Karina's Reviews > Winter of the World

A journey through the horrors of World War 2 through the eyes of different people from England, the USA, Russia, and of course, Germany. This starts with the NSDAP taking over German politics in 1933 and ends in 1949 with the separation of Germany into West and East. Reading these 1000 pages was an emotional roller coaster.

After loving the Fall of Giants (centered around WWl) I had very high expectations. The historical content definitely didn't disappoint. Various POVs introduced British, American, Russian, and German perspectives from different genders, ages or social backgrounds. I loved following all these different story lines and even though there are a ton, I never felt like it was too much or that one got lost among the others. What I was a little disappointed by were the romantic stories. They felt a little forced especially towards the end. The term 'insta-love' came to my mind one or two times. But that never bothered me too much considering the big picture. And who am I to judge romance during a time when every day could be your last.

What I was missing was a jewish perspective among the various POVs. Throughout the story a couple of Jews from different social backgrounds are mentioned, but considering the horrors of WW2 I feel like a perspective was missing. I guess it has to be mentioned that this book focuses a lot on the political aspect of the war which creates a good balance to the actual inhuman tragedies, which by the way never are described in a way that turns you away from the story. Concentration camps for example are never experienced 1st hand through a witnessed, but through the eyes of a young girl from Berlin who slowly discovers what the Nazi regime really is about. I found this to be an easy way of experiencing those darkest chapters of the war. On the other hand, I'm not sure if those should be made easier to stomach. I'm of the opinion that we should be confronted with what really happened every now and again. Considering the huge readership/mainstream audience it might just be a good compromise. Not everybody would be able to handle that (this would make an interesting discussion)

This book didn't specifically focus on what happened in Germany which I loved. We learn what was going on in the USA, Russia, Spain and Britain. It's an amazing read if you feel like refreshing your knowledge about world history (fascism in Spain, communism in Eastern Europe, Pearl Harbour, the creation of the atomic bomb, Hiroshima and many, many more). I can't stress enough how important I think books like these are. We should never forget and learn from the past. I think this would be an emotional and suspenseful read for everyone, but especially as a German and as someone whose grandparents were born into a completely destroyed Germany I found myself deeply moved by my countries history. It isn't a book that shames Germans, but that depicts the horrors of the Nazi regime, as well as European Fascism and Eastern Communism in the 1st half of the 20th century.

One of the story lines that especially moved me and that will stay with me for a long time is when the young German girl from Berlin finds out about how the Nazis were killing handicapped people from all ages as well as the mentally ill. My grandmother was born in 1943 suffering from epilepsy as well as deformed hands (they never stopped her. She would later become a secretary and amazing woman ;)). My great grandparents had to hide her for the first years of her life because of the Nazi program titled T4. It was the only time the German people stood up to Hitler and the government had to stop the program after 70 000 people had already lost their lives. Of course, it kept going just more secretly.
I feel like sharing this personal experience here because I'm grateful this book sparked a conversation with my family and because it is SO SO SO important that we keep these stories alive. They can only make us better people. As you can probably tell, if you've gotten this far, this book deeply moved me, and made me more aware of the fact that those horrid and inhumane events of WW2 happened only 70 years ago. It's difficult to wrap my head around that fact sometimes. I can't wait to start the 3rd book in this series which will center around the German separation.

Don't be afraid of picking up this 1000 page book. You can't do these big events in history justice in less. It's worth the challenge. READ IT!