Real history by a woman who was there!

Incredible what German women had to endure at the hands of the Russian soldiers, sad but true.

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A chilling truth long suppressed

What could be a dreary and laborious book turns out to be captivating in the sense that it becomes almost addictive just to follow the main characters trials and sufferings and their determination to survive with as much dignity as could be sustained during this dark period of German history.

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It should be read by all.

I was surprised by the book. I had no idea what life was like for German women as the war drew to a close. It should be on every A Level history curriculum.

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Nothing short of incredible

I’m left speechless. My grandmother was exactly where this book is set. My beautiful mother was a girl at the time. Such resonance for me. Should be compulsory worldwide school reading. Generations later we are still traumatised by the war. My mother an alcoholic: numbed, silent about what went on and self destructive in every facet of her life. The shockwaves live on.

The narration of this book is perfect. I will be looking for others narrated by this compassionate intelligent voice.

I wish there were more books likes this one. Nothing will ever be the same after hearing it. I feel like I did after listening to my first ever audiobook “Nothing to Declare”

Thank you, women of Berlin all of you

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A true story

The veracity of the story and the manner in which it unfolds for the listener

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This is amazing

This really gives a human account, first hand of the end of the war from the view point of an ordinary woman. What she went through, the ordeals she suffered and how she got through this time are gripping. The stories told here are of a time that can't be imagined. Well read.

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8 people found this helpful

Brilliant

Brilliantly written and read. It lays bare humanity in its worse and best. A good book.

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A new insight into an old story

Any additional comments?

Listen to this book, if only for its historical value... It deals with the lesser known aspects of WWII, such as the immediate impact of the Russian army entering Berlin and how those first days of German defeat were felt, physically and mentally, in the once great capital. More importantly though, it's a personal narrative of a highly educated women who is quick to adapt to being part of the losing side. She goes back and forth between a life once lived in peace and the present reality of rape and hunger, all the time preserving a stable description.

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3 people found this helpful

remarkable true story told with great honesty

You know that this won't be an easy listen when you read that it's the account of a young woman living through the collapse of Berlin in spring 1945. However, the journalistic detachment of the writing, combined with some brutal honesty about the savagery of those times, makes for compelling listening. Really good narration helps here. This account has apparently been a cause of considerable controversy back in Germany over the years. Understandably so. I cannot really imagine myself into what this woman lived through, but this book gives as close an insight as I would want. Highly recommended.

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1 person found this helpful

The true reality of what happened in Berlin

An extremely powerful and hard hitting history of what happened to the women of Berlin.

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