Status
Checked out
Publication
The Experiment (2015), Hardcover, 240 pages
Description
Biography & Autobiography. History. Nonfiction. HTML: The internationally bestselling memoir hailed as "authentically shocking" (Library Journal) and "an important document�??proof that history never ends" (Profil) When Jennifer Teege, a German-Nigerian woman, happened to pluck a library book from the shelf, she had no idea that her life would be irrevocably altered. Recognizing photos of her mother and grandmother in the book, she discovers a horrifying fact: her grandfather was Amon Goeth, the vicious Nazi commandant chillingly depicted by Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List�??a man known and reviled the world over. Although raised in an orphanage and eventually adopted, Teege had some contact with her biological mother and grandmother as a child. Yet neither revealed that Teege's grandfather was the Nazi "butcher of Plaszów," executed for crimes against humanity in 1946. The more Teege reads about Amon Goeth, the more certain she becomes: if her grandfather had met her�??a black woman�??he would have killed her. Teege's discovery sends her, at age thirty-eight, into a severe depression�??and on a quest to unearth and fully comprehend her family's haunted history. Her research takes her to Krakow�??to the sites of the Jewish ghetto her grandfather "cleared" in 1943 and the Plaszów concentration camp he then commanded�??and back to Israel, where she herself once attended college, learned fluent Hebrew, and formed lasting friendships. Teege struggles to reconnect with her estranged mother, Monika, and to accept that her beloved grandmother once lived in luxury as Amon Goeth's mistress at Plaszów. Teege's story is cowritten by award-winning journalist Nikola Sellmair, who also contributes a second, interwoven narrative that draws on original interviews with Teege's family and friends and adds historical context. Ultimately, Teege's resolute search for the truth leads her, step by step, to the possibility… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member LoveOfMuffins4820
This is a book I never normally would have read and only did so because it was selected by my local book club. I found the style of writing overly simplistic, though that may be attributed to the translation from German, and I found the back and forth from Teege to Sommer very disjointed and
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awkward. I appreciated the historical notes and perspective, just thought it could have been added in a less intrusive way. I loved how on one of the first pages she described the library as having "concentrated silence" which almost seemed to set the tone for the novel about concentration camps and how Amon Goeth seemed to exhibit concentrated evil. Teege's reaction and subsequent journey at learning her Nazi heritage was no doubt difficult, but I found her pre-existing mental health conditions made it seem all the more worse--and a better story--than an average person's reaction to the news. It brought to mind the guilt that descendants of slave owners in the United States go through. One other observation I made was her hurt and anger at her mother not including her in her book or telling her about their past, yet she made no mention of telling her children about it either. Perhaps she did and chose not to write about it, or perhaps she felt they were too young, etc. I just couldn't help but notice how she did the exact same thing her mother did that had previously made her so angry. Is this going to be a generational cycle? Show Less
LibraryThing member EllenH
This book really brings to light the denial, guilt, pain and suffering that the perpetrators children and grandchildren have gone through. An eye opening book that also brings to mind the connections that the research into these families can bring to other kinds of perpetrators and victims.
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Jennifer and Nikola do an excellent job of sharing her discovery and acceptance of her horrific family history. Show Less
LibraryThing member Jewel.Barnett
This was a haunting, amazing book. I re-read it quite often.
LibraryThing member startwithgivens
A well-written journey of self discovery. Intriguing and real, though I would have liked to see more raw emotion. I felt like the words that wove this memoir were so carefully chosen. Unfortunately, I think this care sugar coated the emotions and feelings everyone had.
LibraryThing member Calavari
I don't even know where to begin on this one. It's is not as simple as finding out that her grandfather was a part of the Nazi party, which would still not be ideal. He was among the most well known and those whose deeds were well publicized.
The book follows Teege's journey as she seeks what this
Along Teege's journey, the book also uses the third person occasionally to show the typical progression through this knowledge as it concerns Germans in general. The children of Nazi's had to love their parents and they had a strange relationship to that era that many of them were born in. The grandchildren of Nazi's are far more likely to distance themselves from those grandparents with the knowledge of what they did or were complacent in allowing. But not all of these grandchildren are raised with the knowledge of who their specific grandparent was within the party, even when they knew there was involvement.
Teege had no idea that her family had ever been associated with the Nazi party. Her mother didn't appear to have problems mixing races, as her father was Nigerian. Her grandmother, who was a witness to many of her grandfather's deeds before he was executed at the end of the war, loved her unconditionally. Then she came across a book with her biological mother's face on it that was titled I Have to Love My Father, Don't I? This was when she began to realize there was a bit more to her history than she or her adopted family had been told when they adopted her.
The thing about this story that stands out in a way that is different from her peers is that Teege's travels had put her in contact with plenty of people who had once been persecuted by her grandfather and his associates. She had been immersed in the other side of the conflict he was in the middle of and had to find a way to reconcile her personal history with her family history. She had to find a way to bring those two worlds together and the result is an interesting kind of healing. It seems like a first step, if nothing else. I'm sure she's not the only person of her generation to want to find a healing, or even to find one, but her story is exceptional because of the way it happens.
The book follows Teege's journey as she seeks what this
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discovery means for her and her life. It may not on the outside seem like finding out something about your grandfather can cause you to question who you are at your core, but I imagine it does. There is a certain amount of 'nature vs nurture' that we all question and finding out that your biological grandfather, regardless of whether or not you've met him, is capable of the things he did could make anyone question what was inside of them.Along Teege's journey, the book also uses the third person occasionally to show the typical progression through this knowledge as it concerns Germans in general. The children of Nazi's had to love their parents and they had a strange relationship to that era that many of them were born in. The grandchildren of Nazi's are far more likely to distance themselves from those grandparents with the knowledge of what they did or were complacent in allowing. But not all of these grandchildren are raised with the knowledge of who their specific grandparent was within the party, even when they knew there was involvement.
Teege had no idea that her family had ever been associated with the Nazi party. Her mother didn't appear to have problems mixing races, as her father was Nigerian. Her grandmother, who was a witness to many of her grandfather's deeds before he was executed at the end of the war, loved her unconditionally. Then she came across a book with her biological mother's face on it that was titled I Have to Love My Father, Don't I? This was when she began to realize there was a bit more to her history than she or her adopted family had been told when they adopted her.
The thing about this story that stands out in a way that is different from her peers is that Teege's travels had put her in contact with plenty of people who had once been persecuted by her grandfather and his associates. She had been immersed in the other side of the conflict he was in the middle of and had to find a way to reconcile her personal history with her family history. She had to find a way to bring those two worlds together and the result is an interesting kind of healing. It seems like a first step, if nothing else. I'm sure she's not the only person of her generation to want to find a healing, or even to find one, but her story is exceptional because of the way it happens.
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LibraryThing member MHanover10
I found this a very interesting story. What a thing to find out about your grandfather and how do you deal with it. I remember Ralph Fiennes portrayal of Amon Goeth in Schindler's List. He was an evil man. Interesting to hear another story from World War II that I have never heard before. Well
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worth the time to listen to the audiobook. Show Less
LibraryThing member KimSalyers
this was a very interesting book and is a true story.
LibraryThing member KimSalyers
this was a very interesting book and is a true story.
LibraryThing member dara85
Jennifer, who is adopted, goes to the library and randomly picks a book off the shelf entitled "Do I Have to Love My Father?". She flips through the book and runs across her biological mother's name. As she reads further she realizes her grandfather was Amon Goeth, the Commandant in Poland, who
This book is true, but the story seems almost so fantastic it should be on a soap opera. I believe it and it is a very interesting story.
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killed hundreds of Jews. He was featured in the movie Schindler's List and was a friend of Oskar Schindler.This book is true, but the story seems almost so fantastic it should be on a soap opera. I believe it and it is a very interesting story.
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LibraryThing member cbl_tn
Jennifer Teege spent her earliest years in a Catholic orphanage. Teege’s German mother had a brief relationship with Teege’s Nigerian father, but they were no longer together by the time Teege was born. At that time in Germany, it was common for single mothers who had to work to place their
Teege’s sense of identity was upended at age 38 when she picked up a random book off of a library shelf. She found she was holding a book about her mother and her mother’s father, the Nazi war criminal Amon Goeth, the concentration camp commandant known to many from the film Schindler’s List. Teege sought out a therapist to help her deal with this new knowledge as well as the abandonment issues stemming from her relationships with her birth mother and grandmother. Also, Teege had lived and studied in Israel for several years in her twenties, and she didn’t know how to tell her Israeli friends that her grandfather had been a mass murderer of Jews.
This book is an odd mix of memoir and biography, with parts written by Teege interspersed with more objective commentary by her co-author, Nikola Sellmair. Teege contextualizes her individual psychological trauma with that of other descendants of Nazi war criminals, descendants of average Germans who sympathized with the Nazi party, and descendants of Holocaust survivors. She also reflects on generational differences between the children and the grandchildren of war criminals and Holocaust survivors. Teege’s personal journey is an example of how one reckons with one’s past and the weight of family secrets in order to contribute to a better future.
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children in an orphanage. They still had visitation rights and often the children would spend weekends with their mothers or other family. When she was a toddler, Teege was taken in by a foster family. She still saw her mother and grandmother regularly until she was adopted by her foster family.Teege’s sense of identity was upended at age 38 when she picked up a random book off of a library shelf. She found she was holding a book about her mother and her mother’s father, the Nazi war criminal Amon Goeth, the concentration camp commandant known to many from the film Schindler’s List. Teege sought out a therapist to help her deal with this new knowledge as well as the abandonment issues stemming from her relationships with her birth mother and grandmother. Also, Teege had lived and studied in Israel for several years in her twenties, and she didn’t know how to tell her Israeli friends that her grandfather had been a mass murderer of Jews.
This book is an odd mix of memoir and biography, with parts written by Teege interspersed with more objective commentary by her co-author, Nikola Sellmair. Teege contextualizes her individual psychological trauma with that of other descendants of Nazi war criminals, descendants of average Germans who sympathized with the Nazi party, and descendants of Holocaust survivors. She also reflects on generational differences between the children and the grandchildren of war criminals and Holocaust survivors. Teege’s personal journey is an example of how one reckons with one’s past and the weight of family secrets in order to contribute to a better future.
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LibraryThing member Moshepit20
quite the family history
Original publication date
2015-04-15
Physical description
240 p.; 8.3 inches
ISBN
1615192530 / 9781615192533