Inge's War: A Story of Family, Secrets and Survival under Hitler
Svenja O’Donnell
Apr 2020 · Random House
5.0star
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320
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About this ebook
'A lyrical, engrossing and essential read' - Sathnam Sanghera
'A superbly nuanced reclamation of history and family secrets' - Brian Van Reet, author of Spoils
What does it mean to be on the wrong side of history?
Svenja O'Donnell’s beautiful, aloof grandmother Inge never spoke about the past. All her family knew was that she had grown up in a city that no longer exists on any map: Königsberg in East Prussia, a footnote in history, a place that almost no one has heard of today. But when Svenja impulsively visits this windswept Baltic city, something unlocks in Inge and, finally, she begins to tell her story.
It begins in the secret jazz bars of Hitler’s Berlin. It is a story of passionate first love, betrayal, terror, flight, starvation and violence. As Svenja teases out the threads of her grandmother’s life, retracing her steps all over Europe, she realises that there is suffering here on a scale that she had never dreamt of. And finally, she uncovers a desperately tragic secret that her grandmother has been keeping for sixty years.
Inge's War listens to the voices that are often missing from our historical narrative – those of women caught up on the wrong side of history. It is a book about memory and heritage that interrogates the legacy passed down by those who survive. It also poses the questions: who do we allow to tell their story? What do we mean by family? And what will we do in order to survive?
'A superbly nuanced reclamation of history and family secrets' - Brian Van Reet, author of Spoils
What does it mean to be on the wrong side of history?
Svenja O'Donnell’s beautiful, aloof grandmother Inge never spoke about the past. All her family knew was that she had grown up in a city that no longer exists on any map: Königsberg in East Prussia, a footnote in history, a place that almost no one has heard of today. But when Svenja impulsively visits this windswept Baltic city, something unlocks in Inge and, finally, she begins to tell her story.
It begins in the secret jazz bars of Hitler’s Berlin. It is a story of passionate first love, betrayal, terror, flight, starvation and violence. As Svenja teases out the threads of her grandmother’s life, retracing her steps all over Europe, she realises that there is suffering here on a scale that she had never dreamt of. And finally, she uncovers a desperately tragic secret that her grandmother has been keeping for sixty years.
Inge's War listens to the voices that are often missing from our historical narrative – those of women caught up on the wrong side of history. It is a book about memory and heritage that interrogates the legacy passed down by those who survive. It also poses the questions: who do we allow to tell their story? What do we mean by family? And what will we do in order to survive?
Ratings and reviews
5.0
1 review
Caroline Price
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July 30, 2020
Inge's War is a truly moving debut novel from Svenja O'Donnell which is actually based on her grandmother's wartime experiences. Inge has always kept silent about her upbringing in Nazi Germany, she came from a Baltic city formerly known as Konigsberg, in East Prussia, which became Russian territory following WWII. Her story continues in Berlin during Hitler's rule and from there her path led across Europe as she moved from place to place. It was only after her granddaughter visited Kaliningrad (the Russian name for Konigsberg), that Inge began to open up about her life. The story is about first love, betrayal and a long kept secret. This novel would be a powerful one if it were only fiction but it's not...what happens to Inge and her family is fact. Svenja has written her grandmother's story with love and honesty and it comes through in every word. This is a magnificent debut, a real tour de force and it deserves to be read. Very highly recommended.
About the author
Svenja O’Donnell is an award-winning political correspondent and commentator whose work regularly features on TV and radio. Before covering Brexit for Bloomberg, she worked as a correspondent in Russia. Half-Irish and half-German, she was born and brought up in Paris, and lives in London. Inge's War is her first book.
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