler. She also astutely notes the self-justification of Germans who claim not to support nazism, yet go along with it.
Since this was a personal journal, it’s anecdotal, without any true narrative.
Adds an interesting angle to Hitler’s accumulation of power.

[Amy]

I am a WWII buff, so this book appealed to me. It is a good read as it goes through a journalist, Jewish woman's experiences before and during the NAZI regime before she was able to escape to the US. Then when she came to the US, she was still hunted by the Nazis! This is more like a documentary since it is literally a woman's diary, however, it was still a very good read. I think you need to know a little about WWII to read in between her entries to understand the sequence of things and the depth/meaning of some things. She didn't get into the weeds about train loads of Jews being shipped off to concentration camps. She wrote about the parties, gatherings, banquets and more events where Nazis, supporters and non-supporters mingled, what she heard, what she was able to print and saw when they started to take over and how this occurred.

[Pip]

Het boek leest vlot als een historische roman, helaas is dit verhaal geen fictie. Je leeft mee met alles wat ze meemaakt en krijgt het er benauwd van. Ongelooflijk wat men heeft moeten doorstaan, alleen al in het gewone leven, toentertijd.

Boek zit vol met namen van politieke personen van die tijd. Fijn dat er soms even wat achtergrondinformatie wordt gegeven.

[Jan]

I’m now into epistolary literature because of this book. Highly recommend!