Underground in Berlin, Anthea Bell
Underground in Berlin, Anthea Bell
List: $31.99 | Sale: $22.40
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Underground in Berlin
A Young Woman's Extraordinary Tale of Survival in the Heart of Nazi Germany

Author: Anthea Bell, Marie Jalowicz Simon, Hermann Simon

Narrator: Ellen Archer

Unabridged: 11 hr 47 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/08/2015

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

A thrilling piece of undiscovered history, this is the true account of a young Jewish woman who survived World War II in Berlin.

In 1942, Marie Jalowicz, a twenty-year-old Jewish Berliner, made the extraordinary decision to do everything in her power to avoid the concentration camps. She removed her yellow star, took on an assumed identity, and disappeared into the city.

In the years that followed, Marie took shelter wherever it was offered, living with the strangest of bedfellows, from circus performers and committed communists to convinced Nazis. As Marie quickly learned, however, compassion and cruelty are very often two sides of the same coin.

Fifty years later, Marie agreed to tell her story for the first time. Told in her own voice with unflinching honesty, Underground in Berlin is a book like no other, of the surreal, sometimes absurd day-to-day life in wartime Berlin. This might be just one woman's story, but it gives an unparalleled glimpse into what it truly means to be human.

About Anthea Bell

Anthea Bell


Reviews

Goodreads review by ❆ Crystal ❆ on August 11, 2016

This is a story of a remarkable woman who, with the help of friends, went underground in Berlin during WWII 1942 - 1945. She initially escaped arrest from the Gestapo, and was able to survive terrifying events, thwart starvation, and to trust numerous people to protect her and not denounce her. The......more

Goodreads review by Marti on May 16, 2019

I remember how I thought Fellini's cinematic visions of Italian society were the invention of an extremely flamboyant personality until I actually visited Rome and realized they were more like serious documentaries. After reading these memoirs, I believe the same thing can be said of "The Tin Drum."......more

Goodreads review by Trisha on December 31, 2016

While I have given this memoir 5 stars I did have some difficulty with it. The overall story was a matter of fact account of what it was like to live as a Jew in Nazi Berlin in hiding. The problem is that it was so matter of fact that it was hard to connect with the story teller. There was very litt......more

Goodreads review by Liz on October 24, 2016

You know, before reading this intriguing memoir, I always thought: Why didn't more Jews just rip out their yellow star and act like "normal" Germans? But as I got engrossed in this book, I realized it wasn't as easy as we might have thought. Fake names, ID'S ( which were fairly easy to get if you ha......more

Goodreads review by Katy on April 13, 2014

Painfully honest memoir looking at exactly how a Jewish woman managed to survive in wartime Berlin.......more


Quotes

"Marie Jalowicz Simon transports the reader right to wartime Berlin. Even seventy years later, her voice is young, fresh, and gripping. Her story is by turns funny, wise, and horrific. I felt like she was reaching out to me across time and I couldn't help but fall in love with her. Despite the incredible dangers she faced living underground in Nazi Berlin, Marie's story is incredibly life-affirming and at times, even joyful."
Clara Kramer, author of Clara's War

"An absolutely gripping account of one young woman's struggle to escape deportation at the hands of the Nazis and of those who helped her. Marie Jalowicz-Simon details for the first time with total honesty the harsh sexual politics of survival in the Berlin underground."
Thomas Ertman, New York University, author of Birth of the Leviathan