Geraldine Schwarz is a journalist with both a French and a German heritage. In Those Who Forget, which has been translated fromFrench by Laura Marris, the author investigates the past of her family members and their involvement, or otherwise, in the atrocities of WW2. It’s a personal story in which she examines how she feels about her grandfather profiting from a business which was taken away from its original Jewish owner and her other grandfather who was a policeman in Vichy France. She explores the options which her relatives had and how voluntary their cooperation with the Nazi regime was. She also thinks about what she would have done in that situation.
The book then moves on to explore how others in Germany and France have come to terms with the events of the period and how these are now remembered. What narratives are told to help people come to terms with what happened at this time and how far do people today in Germany and France hold themselves and others accountable ?
The book is both a memoir and a book of social history exploring how these two countries remember the war period and also how families such as hers cope with difficult personal histories. The author then goes on to explore the impact that these narratives have on events today and how we might react to them.
This is a very readable book and full of ideas and insights. It is a book that makes you wonder what you would have done in similar circumstances and also to consider what moral choices ordinary people may have to make in the future.
Anne Is Reading 