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Ich war dabei
Gudrun Pausewangs Erzählungen über den
»Ein beeindruckendes Zeitzeugnis.« Süddeutsche Zeitung
Zeitzeugin Gudrun Pausewang schildert in 20 kurzen, oft sehr persönlichen Geschichten Begebenheiten, die sich während der NS-Zeit abspielten. Mal verarbeitet sie eigene Erinnerungen, mal Augenzeugenberichte Dritter zu kurzen Erzählungen. In jeder einzelnen steckt das ganze Entsetzen und der ganze Schmerz über die Verbrechen der Nationalsozialisten. Geschichte, die jungen Lesern durch Literatur ganz unmittelbar zugänglich gemacht werden kann und muss – gegen das Vergessen.
»Ein beeindruckendes Zeitzeugnis.« Süddeutsche Zeitung
Zeitzeugin Gudrun Pausewang schildert in 20 kurzen, oft sehr persönlichen Geschichten Begebenheiten, die sich während der NS-Zeit abspielten. Mal verarbeitet sie eigene Erinnerungen, mal Augenzeugenberichte Dritter zu kurzen Erzählungen. In jeder einzelnen steckt das ganze Entsetzen und der ganze Schmerz über die Verbrechen der Nationalsozialisten. Geschichte, die jungen Lesern durch Literatur ganz unmittelbar zugänglich gemacht werden kann und muss – gegen das Vergessen.
- GenresHistoryShort Stories
187 pages, Paperback
First published February 28, 2007
1 person is currently reading
39 people want to read
About the author
Gudrun Pausewang
131 books45 followersGudrun Pausewang (1928 - 2020) was a German writer of children's and teen fiction, also noted in science fiction for young-adult novels like The Last Children of Schewenborn.
Pausewang was born in Eastern Bohemia of German ancestry and after World War II her family settled in the former West Germany. She later became a teacher and taught in Germany's foreign school services in South America. She has written 86 novels with many of them involving the Third World and environmental concerns.
She has won several awards, including the German Federal Cross of Merit, the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis and the Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis for The Cloud in 1988.
She was the older sister of Freya Pausewang.
Pausewang was born in Eastern Bohemia of German ancestry and after World War II her family settled in the former West Germany. She later became a teacher and taught in Germany's foreign school services in South America. She has written 86 novels with many of them involving the Third World and environmental concerns.
She has won several awards, including the German Federal Cross of Merit, the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis and the Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis for The Cloud in 1988.
She was the older sister of Freya Pausewang.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 28, 2020
True everyday life stories from Nazi Germany, told from the angle of children being immersed in it. Shattering! Evil (not the devil, he is harmless by comparison!) is in the detail.
The story that broke my heart: German families waiting for the Gestapo to deport a Jewish family to run into their deserted home and grab whatever they could, including the still hot meal on the kitchen table!
Never again! For everyone out there, thinking the danger from the right is relatively innocent, read this book and ponder upon what normal, regular people did when they were given the opportunity!
Highly recommended for schools as well.
Gudrun Pausewang is a key witness of the time, but also a skilled narrator for young adults! The postscript describing her shock when her world, the world of German invulnerability under the cult leader Hitler, fell apart in 1945, is well worth reading as a gruesome tale of propaganda working like a fine-tuned machine, until the bitter end.
The story that broke my heart: German families waiting for the Gestapo to deport a Jewish family to run into their deserted home and grab whatever they could, including the still hot meal on the kitchen table!
Never again! For everyone out there, thinking the danger from the right is relatively innocent, read this book and ponder upon what normal, regular people did when they were given the opportunity!
Highly recommended for schools as well.
Gudrun Pausewang is a key witness of the time, but also a skilled narrator for young adults! The postscript describing her shock when her world, the world of German invulnerability under the cult leader Hitler, fell apart in 1945, is well worth reading as a gruesome tale of propaganda working like a fine-tuned machine, until the bitter end.
March 2, 2022
So just to be perfectly clear and to tell the truth, Gudrun Pausewang’s collection of twenty short stories with the thought-provoking title of Ich war dabei - Geschichten gegen das Vergessen (which should roughly be translated into English as I was there, or perhaps also for some of these accounts as that I participated, and yes, that these stories have primarily been penned and are being recounted by Gudrun Pausewang to make sure that the Third Reich, that WWII, that Nazi horrors and atrocities will not be conveniently forgotten) is absolutely uncomfortable, and while engagingly and emotionally written not at all in any way a reading pleasure (but yes, this is of course also and certainly how it should be, and in fact I would go so far as to say that if Ich war dabei - Geschichten gegen das Vergessen were not uncomfortable, if Gudrun Pausewang’s stories were a reading joy and pleasant, then there would actually and from my personal perspective be something very much wrong with them).
And definitely, Ich war dabei - Geschichten gegen das Vergessen is therefore and in my humble opinion a perusal experience that is not only important and essential but Ich war dabei - Geschichten gegen das Vergessen is thus also a book that should actually and in fact be absolutely mandatory in EVERY German classroom and for EVERY German child above the age of twelve or so (but in particular for those child readers who might want to think and believe that Nazism, that Fascist extremism, that racial discrimination and intolerance are all basically a thing of the past in Germany and elsewhere, that the Third Reich and a dangerously unhinged but powerfully charismatic dictator such as Adolf Hitler could simply not happen again, and of course also for those children who might well have been both internally and externally fed rose coloured fairy tales that their own families or their specific hometowns either knew absolutely nothing of the Holocaust or actively tried to defy Adolf Hitler, and indeed and yes, I also must say that I am very much disappointed that Ich war dabei - Geschichten gegen das Vergessen has sadly not been to date translated into English).
Because while in Ich war dabei - Geschichten gegen das Vergessen Gudrun Pauswang’s twenty fictional but based on actual historical reality short stories (tales gleaned from both her own personal experiences as a teenager and young adult during the Hitler era and on interviews Pausewang conducted) poignantly and informatively demonstrate (and with often also much understated but ever present sympathy and empathy) how the Nazi era was experienced and lived through not by the NSDAP elite (or by members of the German aristocrats) but mostly by working to middle class Germans and their families (by children, by their parents, grandparents, and indeed how in particular for children, it seemingly was often sadly and ridiculously easy for them to actively be brainwashed and to thus be turned into uncritical supporters of Naziism and its rampant, toxic and disturbingly lethal, dangerous nationalism), her, Gudrun Pausewang’s tales also strive to clarify some of the many “feel good” misconceptions that have abounded over the years since the end of WWII both in Germany proper and amongst German expats, and especially with regard to rosy and naive attitudes such as for a prime example that Germans during Hitler’s reign did not actually know anything or all that much about the Holocaust.
For yes, and happily so (even though this obviously and of course naturally both saddens and infuriates me) in ALL of the accounts encountered in Ich war dabei - Geschichten gegen das Vergessen Gudrun Pausewang clearly and succinctly textually shows and describes that while there might well have been an official Nachrichtensperre regarding the Holocaust (basically an official ban and interdiction on knowing about and especially on mentioning, on discussing it), basically the Holocaust was common even if unofficial knowledge (and that very many Germans also seemingly saw nothing wrong with profiting from the collective fate of their Jewish neighbours, as is for example heartbreakingly described in the first short story of Ich war dabei - Geschichten gegen das Vergessen, where after a Jewish family has been arrested and taken away by the Gestapo, the mother of the first person narrator thinks nothing wrong with invading their house and making off with not only pieces of furniture but also the still hot and steaming noonday meal the arrested family had just been in the process of eating and gets massively annoyed with her daughter asking questions).
And finally, albeit Ich war dabei - Geschichten gegen das Vergessen also (and happily so for me) shows quite a few examples of quiet but still deliberate acts of rebellion against Nazi atrocities and attitudes (like for example the housewives of a small German town banding together and collectively doing the shopping for a Jewish family of their acquaintance even though this is of course strictly forbidden and could easily lead to official censure) and that Gudrun Pausewang also obviously and importantly features ample textual evidence that not all Germans were actually rabidly and uncritically pro Adolf Hitler, in Ich war dabei - Geschichten gegen das Vergessen ALL of these quasi redemptive tales also appreciatively never lose sight of the fact that small acts of rebellion, that being against Naziism, against Hitler and his bigotry generally would and could lead absolutely nowhere, usually ended up massively fizzling out, as people were either much much too frightened of running afoul of authorities, of the Gestapo (and indeed with justification, as even being even a trifle critical of Adolf Hitler could easily lead to one’s arrest and resulting execution) or considered it be unacceptable and treason to be openly critical of one’s leader, of one’s country.
But definitely, with regard to what Gudrun Pausewang has verbally penned in Ich war dabei - Geschichten gegen das Vergessen, her printed words are not only to be most highly recommended, they are, Ich war dabei - Geschichten gegen das Vergessen is in my humble opinion also totally necessary reading material for the intended audience to peruse (either at home or at school) in order to both learn about National Socialism more in-depth politically and without compromise, and to equally and personally have certain popular wishful thinking scenarios such as the “most Germans were unaware of the Holocaust” statement be declared as rather faulty and naively untrue as best and of course also a rather lame and uncomfortable, unacceptable excuse (and with Gudrun Pausewang herself not shying away from verbally relating in her author’s note for Ich war dabei - Geschichten gegen das Vergessen that as a teenager, she was in fact so enthralled with and by Nazism and especially the enigmatically sly and calculating Adolf Hitler, that the end of WWII, Germany’s and Hitler’s death by suicide was totally devastating for her and many of the brainwashed former members of the HJ and the BDM and that it actually took quite a while for her, for Gudrun Pausewang to accept Hitler as evil).
And definitely, Ich war dabei - Geschichten gegen das Vergessen is therefore and in my humble opinion a perusal experience that is not only important and essential but Ich war dabei - Geschichten gegen das Vergessen is thus also a book that should actually and in fact be absolutely mandatory in EVERY German classroom and for EVERY German child above the age of twelve or so (but in particular for those child readers who might want to think and believe that Nazism, that Fascist extremism, that racial discrimination and intolerance are all basically a thing of the past in Germany and elsewhere, that the Third Reich and a dangerously unhinged but powerfully charismatic dictator such as Adolf Hitler could simply not happen again, and of course also for those children who might well have been both internally and externally fed rose coloured fairy tales that their own families or their specific hometowns either knew absolutely nothing of the Holocaust or actively tried to defy Adolf Hitler, and indeed and yes, I also must say that I am very much disappointed that Ich war dabei - Geschichten gegen das Vergessen has sadly not been to date translated into English).
Because while in Ich war dabei - Geschichten gegen das Vergessen Gudrun Pauswang’s twenty fictional but based on actual historical reality short stories (tales gleaned from both her own personal experiences as a teenager and young adult during the Hitler era and on interviews Pausewang conducted) poignantly and informatively demonstrate (and with often also much understated but ever present sympathy and empathy) how the Nazi era was experienced and lived through not by the NSDAP elite (or by members of the German aristocrats) but mostly by working to middle class Germans and their families (by children, by their parents, grandparents, and indeed how in particular for children, it seemingly was often sadly and ridiculously easy for them to actively be brainwashed and to thus be turned into uncritical supporters of Naziism and its rampant, toxic and disturbingly lethal, dangerous nationalism), her, Gudrun Pausewang’s tales also strive to clarify some of the many “feel good” misconceptions that have abounded over the years since the end of WWII both in Germany proper and amongst German expats, and especially with regard to rosy and naive attitudes such as for a prime example that Germans during Hitler’s reign did not actually know anything or all that much about the Holocaust.
For yes, and happily so (even though this obviously and of course naturally both saddens and infuriates me) in ALL of the accounts encountered in Ich war dabei - Geschichten gegen das Vergessen Gudrun Pausewang clearly and succinctly textually shows and describes that while there might well have been an official Nachrichtensperre regarding the Holocaust (basically an official ban and interdiction on knowing about and especially on mentioning, on discussing it), basically the Holocaust was common even if unofficial knowledge (and that very many Germans also seemingly saw nothing wrong with profiting from the collective fate of their Jewish neighbours, as is for example heartbreakingly described in the first short story of Ich war dabei - Geschichten gegen das Vergessen, where after a Jewish family has been arrested and taken away by the Gestapo, the mother of the first person narrator thinks nothing wrong with invading their house and making off with not only pieces of furniture but also the still hot and steaming noonday meal the arrested family had just been in the process of eating and gets massively annoyed with her daughter asking questions).
And finally, albeit Ich war dabei - Geschichten gegen das Vergessen also (and happily so for me) shows quite a few examples of quiet but still deliberate acts of rebellion against Nazi atrocities and attitudes (like for example the housewives of a small German town banding together and collectively doing the shopping for a Jewish family of their acquaintance even though this is of course strictly forbidden and could easily lead to official censure) and that Gudrun Pausewang also obviously and importantly features ample textual evidence that not all Germans were actually rabidly and uncritically pro Adolf Hitler, in Ich war dabei - Geschichten gegen das Vergessen ALL of these quasi redemptive tales also appreciatively never lose sight of the fact that small acts of rebellion, that being against Naziism, against Hitler and his bigotry generally would and could lead absolutely nowhere, usually ended up massively fizzling out, as people were either much much too frightened of running afoul of authorities, of the Gestapo (and indeed with justification, as even being even a trifle critical of Adolf Hitler could easily lead to one’s arrest and resulting execution) or considered it be unacceptable and treason to be openly critical of one’s leader, of one’s country.
But definitely, with regard to what Gudrun Pausewang has verbally penned in Ich war dabei - Geschichten gegen das Vergessen, her printed words are not only to be most highly recommended, they are, Ich war dabei - Geschichten gegen das Vergessen is in my humble opinion also totally necessary reading material for the intended audience to peruse (either at home or at school) in order to both learn about National Socialism more in-depth politically and without compromise, and to equally and personally have certain popular wishful thinking scenarios such as the “most Germans were unaware of the Holocaust” statement be declared as rather faulty and naively untrue as best and of course also a rather lame and uncomfortable, unacceptable excuse (and with Gudrun Pausewang herself not shying away from verbally relating in her author’s note for Ich war dabei - Geschichten gegen das Vergessen that as a teenager, she was in fact so enthralled with and by Nazism and especially the enigmatically sly and calculating Adolf Hitler, that the end of WWII, Germany’s and Hitler’s death by suicide was totally devastating for her and many of the brainwashed former members of the HJ and the BDM and that it actually took quite a while for her, for Gudrun Pausewang to accept Hitler as evil).
December 25, 2021
This is a collection of stories written from the perspective of people who were children (preteens and teens) during the Nazi regime, in different parts of Germany, Poland and Czech. It's not a book you can or are supposed to enjoy. 'Ich war dabei,' means 'I was there.' It's a book about indoctrination and the casual horror of the Third Reich. Some of the stories refuse to leave my mind... neighbours flocking in to pick and choose from the things left behind by a Jewish family... the high school lesson on superior and inferior races... the story about the silent house where no one lived... the village which buried its past 'for the sake of the tourists.' I would like to reread the book to discover the nuances I have missed. I wonder if there is an English ttranslation - I would love to share this with students.
January 22, 2015
Dit zijn volgens de ondertitel verhalen tegen het vergeten, en dat dekt de lading heel goed. Ze laten aan (jonge) lezers van nu laten zien hoe het in Duitsland was tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Daders, slachtoffers en omstanders in alle soorten en maten komen voorbij. Een jongen die zijn vijftiende niet kan wachten om Berlijn in de laatste dagen verdedigen en daarbij een been verliest. Een meisje dat nu als oude vrouw nog steeds hoopt dat haar joodse hartsvriendin haar pop op komt halen, een Duitse familie die uit hun huis in Tsjechie wordt gejaagd en daarbij alles moet achterlaten, een oma die voor haar kleinkind liever verzwijgt wat hun familie in de oorlog gedaan heeft... Stuk voor stuk prachtige verhalen.
May 24, 2017
Utmärkt undervisningsmaterial i sv/so med Pausewangs noveller om unga människor i Tredje riket. Somliga noveller är starkare än andra, men efterordet tar upp intressanta aspekter och frågor. Här ur kommer jag säkert att hämta material i min undervisning!
May 30, 2021
interesting short stories but i didn't enjoy reading most of them oopsie
June 1, 2022
Den här boken gick fort att läsa, vilket ju alltid är ett plus, men jag hade förväntat mig en och samma historia från en och samma person, men det var flera olika historier av olika personer. Jag skulle också gärna ha sett några historier från vuxna eller äldre personer i boken för att få lite mer djup i allt. Alla historier som var i boken var av barn. Jag tror att boken skulle kunna ha fått ett högre betyg om den skulle ha innehållit historier från lite mer blandade personer, inte bara barn.
January 30, 2011
Hemska, speciella, intressanta och tänkvärda ögonblicksbilder som sällan får plats i historieboken.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews