In the beginning I wanted to rate it only 3 stars but the ending made up for every little thing that annoyed me before. Now I'm not even sure what it wIn the beginning I wanted to rate it only 3 stars but the ending made up for every little thing that annoyed me before. Now I'm not even sure what it was that annoyed me. It's probably the fact that the two stories seemed to be way too different to fit together. The first was the life of a little Jewish girl who was going through so much and the second - a random woman who seemed to have a perfect life. All the little details she gave about her life felt useless in comparison to the other story, the one with so much hurt. But then everything slowly fitted together. The ending is just perfect! Heart-breaking and beautiful <3...more
Berlin, 1936 Personaje: Berhard Gunther, Herman Six, Grete, Paul Pfarr, Ilse Rudel, Goring (prim-ministru), Haupthandler, Dieter Roscovanul, Inge LorenBerlin, 1936 Personaje: Berhard Gunther, Herman Six, Grete, Paul Pfarr, Ilse Rudel, Goring (prim-ministru), Haupthandler, Dieter Roscovanul, Inge Lorentz, Mutschmann,
Lagare de concentrare: Oranienburg, Columbia Haus, Dachau, Buchenwald, Auschwitz-Birkenau,
imnuri: Horst Wessel si Deutschland Uber Alles
svastica gaz de iperita
I simply adore this author! Before this I had read "Children of the Lamp" but I didn't know just how brilliant he could be. The thing is, he writes about Nazi Germany as if he had been there. Maybe he had visited Germany but I have no idea how he could talk even about the kind of cereal children in Germany had for breakfast. The whole book is really funny, full of Bernie's witty remarks. Seriously, I've never had so much fun reading a book that was supposed to be serious (with death and all). The detective story is quite good, I'd say (not that I've read many of those). Besides the final discovery he makes, which didn't seem like such a revelation (I'm not saying I had thought of THAT possibility, it just didn't seem like such big a deal...), it was complicated enough so that you couldn't guess most of it. What I didn't like is the characters: although they existed, they all had exactly the same way of "interacting" - they all, just like Bernhard, had something to say, something funny in a smart way.
Quotes:
“Toporasi de martie: Termen cu conotatie peiorativa, care se referea in epoca la cei care, din motive de interes pragmatic (bani, cariera, pozitie sociala), manifestau o adeziune exagerata la politica de partid, indiferent de convingerile lor launtrice.� “Stumabeteilung, prescurtat SA � organizatie paramilitara a Partidului National-Socialist, denumita si <>. Este militia nazista creata de Hitler in 1921 si care l-a ajutat sa ajunga la putere, dar care, dupa 1943, a fost eclipsata de catre SS.� “Gestapo (Geheime Staatspolizei � politia secreta, implicata si in activitatile de politie politica) si Kripo (Kriminalpolizei � politia criminalistica) erau cele doua ramuri ale Sipo (Sicherheitspolizei � siguranta statului) “Cred ca am tras cu totii ceva foloase de pe urma acestui national-socialism, nu-i asa? Suntem niste adevarati mici Toporasi de martie.� “Nu va lasati pacalit de asta, Herr Lehmann, folosesc bautura asta ca apa de gura, numai ca sunt mult prea al naibii de lenes s-o scuip.� “Reichstag: Cladire care adapostea Reichstag-ul, parlamentul Imperiului german. Inaugurata in 1894, a fost sediul acestei institutii pana in 1933, cand aici a avut loc un incendiu izbucnit in circumstante neclare, la foarte scurt timp dupa numirea lui Hitler in functia de cancelar al Reichului � pretext pentru nazisti de a suspnda toate drepturile omului consfintite de constitutia din 1919. Denumirea de Reichstag se refera atat la cladire cat si la institutia parlamentara (in zilele noastre, pentru aceasta din urma se utilizeaza termenul de Bundenstag, dar cladirea continua sa poarte numele de Reichstag)� “Marinus (Rinus) van der Lube (1909-1934), comunist german acuzat si executat pentru incendierea cladirii Reichstag la 27 februarie 1933.� “Ordnungspolizei (politia de ordine) � numele fortelor politienesti regulate din Germania in perioada 1936-1945, cunoscute si sub denumirea de Grune Polizei (politia verde), datorita culorii uniformelor pe care le purtau.� “U-boat in lb. engleza � traducere partiala a termenului german folosit pentru submarin, dar care ii desemna in Germania nazista si pe evreii fugari, care <> de pe suprafata pamantului, traind ascunsi sub pamant (uneori la propriu) si care se deplasau din loc in loc folosind acte false si facandu-si aparitia sporadic pentru a obtine ajutor de la simpatizanti.� �-Desigur, aproba ea rosind putin. Sper ca nu credeti ca am ceva impotriva evreilor. -Bineintels ca nu, i-am raspuns, desi stiam ca asta era ce zicea toata lumea. Chiar si Hitler.� Hoppengarten este unul dintre cele mai mari hipodromuri din Germania; a fost infiintat in 1867 (printre fondatori aflandu-se insusi Kaiserul Wilhelm I), are o suprafata de 65 de hectare si adposteste circa 200 de cai.� “Deci Paul Pfarr era un inger negru.� (SS) �-Ar trebui sa ai grija de tine, Weizmann. -Si ce-as face cu o viata lunga?� “Aerul, replica el, mi se urca drept la cap. Si oricum, incerc sa ma antrenez astfel incat sa ma descurc fara el, caci nu se stie cand vor interzice evreilor si sa respire oxigen.� “angelmaker, un termen care fac referire la The Anger Makers (of Nagyrev), un grup de femei din satul Nagyrev din Ungaria, care in perioada 1914-1929 si-au otravit sotii si alte rude (cca 300 de persoane, dupa unele surse) cu arsenicul obtinut prin fierberea hartiei de prins muste. Lucrarea monografica A Social History of a Murder Epidemic (2002), semnata de un istoric american de origine maghiara, Bela Bodo, ofera drept cauze ale acestor omoruri abuzurile la care erau supuse femeile de catre sotii lor si mai largul context socioeconomic al acestei perioade.� �-Multumesc pentru informatii, am zis. Iar in caz ca nu stiai, afara, la suprafata, este vara. -Da, am observat eu ca a fost mai calda ploaia decat de obicei. Macar o vara nasoala nu e un lucru pentru care sa dea vina pe evrei.� �... castronul cu cereale Quaker Quick (“Pnetru copiii natiunii�)� “Stock nu fusese mereu asa, iar inainte de martie 1933 fusese un pic cam <>.� �... brigada homo, Departamentul pentru Suprimarea Homosexualitatii� “Ce caraghios, cand te gandesti ca acolo era Scoala de Arta � vreau sa zic, acolo unde e sediul Gestapoului.� “Din experienta, stiu ca niciodata nu poti flata prea mult o femeie, tot asa cum niciodata nu exista riscul de a da prea multi biscuiti unui caine.� “Berlin. Cadnva, iubisem orasul asta vechi. Dar asta a fost inainte sa-si zareasca prorpia imagine si sa fie obligat sa poarte corsete atat de stramte incat de-abia mai putea respira. Iubisem filosofia usoara, lipsita de griji, jazzul ieftin, cabaretele vulgare si toate celelalte excese culturale care caracterizeaza epoca lui Weimar si facusera Berlinul sa para una dintre cele mai incitante metropole din lume. In spatele cladirii in care se afla biroul meu, catre sud-est, era sediul politiei si-mi inchipuiam toata munca asidua care se desfasura acolo pentru a veni de hac infractionalitatii din Berlin: fapte grave, nu gluma, ca a vorbi cu lipsa de respect despre Fuhrer, a pune in vitrina macelariei o placuta pe care scrie <>, a nu da Salutul Hitler sau a fi homosexual. Asta era Berlinul in timpul national-socialistilor:o imensa casa bantuita, cu unghere intunecoase, cu scari sumbre, cu beciuri sinistre, cu camerele zavorate si cu podul plin de strigoi in libertate, care azvarleau cu carti, tranteau usile, spargeau ferestrele, tipau noaptea si, in general, bagau o spaima atat de mare in prorpietari, incat existau cazuri cand acestia erau gata sa vanda si sa plece, doar ca sa scape. Dar, de cele mai multe ori, doar isi astupau urechile, isi acopereau cu ceva ochii incercanati si incercau sa se poarte ca si cum nimic nu ar fi fost nelalocul sau. Transformati de teama in niste lasi, nu vorbeau mai deloc, refuzand sa ia in seama covorul care se misca sub picioarele lor, iar rasul le era slab, un ras nervos, ca rasul de complezenta al angajatilor care insoteste intotdeauna glumitele sefului.� “Numai atunci cand sunt inconkjurat de moarte imi amintesc neincetat ca sunt in viata.� “Dar daca stai bine sa te gandesti, partidele politice din Germania au avut intotdeauna ceva cu saluturile: social-democratii isi aveau salutul lor cu pumnul strans ridicat deasupra capului, bolsevicii din KPD (Kommunistiche Partei Deutschlands) aveau salutul cu pumnul ridicat la nivelul umerilor, centristii aveau salutul cu doua degete lipite in forma de pistol si cu degetul mare pe post de tragaci, iar nazistii aveau controlul manichiurii ca salut.� “numai ca spre deosebire de majoritatea femeilor germane, ea era si fardata si fuma o tigara. Aceste obiceiuri nu sunt privite cu ochi buni de BdM, Liga Femeilor, care le consudera nepotrivite cu idealul nazist de feminitate germana� �-Mai sa fie, asta a fost un adevarat sarut la foc mic. -Il exersez pe antebrat.� �-Doamne, da� ce barbat bine facut esti. -Mama a fost fierar, i-am zis. Batea cuie in potcoava unui cal doar cu mana goala. Cu ea seman. Ea chicoti: -Nu vorbesti tu prea mult, dar cand o faci, iti place sa glumesti, asa e? -Sunt o multime de oameni morti in Germania care arta cat se poate de serios. -Si esti foarte cinic. De ce? -Am fost preot. Isi trecu degetele peste o cicatrice mica de pe fruntea mea, unde ma scrijelise un srapnel. -Cum ai capatat asta? ma intreba. -Dupa slujba de duminica, incingeam un box in sacristie cu baietii din cor.� “Nimic nu seamana asa de mult cu un mitocan de pe strada ca o femeie bogata.� �-O sa te omor, ma ameninta el, trecandu-si limba peste buzele uscate. -Ei, foarte bine, dar te superi daca nu ma impusti in burta? Am aratat inspre pistolul lui: -Nu e deloc sigur c-o sa ma omori si chiar n-as vrea sa-mi petrec restul vietii band lapte. In locul tau, as tinti spre cap. Daca reusesti, chiar intre ochi. E o treaba grea, dar o astfel de impuscatura m-ar omori sigur.� “Stiam ca ajung undeva, dar m-am hotarat sa ma intreb unde anume abia cand o sa ajung acolo.� “Si a fost unul dintre cel cativa oameni de afaceri de frunte prezenti la o intalnire secreta din 1933 tinuta la Palatul prezidential, la care viitoarea politica national-socialista a fost explicata de catre Hitler si Goering. Ei, acesti oameni de afaceri au raspuns contribuind cu mai multe milioane de marci la vistieria Partidului in schimbul promisiunii ferme a lui Hitler de a-i inlatura pe bolsevici si de a reface armata.� “Si daca dai de el, atunci sa-i spui sa nu care cumva sa ma caute. E la fel de bine-venit aici ca madularul unui evreu in curu� lui Goering. Iar asta e valabil si pentru tine. Toate aceste manifestari de umor bun si politete fac ca munca mea sa merite efortul.� “Parea cam la fel de rapid ca un exemplar drogat de neles intr-un copac.� “aeroportul Croydon: Primul aeroport din Londra, construit in 1915, dar care a fost inchis in 1959, dupa darea in folosinta a aeroportul Heathrow.� “Un barbat de nadejde e cel care refuza sa coopereze cu cineva pretinzand ca e de la Gestapo.� Am un prieten, inginer, care mi-a spus ca se construieste o autostrada chiar peste Coridorul Polonez si ca exista una proiectat prin Cehoslovacia. De ce se construiesc astea, daca nu pentru a se putea folosi la deplasarea unei armate?� “Pe peretii lambrisati erau si mai multe opere de arta, dar de genul pe care in mod normal le gasesti doar in paginile manualelor moaselor comunale.� “Dachau este situat la vreo 15 km nord-vest de Munchen. Cineva din tren mi-a spus ca era primul KZ al Reichului. Asta mi s-a parut cat se poate de potrivit, data fiind reputatia Munchenului ca loc de nastere al national-socialismului. (...) La Columbia Haus, se spune ca Dachau a fost modelul pentru toate celelalte lagare de mai tarziu, ca exista acolo pana si o scoala speciala pentru antrenarea oamenilor din SS ca sa fie si mai brutali. Nu erau minciuni.� ...more
"Ce este dreptatea? Ce sta scris intr-un cod sau ce e impus si respectat intr-adevar de societate? Ori sa fie dreptatea ceea ce, indiferent daca exist"Ce este dreptatea? Ce sta scris intr-un cod sau ce e impus si respectat intr-adevar de societate? Ori sa fie dreptatea ceea ce, indiferent daca exista ori nu in vreun cod, ar trebui impusa si respectata, daca totul ar decurge dupa legea firii si a bunului simt?" 86
"During the weeks of the trial, I felt nothing: my feelings were numbed. Sometimes I poked at them, and imagined Hanna doing what she was accused of doing as clearly as I could, and also doing what the hair on her neck and the birthmark on her shoulder recalled to my mind. It was like a hand pinching an arm numbed by an injection. The arm doesn’t register that it is being pinched by the hand, the hand registers that it is pinching the arm, and at first the mind cannot tell the two of them apart. But a moment later it distinguishes them quite clearly. Perhaps the hand has pinched so hard that the flesh stays white for a while. Then the blood flows back and the spot regains its color. But that does not bring back sensation." 96
"Limba straina pe care nu o posezi si cu care te lupti iti da o ciudata senzatie de distanta si de apropiere in acelasi timp. Studiezi cartea deosebit de temeinic, dar nu te apropii de ea. Ramane in aceeasi masura straina, pe cat de straina e limba." 111
"M-am hotarat sa vorbesc cu tata. Nu pentru ca am fi fost deosebit de apropiati. Tata era un om inchis, nu era capabil nici sa ne impartaseasca noua, copiilor, sentimentele lui, si nici nu prea stia cum sa intampine sentimentele noastre fata de el. In spatele comportarii lui necomunicative, am banuit multa vreme o bogatie de comori ingropate. Mai tarziu, insa, m-am intrebat daca ele existau intr-adevar. S-ar putea sa fi fost bogat in sentimente, in adolescenta sau in tinerete, dar, neexprimandu-le, le-a lasat de-a lungul anilor sa se usuce si sa piara." 130
"Este o problema filosofica. Dar filosofia nu se ocupa de copii. I-a lasat in seama pedagogiei, unde nu le merge prea bine. Filosofia a uitat de copii, imi zambi el, i-a uitat pentru totdeauna, nu numai cateodata, cum v-am uitat eu pe voi." 132
"Asa ca am incetat sa mai povestesc despre ceva. Pentru ca adevarul celor spuse este ceea ce faci, poti foarte bine sa lasi la o parte cuvintele." 162
"Din statie tocmai pleca tramvaiul, iar eu am strigat <>, am alergat dupa el, de parca as fi putut sari pe platforma, am alergat pe langa tramvaiul in mers, batand cu palma in usa, si, dintr-o data, s-a intamplat ceea ce nu credeam sa se mai intample, ceea ce nici macar nu sperasem vreodata. Tramvaiul mai opri odata, usa se deschise, iar eu am urcat." 166
"Sa acuz mi se parea o simplificare la fel de groteasca precum aceea de a apara, iar sa judec mi se parea, dintre toate simplificarile, cea mai groteasca." 167
"Dar fuga inseamna nu numai sa pleci, ci sa si ajungi undeva. Iar trrecutul in care soseam eu, ca istoric al dreptului, nu era mai lipsit de viata decat prezentul. Plenitudinea trecutului nu era doar contemplare, cum ar putea crede probabil cineva care priveste din afara, in timp ce prezentul inseamna participare. Sa te ocupi cu istoria inseamna sa arunci poduri intre trecut si prezent si sa analizezi ambele perspective. (...) Sa te ocupi de trecut nu inseamna fuga, ci, dimpotriva, concentrare hotarata aupra prezentului si a viitorului, care este oarba la mostenirea pe care ne-a lasat-o trecutul, mostenire ce si-a lasat amprenta asupra noastra, si cu care, de vrem sau nu, va trebui sa traim." 168
"IN THE FOURTH year of our word-driven, wordless contact, a note arrived. “Kid, the last story was especially nice. Thank you. Hanna.� It was lined paper, torn out of a notebook, and cut smooth. The message was right up at the top, and filled three lines. It was written in blue smudged ballpoint pen. Hanna had been pressing hard on the pen; the letters went through to the other side. She had also written the address with a great deal of pressure; the imprint was legible on the bottom and top halves of the paper, which was folded in the middle. At first glance, one might have taken it for a child’s handwriting. But what is clumsy and awkward in children’s handwriting was forceful here. You could see the resistance Hanna had had to overcome to make the lines into letters and the letters into words. A child’s hand will wander off this way and that, and has to be kept on track. Hanna’s hand didn’t want to go anywhere and had to be forced. The lines that formed the letters started again each time on the upstroke, the downstroke, and before the curves and loops. And each letter was a victory over a fresh struggle, and had a new slant or slope, and often the wrong height or width.
I read the note and was filled with joy and jubilation. “She can write, she can write!� In these years I had read everything I could lay my hands on to do with illiteracy. I knew about the helplessness in everyday activities, finding one’s way or finding an address or choosing a meal in a restaurant, about how illiterates anxiously stick to prescribed patterns and familiar routines, about how much energy it takes to conceal one’s inability to read and write, energy lost to actual living. Illiteracy is dependence. By finding the courage to learn to read and write, Hanna had advanced from dependence to independence, a step towards liberation.
Then I looked at Hanna’s handwriting and saw how much energy and struggle the writing had cost her. I was proud of her. At the same time, I was sorry for her, sorry for her delayed and failed life, sorry for the delays and failures of life in general. I thought that if the right time gets missed, if one has refused or been refused something for too long, it’s too late, even if it is finally tackled with energy and received with joy. Or is there no such thing as “too late�? Is there only “late,� and is “late� always better than “never�? I don’t know.
After the first note came a steady stream of others. They were always only a few lines, a thank you, a wish to hear more of a particular author or to hear no more, a comment on an author or a poem or a story or a character in a novel, an observation about prison. “The forsythia is already in flower in the yard� or “I like the fact that there have been so many storms this summer� or “From my window I can see the birds flocking to fly south”—often it was Hanna’s note that first made me pay attention to the forsythia, the summer storms, or the flocks of birds. Her remarks about literature often landed astonishingly on the mark. “Schnitzler barks, Stefan Zweig is a dead dog� or “Keller needs a woman� or “Goethe’s poems are like tiny paintings in beautiful frames� or “Lenz must write on a typewriter.� Because she knew nothing about the authors, she assumed they were contemporaries, unless something indicated this was obviously impossible. I was astonished at how much older literature can actually be read as if it were contemporary; to anyone ignorant of history, it would be easy to see ways of life in earlier times simply as ways of life in foreign countries.
I never wrote to Hanna. But I kept reading to her. When I spent a year in America, I sent cassettes from there. When I was on vacation or was particularly busy, it might take longer for me to finish the next cassette; I never established a definite rhythm, but sent cassettes sometimes every week or two weeks, and sometimes only every three or four weeks. I didn’t worry that Hanna might not need my cassettes now that she had learned to read by herself. She could read as well. Reading aloud was my way of speaking to her, with her.
I kept all her notes. The handwriting changed. At first she forced the letters into the same slant and the right height and width. Once she had managed that, she became lighter and more confident. Her handwriting never became fluid, but it acquired something of the severe beauty that characterizes the writing of old people who have written little in their lives." capitolul 7; traducerea in romana mi se pare mult mai buna decat cea in engleza, da' sunt prea lenesa sa scriu un intreg capitol :(
"Pe vremuri i-am iubit mai ales mirosul. Mirosea intotdeauna a proaspat: a proaspat spalata sau a rufe proaspete, sau a sudoare proaspata, sau a proaspat iubita." 180...more
"Intrarea interzisa evreilor si cainilor" pagina 208 O_O
"Fiindca pentru un mit nu se pune problema daca a fost sau nu adevarat, si nici Schindlerjuden
"Intrarea interzisa evreilor si cainilor" pagina 208 O_O
"Fiindca pentru un mit nu se pune problema daca a fost sau nu adevarat, si nici daca ar trebui sa fie adevarat." 312 desi eu as fi spus: "ci daca ar trebui sa fie adevarat", mai potrivit in context; asa si citisem pana a trebuit sa scriu aici ._.
“In cele doua zile nesigure dintre declaratia de pace si punerea ei in aplicare, unul dintre detinuti, un bijutier pe nume Licht, mesterise un dar pentru Oskar. Ceva mult mai expresiv decat port-tigaretul pe care-l primise de ziua sa. Licht lucrase cu o infima cantitate din aurul atat de rar. Il primise de la batranul domn Jereth, de la fabrica de cutii. (...) Insa tot ceea ce aveau la indemana pentru a face un dar era metalul comun. Domnul Jereth fusese cel care sugerase o alta sursa, ceva mai bun. Deschise gura aratandu-si cei cativa dinti imbracati in aur. (...) Era desigur jertfa potrivita, iar Jereth a insistat. L-a pus pe un detinut care facea pe vremuri ceva practica dentara la Cracovia sa-i extraga lucrarea. Licht, bijutierul, a topit aurul si, pe data de 8 mai, la amiaza, a gravat o inscriptie ebraica in interiorul unui inel. Era un vers din Talmud, pe care Stern i-l citase lui Oskar in biroul de la Buchheister, in octombrie 1939:<>� 504 [image]
“Ceea ce voia sa spuna Herr Direktor (Oskar Schindler) aproape literal era: >� 508
“In 1949 i-au platit ex gratia cincisprezece mii de dolari si i-au dat o referinta (To whom it may concern), semnata de M. W. Beckelman, presedintele Comitetului Executiv, care suna asa: <>� 535
Caracterizare: �... Oskar, cu tenul sau deschis si ochi albastri...� 518
�... acelasi nestapanit Oskar. Vocea joasa, aproape un mormait, scandalosul lui farmec, comparat cu acela a lui Charles Boyer, setea nestapanita, toata supravietuisera...�
It was the saddest thing I've ever read, without it being sad. It's hard to grasp how someone in the position of Anne Frank can still remain so joyfulIt was the saddest thing I've ever read, without it being sad. It's hard to grasp how someone in the position of Anne Frank can still remain so joyful and hopeful. Or maybe it's just that her feelings and moods didn't get to me... This diary is wonderful as you can clearly notice the development of Anne while she's in hiding. At the beginning she's just a thirteen-year-old superficial girl who lives her life as she likes, only for her own happiness. She has friends, likes the attention boys pay to her but doesn't actually take their feelings into consideration. She becomes a mature, understanding, thoughtful young woman in the Annex helped by the uncaring behavior of the other, as Anne puts it. She is, after all, a teenager and she finds herself confused and alone in a "house" where everyone has their own problems. She thinks she is misunderstood and treated as an unknowing child, when she wants so badly to be a woman. The movie's got nothing on this "Diary" except the fact that it continues the story. I didn't particularly like the fact that it kind of made most of Anne's cheerfulness fade. Also, the characters in the movie are far too flat. They are the same from the beginning until the end. They tried to let Anne's character change show but didn't do such a good job as a book would. Anyway, I'm not supposed to talk about the movie here. I'm going to read it again someday for sure!...more
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