A fascinating life story. It offers tremendous insight into and sparks questions about so many aspects of history, culture, society and humanity in various places of geography as well as society, spanning over a few decades. We are lucky indeed that a) little Hans really existed and lived the life we learn about in "Destined to Witness" (as harsh and difficult as it sometimes was), b) Hans survived - he could not have told his story otherwise, c) Hans has been a very keen observer throughout his life and is endowed with a truly remarkable memory and d) Hans completely mastered the English language without losing his native German, studied Journalism, and worked for several decades very successfully as a prominent print journalist and editor in the United States --- only to, after retiring from his full-time job, finally sit down and write this little masterpiece of a book in a style so captivating, entertaining, original, genuine, candid, and elegant that it renders the reader spellbound.
Having grown up in Hamburg myself one generation later than Mr. Massaquoi, I can verify and authenticate many of the facts, observations and impressions mentioned in this book: the only problem is that my power of recollection pales in comparison to his.
An equally compelling book which narrates a life story with a lot of parallels to Hans Massaquoi's is by another Hans: Hans Rosenthal's "Zwei Leben in Deuschland" (German for: Two Lives in Germany). Whereas Massaquoi grew up as an German-African "Mischling" in Hamburg during the Nazi Period and World War II, Rosenthal entered the Nazi Period as a preteen living with his parents and his younger brother Gert in Berlin; they witnessed and experienced first-hand anti-semitism on the rise. By 1941 the brothers had lost both parents due to illness and were put into an orphanage. After they were separated, Gert later perished in a concentration camp. Hans escaped from forced labor and found a tiny place to hide from the Government, smack in the middle of the German Capital. For years he was supported (supplied food, information, warnings, etc.) and kept alive by 3 non-Jewish German women, who were his only contacts to the world outside, until the war ended and Berlin was liberated from Nazi rule. Hans Rosenthal's hiding in Berlin very much resembled young Anne Frank's hiding in Amsterdam, with a few notable differences: Firstly, Anne was with her family but Hans had no family any more and was hiding all alone. Secondly, Hans survived, Anne did not. And thirdly, while Anne recorded her accounts of her life in hiding in her diary, not really meant for public consumption, Hans published his story decades later in book form, "Zwei Leben in Deutschland", an approach not unlike Hans Massaqoui's.
After the war, Massaquoi emigrated to the USA and became an innovative, influential and celebrated print journalist, catering to a mostly African-American readership. He has maintained ties to Germany and still considers Hamburg his home town. When he speaks in German his distinct Hamburg accent gives away his home town. Rosenthal stayed in Berlin, which he never left, and later rose to high popularity as an extremely well-known quiz show master on German radio and television. One is tempted to draw some parallels again, this time to Egon and Ralph Giordano, Hans Massaquoi's (half-)Jewish friends in Hamburg during the Third Reich. As told in "Destined to Witness" these brothers survived the Nazi Regime in Hamburg - partly in hiding and aided by non-Jewish supporters, and they remained in Germany after the liberation; decades later Ralph Giordano published his semi-autobiographical book ("Die Bertinis") that dealt with his upbringing in Hamburg during Hitler's rule. Ralph Giordano became a fairly well-known author, presenter and publisher in print and broadcast media in Germany. Like Rosenthal's "Zwei Leben", Giordano's "Die Bertinis" has not yet been published in English, which baffles me a great deal.
Now back to Hans Rosenthal: Rosenthal started working in radio broadcasting, initially in the Soviet Sector where, as an elected representative of the workers, he soon clashed with his Communist bosses. As he realized that many of methods the red Commies were using were the same the brown Nazis had employed, he switched to the station in the American sector, RIAS, and became Berlin's most popular show master, in particular quiz show master. For decades he developed and moderated dozens of shows, eventually heard and seen nationwide on radio and TV. He became and remained Germany's most popular, longest-running, best-known show master, who appealed to an audience comprised of fans of all ages in all German-speaking countries, including the eastern part of Germany, until his death at 61 years of age. His looks and demeanor were as unglamorous as they come. He put his audience and candidates immediately at ease. In some years he was on TV or radio all the time, but he never came across tired, bored or anything less than extremely happy and excited, as if he was on stage for the first time in his life. Rosenthal was an unabashed fan of everything Berlin, a big connoisseur of and one of the top experts in German Pop songs of the 1920s and 1930s (most of which were recorded in Berlin), a fanatic supporter of his Berlin soccer club. He always had in his mind the less fortunate countrymen in the Eastern parts of Berlin and Germany. Every radio-listening or TV-watching German-speaking person in Germany, Austria and Switzerland knew Hans Rosenthal. Many were aware that he was a Jew. Quite a few knew that he spent his entire life in Berlin, which would include the era of the Third Reich. How did he survive as a full-Jewish child in the Capital of the Third Reich, when almost every Jew under German who had not fled into safety was imprisoned and killed or awaiting extermination. Hans Rosenthal had always been an active member of Berlin's Jewish Community since the end of the war. He never brought up his life under Nazi rule in Berlin. When asked about this, which was rare, he would give a sketchy description and sometimes mention his brother's fate and the German ladies who came to his aid, with nary a hint of bitterness in his tone. His, at least on stage, always easygoing, jovial personality and optimistic positive attitude completely betrayed his extremely harsh, tragic, certainly traumatic childhood.
So how did this Hans survive? Well, Hans Rosenthal's "Zwei Leben in Deutschland", first published in 1980, tells the whole story. It is a gripping and true, albeit almost too hard to believe, story. For its German-speaking readers who know him from hundreds or thousands of hours on TV and radio there is the added thrill that the main character of the story, the Jewish boy Hans who struggled to survive in an impossibly adverse and hopeless situation, later became "our" familiar TV host Hans Rosenthal who used to come into our living rooms on more days than not.
But even if one had zero knowledge of who the little Hans Rosenthal later became and even if one had to read the story in a broken English translation, it would still make for a most fascinating read. Just as we experience in Hans Massaquoi's book, some non-fiction real-life stories can be far more jaw-dropping, colorful and uplifting or depressing than even the best fiction could deliver. And they teach us more about humanity, human nature and the human condition than anything else except perhaps living through it ourselves (I for myself prefer reading in this instance, as it is generally more comfortable and much safer).
And yes, "Dreams from My Father" comes to mind. Lots of parallels: Fathers from Africa who leave little sons behind with white mother (Liberia vs. Kenya), life in 3 or more continents (Europe-Africa-America vs. Hawaii-Asia-Africa-Continental America), meeting their fathers after growing up, "pilgrimage" to Africa, and starting careers in Chicago,IL. Massaquoi's "Destined to witness" has a more interesting story line and is written more vividly and clearly than "Dreams from My Father", autobiography of and by famous politician Barack Obama. Although Obama's book's subtitle is "A Story of Race and Inheritance", Massaquoi gives us more insight into race and racism than Obama does in his book. Massaquoi does not shove it into our minds and does not say: look here, this is racist. It is all subtly woven into his stories based on personally experienced real events, in different societies, periods, countries and continents. I do not want to try to hint at the subtleties, ironies, vagaries, varieties and idiosyncrasies of racism, opportunism and human arrogance that can be found in Massaquoi's narration, often between the lines. Every reader of "Destined" should be given a chance to find his or her own pearls of wisdom in Massaquoi's book. Obama's handling of the role of his biological father in his life, in this book and in his speeches and public remarks reek of opportunism. Granted, it must be difficult to deal with one's fate of having a selfish unscrupulous uncaring unloving father. Perhaps confusing. Well, give your mother and especially your white grandparents, who filled in for your father and later your mother and raised you with uncompromising love and commitment, all the praise and credit they deserve! But please don't give speeches extolling the formative positive influences your - non-existent - dad had on you in some conference on the importance of fathers in children's lives during your senatorial campaign! Just keep your mouth and your pen shut and be a real father yourself. Do not use your race and inheritance, such as your relatives in Kenya, whenever and however it fits into your political machinations. Tell the story as it is, Mr. Politician. You can learn a lot from writers like Hans Massaquoi, your former fellow Chicagoan.
Summary recommendation:
Read this book "Destined to witness" by Hans Massaquoi. I agree with all the other positive reviews.
If after reading the book you, too, agree, then
Read "Zwei Leben in Deutschland" by Hans Rosenthal, if you understand German. If you do not, learn German or wait for an English translation. If, coincidentally, you are in the field of publishing and influential to boot, please consider having the book translated into English to make it available to a wider audience, which it clearly deserves. Next
Read "Die Bertinis" by Ralph Giordano. Also still awaiting translation into English. If you have already read "Destined" this book will be especially interesting to you, as there are "cross-references" between both books and their respective authors.
"The Dreams from My Father" by Barack H. Obama. A must-read for some but not for me. There are better books to read for pleasure or enrichment or both.
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Top reviews from other countries
Robin Webster
A unique perspective on Nazi Germany
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 29, 2014Nathansky
Very well-written book, compelling, and quite entertaining despite the subject matter
Reviewed in Canada on January 7, 2019