Memoir – 210 pages – my copy (paperback; 1995) borrowed & enjoyed
- 3 nods
Klara Andersen is the pen name of a German born woman who reached maturity under the Nazis, survived the Second World War and Soviet occupied territory; all before travelling to England, setting up home in Cornwall. All Because of Him, her first memoir, is her life from Hitler’s coming to power to 1933 to her escape from Communists in 1948.
She speaks of the enforced rules of Nazi life, of the pending threat of war, of her home being bombed, of not knowing whether or not her husband will ever return to her. Yet the most frightening moments of the book come after Hitler’s suicide, when the Russians have taken over Eastern Germany. In search of her mother, the young woman travels to the eastern sector, survives possible imprisonment and near rape, before abandoning her husband to return to the west to be with her family.
So much of the adventure found in All Because of Him is the dream of Hollywood movie-makers. Usually, the form that such memoirs take are fantastic experiences, yet the inability of the person to put pen to paper effectively. This is not a flaw known to Andersen (the name picked due to sharing a link with the great story teller, Hans Christian Andersen). Furthermore, her talent strikes further with her numerous sketchings illustrating the pages.
However, despite an obvious skill of story telling, the book suffers from lack of editing: both from minor mistakes as well as shaping the memories into a tighter, more satisfying read. For instance, much is omitted: her sister’s death and the coming of war. As such, All Because of Him, is 3 nodder book; filled with fantastic and genuine 5 nodder memories.
