My German Question

Growing Up in Nazi Berlin

Nonfiction, History, Jewish, Holocaust, Germany, Biography & Memoir
Cover of the book My German Question by Peter Gay, Yale University Press (Ignition)
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Author: Peter Gay ISBN: 9780300133141
Publisher: Yale University Press (Ignition) Publication: October 7, 1998
Imprint: Yale University Press Language: English
Author: Peter Gay
ISBN: 9780300133141
Publisher: Yale University Press (Ignition)
Publication: October 7, 1998
Imprint: Yale University Press
Language: English

“Not only a memoir, it’s also a fierce reply to those who criticized German-Jewish assimilation and the tardiness of many families in leaving Germany” (Publishers Weekly).

In this poignant book, a renowned historian tells of his youth as an assimilated, anti-religious Jew in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1939—“the story,” says Peter Gay, “of a poisoning and how I dealt with it.” With his customary eloquence and analytic acumen, Gay describes his family, the life they led, and the reasons they did not emigrate sooner, and he explores his own ambivalent feelings—then and now—toward Germany its people.

Gay relates that the early years of the Nazi regime were relatively benign for his family, yet even before the events of 1938–39, culminating in Kristallnacht, they were convinced they must leave the country. Gay describes the bravery and ingenuity of his father in working out this difficult emigration process, the courage of the non-Jewish friends who helped his family during their last bitter months in Germany, and the family’s mounting panic as they witnessed the indifference of other countries to their plight and that of others like themselves. Gay’s account—marked by candor, modesty, and insight—adds an important and curiously neglected perspective to the history of German Jewry.

“Not a single paragraph is superfluous. His inquiry rivets without let up, powered by its unremitting candor.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review

“[An] eloquent memoir.” —The Wall Street Journal

“A moving testament to the agony the author experienced.” —Chicago Tribune

“[A] valuable chronicle of what life was like for those who lived through persecution and faced execution.” —Choice

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

“Not only a memoir, it’s also a fierce reply to those who criticized German-Jewish assimilation and the tardiness of many families in leaving Germany” (Publishers Weekly).

In this poignant book, a renowned historian tells of his youth as an assimilated, anti-religious Jew in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1939—“the story,” says Peter Gay, “of a poisoning and how I dealt with it.” With his customary eloquence and analytic acumen, Gay describes his family, the life they led, and the reasons they did not emigrate sooner, and he explores his own ambivalent feelings—then and now—toward Germany its people.

Gay relates that the early years of the Nazi regime were relatively benign for his family, yet even before the events of 1938–39, culminating in Kristallnacht, they were convinced they must leave the country. Gay describes the bravery and ingenuity of his father in working out this difficult emigration process, the courage of the non-Jewish friends who helped his family during their last bitter months in Germany, and the family’s mounting panic as they witnessed the indifference of other countries to their plight and that of others like themselves. Gay’s account—marked by candor, modesty, and insight—adds an important and curiously neglected perspective to the history of German Jewry.

“Not a single paragraph is superfluous. His inquiry rivets without let up, powered by its unremitting candor.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review

“[An] eloquent memoir.” —The Wall Street Journal

“A moving testament to the agony the author experienced.” —Chicago Tribune

“[A] valuable chronicle of what life was like for those who lived through persecution and faced execution.” —Choice

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