REMEMBRANCE AND PERSPECTIVE

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month has passed. Remembrance Day is over. The tributes complete, the audience dispersed, the plastic poppy pins set upon the grave of the Unknown Soldier and the commemorative wreaths left to fight alone against the wind and rain. Now the real challenge begins. We must not forget.

Entirely by accident, and perhaps with a purpose I have not fully come to appreciate as yet, I have found myself reading many books, both fiction and non-fiction, which center around events that took place during times of war. This experience has increased my awareness of all that has been sacrificed and has opened my eyes to aspects of war I had never been privy to before.

In keeping with my education, I received history classes. I learned about what it means to be Canadian and what our country has done to honour our principles and beliefs. I learned who are allies were during times of war and have often become overwhelmed by the bravado and excitement of it all. However, I was never introduced to the concept that those I was to consider enemies, may also feel that same righteousness and fervor. I cannot recall a time when I was ever given the opportunity to understand or learn of an enemy’s perspective. In fact, I will suggest here that perspective was entirely absent from most of my history classes. It was unfortunate and it was a mistake.

Last year a friend of mine was visiting from Austria and was taking in the sites around town. Newly built was a war museum which his tour group was going to visit that very day. My friend did not go. The impression he left me with was that he was aware of how we viewed his country’s involvement in World War II and he could not reconcile our perception with his own. While he agreed that what took place during the war was horrific and tragic, he could not agree with the idea that his fellow countrymen were entirely evil and was not interested in seeing them displayed as such in a war museum. I believe he felt the museum was presenting an unfairly biased exhibit on events and made little effort to include, well, perspective. I have never gone to see the war museum so I cannot say one way or another about what it portrays. However, what I never forgot about that conversation with my friend was the idea that maybe, just maybe, there was more to learn than what I had been told in school.

Today I am posting reviews on three books which helped to lend me a great deal of perspective these past few weeks. Specifically focusing on the events surrounding World War II, these books taught me that not all Germans were Nazis and nor were they all silent. I learned that everyday women and men gave voice to their passions and rejected the evil that was growing within their county, at great risk to themselves and those they loved. I learned that war is an entity which steals away hope while extinguishing life, rejecting all that defines humanity but that it is not exclusive in its exacting consequences. I learned that ultimately there are no winners in war, only witnesses and that most of those have survived through their courage, their humanity and their love. Finally, and most importantly, I learned how to never forget. By reading these books, by opening my eyes, by remaining conscious to all that is around me; this is how I will remember.

It must be said that there is very little to celebrate in any given war. In and of itself, it is a horrific political disease that permeates every generation. However, in discovering books such as these, in embracing their spirits and sharing their accounts, we are presented with the opportunity to remember exactly what we should never forget.

The House on the Sunderstrasse
Author: Frank Spiller
Edition published by Tidal Books, 1998

The House on the Sunderstrasse by Frank Spiller is a fictional but powerful love story surrounded by the tragic realities of war. Peter Gray, an English naval officer, and Helga Jansen, a German student, met and fell in love in 1938 just before the outbreak of World War II. Despite their rivaling cultures and familial disapproval, they embrace their passion as promises are made before returning to their respective homes intent on remaining faithful to their love. However, on Sunday September 3, 1939, their dream of a life together is shattered by the realities of a world war and it is here where we, the reader, begin to understand all that was suffered and sacrificed during those tormented years.

In telling this story, Frank Spiller does not propagate war nor did he taint his narrative with the arrogance of bravado. In fact, Frank Spiller went to great lengths to avoid exploiting the tragedy of World War II. While never censuring the horror of what took place, he does not indulge in a swamping of gory details. Instead he lays focus on the human aspect of war, sharing the personal philosophies and sentiments of his characters in great detail. Moving past his main characters, Spiller takes us on an emotionally charged journey through the thoughts of Peter and Helga and those closest to them, including Helga’s brother Günther, a deeply loyal and proud member of the Kriegsmarine (German Navy). In doing so, we are gifted with perspective. We are shown that war is a battle waged by countries and their government at the expense of the souls of its people and regardless of which side you may be on, despite how deeply entrenched your loyalty may be, the reality of war is exacting and cruel without boundary.

Perhaps the true magic of Spiller’s writing lies in the way in which he remained faithful to the spirit of The House on the Sunderstrasse, which is, despite its setting, a deeply moving tale of love and commitment. Throughout the 15 years this story takes place, we learn that deep love is not confined by the passion of immediacy and that life is a journey which sometimes separates the pairing of hearts, however, if we are true to ourselves and what it is that makes us human, then love will ultimately triumph.

Favourite line from the book…

May we never again be called upon to put aside our common humanity and succumb to the brutality and horror of war. Page 368

The White Rose: Munich 1942-1943
Author: Inge Scholl
Edition published by Wesleyan University Press, 1983

Every once in awhile you come across a book where you could care less about how well the author has chosen his words or how carefully the editor has cleaned it up. In fact, the author could have been written solely in consonants and still you would walk away remembering only about the story itself. It is almost separate from its creator. Separate from the individual who dared to write it all down. The White Rose is, quite simply, one of those books. Whether it is because it is tragically truthful or based on one of histories most horrific generational stains or very simply because it still rings of possibility, I am not sure. But this tale is one that I care more about the telling of, and the sharing of, than I ever will about the writing of.

In 1942 Germany was at war. Its government ruled by Nazi regime and its people embracing their Fürher’s doctrine. This is what I learned in school. This is what I know.

What I did not know, what I never heard of until I came across Inge Scholl’s The White Rose: Munich 1942-1943 was that resistance movements were alive within Germany itself. While small in number and scattered throughout the National Socialist country, these cells of resistance were initiated by the average citizen and held in action at the expense of their own lives. Specifically, in her telling, was a short lived but deeply impacting student movement led by her brother Hans Scholl which included her sister Sophie Scholl and several close friends. Inge Scholl shares their story focusing greatly on the thoughts and philosophies of her siblings.

Written in 1947 for the purposes of being used in schools for adolescents who grew up in the Hitler Youth, Scholl’s account of what took place in Munich introduced the world to the reality of a German resistance movement and educated the masses on what it meant to participate in such dissent. It should be noted that Inge Scholl’s book was most definitely restrained in content as in 1947 there was still a need for protecting the living members and family relations of those who participated in the student resistant movement. Outside of chronicling the story of her siblings, full disclosure was not yet an option and particulars such as other individual circumstances and the extent of their involvement were certainly limited in Scholl’s careful detailing. However, despite this, her book was securely published with a large number of verifiable facts to support her telling which included many texts and court transcripts to bear witness to the truth.

Inge Scholl wrote as a living witness to The White Rose movement within Nazi Germany. She provides the details of their story ensuring that the sacrifices its members made, both living and dead, were not in vain. In her own words, “What the circle of the White Rose strove for was increasing public consciousness of the real nature and actual situation of National Socialism.” After reading The White Rose: Munich 1942-1943 by Inge Scholl, I can promise you that you will become aware. While I strongly recommend you read more than one source for details surrounding The White Rose movement, Inge Scholl’s telling of this tragedy and heroism is an excellent place to start.

Favourite line from the book…

It is rare that a man is prepared to pay with his life for such a minimal achievement as causing cracks in the edifice of the existing order. Page 103.

Shattering The German Night: The Story of the White Rose
Author: Annette E. Dumbach and Jud Newborn
Edition published by Little, Brown and Company, 1986

After having read The White Rose: Munich 1942-1943 by Inge Scholl, I felt I was pretty well versed in the events and details surrounding the student resistance movement in Germany. However, there was still so much more to learn despite her very detailed account and for this I turned to Annette Dumbach and Jud Newborn’s Shattering The German Night: The Story of the White Rose. Where Inge Scholl focused on her siblings’ involvement in the White Rose movement, Dumbach and Newborn determinedly shed greater light on the lives and contribution of all of its members. Published in 1986, more than forty years had passed since World War II ended and the Nazi regime was defeated. New details became available and the individuals so closely tied to the heroic movement were now considered safe. With these facts in place and with the help of the surviving family members of the White Rose movement, Annette Dumbach and Jud Newborn were free to disclose information and documents that were not readily available during the early years after the war. Their account adds a deep emotional aspect and human quality to the tale of White Rose movement allowing us, the reader, to “get to know” the characters who made such dramatic sacrifices in the name of freedom. Keeping alive their edict, “we will not be silent”, Annette Dumbach and Jud Newborn pay tribute to the individuals of The White Rose movement in Shattering The German Night: The Story of the White Rose, sharing this moment of strength and courage in Germany’s history that often is lost or overshadowed by the horror of what the Nazi regime brought to its people.

Favourite lines from the book…

You can live without owning anything. But you can’t live without having something ahead of you in the sense of something inside of you. You can’t live without hope. Page 242.

…if people like those who formed the White Rose can exist…maybe it means that this weary, corrupted, and extremely endangered species we belong to has the right to survive, and to keep on trying. Page 242.