Book 16 – “True to Both My Selves” by Katrin Fitzherbert

Katrin Fitzherbet’s grandfather was German. He lived with his wife and family in London and ran a hairdressing business. When WW1 broke out in 1914 he was interned and his wife had to scrape a living in a land which was hostile to the man she loved. In 1918 when Germany was defeated all German citizens were deported to the land of their birth and so the whole family emigrated to Germany where they set up their business again. Life in Germany was tough in the 1920s but became better for many individuals when Hitler came to power. The author’s parents were both supporters of Hitler, as were many ordinary Germans, but at the end of the war, totally disillusioned, her mother took her three daughters and returned to England where she had been born.

In True to Both My Selves the author tells this story of her family and her story as a girl who grew up in Germany and came to England as a ten year old child. She needed to hide her family history and background in order to thrive but her mother had little money and her extended English family didn’t want to help. She had to pick up the language quickly, hide her origins and fit into a society and culture which she didn’t really understand and which was very hostile to the things she thought were important.

This is a fascinating story about perfectly ordinary people who became caught up in war, conflict and their aftermath. The author’s family weren’t unusual in any way except for their dual heritage background. The story about her childhood in Germany and her adoration of Hitler and all he stood for helps the modern reader to understand exactly how the Nazi party was so popular and its atrocities overlooked. The author is very honest about how she and her family felt about things and why.

I enjoyed reading this book about three generations of strong women who survived difficult and perilous times. I found much that the author had to say about the relationships between German and English people illuminating. I also recommend On Hitler’s Mountain by Irmgard Hunt which is the story of a girl’s teenage years in the heart of the Nazi world (see review here)