Anonyma

While researching women in WWII I found an interesting book, Anonyma. It is the anonymous journal of a German woman living in Berlin in 1945 just after the city was conquered by the Russian soldiers. The Russian soldiers took over the city that was largely populated by women at this point. This woman was raped twice the first day of the Russian occupation. Then later that same day four Russian soldiers broke into her home. She tells one of them she will be with him if he will protect her from the others. So she forms this relationship with him in exchange for food and protection. She is ashamed of herself and her story is truly heartbreaking. I find this book to be of particular interest because it is a story I have never heard. You always hear about the victims of the Holocaust and the countries who were bombed by Hitler and his allies, but the perspective of a suffering German woman is a new one to me. Many say that the Russians were just seeking revenge on the Germans for what they did to the citizens of the Soviet Union. In all, around two million German women were raped at the end of WWII. In 2008 this book was made into a movie with Nina Hoss as the anonymous writer.


I have not had the opportunity to read this book or watch the movie yet, but they are both on my wish list and I can't wait to get them!