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Aimée & Jaguar: A Love Story, Berlin 1943
Unique, moving, and true - this radiant love story is set against the horrific backdrop of World War II Nazi Germany. When Lilly "Aimee" Wust, a gentile mother of four and wife of a Nazi officer, met Felice "Jaguar" Schragenheim, a Jew living underground in Berlin, neither could have guessed that their brief initial encounter would develop into a blazing, devoted love. As the Nazi stranglehold closed in on them, Lilly and Felice found themselves fighting insurmountable odds to stay together. Extraordinarily passionate and heartrending, this is a rare and personal look at the love and strength of two women whose commitment to each other defied the brutality of their time.
274 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 215 reviews
May 1, 2021
Anti-Semitic, Nazi housewife falls for young Jewish woman sounds like a dubious plotline from the kind of Holocaust-porn made popular by the commercial success of novels like The Tattooist of Auschwitz, but Fischer’s book’s based on actual events. The love affair between Lilly (Elizabeth) Wust and Felice Schragenheim was brought to light in the 1990s by feminist author Erica Fischer. In early 1940s' Berlin, Lilly was an officer’s wife, as well as four small children, the couple shared anti-Semitic prejudice and Nazi affiliations. Then along came Inge Wolf who introduced Lilly to someone who shattered Lilly’s preconceptions. Inge was part of Berlin’s underground, lesbian community, something Lilly found fascinating. Lilly was charmed and intrigued first by Inge’s circle and then by one woman in particular, Felice. It was only after Lilly and Felice got together that Lilly discovered Felice was Jewish.
However, anyone wanting to immerse themselves in an inevitably-tragic love story will be disappointed here, Fischer’s approach to her material’s less straightforward than that. She shifts between narrative reconstructions and accounts drawn from interview transcripts, historical research, letters and diaries. Right from the beginning, when Lilly refuses to accept the way Inge characterises Lilly’s apartment as dominated by Nazi symbols, it’s clear Fischer’s interested in the broader implications of Lilly’s version of the past. What it may or may not demonstrate about the reliability of memory; the difficulty of using oral histories to reach some form of incontestable truth; and the wider issue of Germany’s so-called coming-to-terms with the past (Vergangenheitsbewältigung). Fischer’s as much interrogator as chronicler of Lilly’s recollections, she’s obviously sceptical about the image Lilly’s seeking to project. It’s an intriguing perspective with a great deal of potential but the outcome's disappointing - I couldn’t help wondering what this might have been like penned by a more skilful and intellectually- sophisticated writer like Janet Malcolm. Many of the sections fictionalising Lily and Felice’s relationship tend to alternate between a dry recitation of facts and overblown, almost syrupy prose. Passages detailing the political and historical backdrop to Lily and Felice’s lives are frequently informative but a number are slightly dull or unnecessarily convoluted. Having said all that, I still found this worth reading, as much for the questions it raises as for how it tackles them, as well as for the glimpse it provides of an under-represented chapter of lesbian history.
Rating: 2.5
However, anyone wanting to immerse themselves in an inevitably-tragic love story will be disappointed here, Fischer’s approach to her material’s less straightforward than that. She shifts between narrative reconstructions and accounts drawn from interview transcripts, historical research, letters and diaries. Right from the beginning, when Lilly refuses to accept the way Inge characterises Lilly’s apartment as dominated by Nazi symbols, it’s clear Fischer’s interested in the broader implications of Lilly’s version of the past. What it may or may not demonstrate about the reliability of memory; the difficulty of using oral histories to reach some form of incontestable truth; and the wider issue of Germany’s so-called coming-to-terms with the past (Vergangenheitsbewältigung). Fischer’s as much interrogator as chronicler of Lilly’s recollections, she’s obviously sceptical about the image Lilly’s seeking to project. It’s an intriguing perspective with a great deal of potential but the outcome's disappointing - I couldn’t help wondering what this might have been like penned by a more skilful and intellectually- sophisticated writer like Janet Malcolm. Many of the sections fictionalising Lily and Felice’s relationship tend to alternate between a dry recitation of facts and overblown, almost syrupy prose. Passages detailing the political and historical backdrop to Lily and Felice’s lives are frequently informative but a number are slightly dull or unnecessarily convoluted. Having said all that, I still found this worth reading, as much for the questions it raises as for how it tackles them, as well as for the glimpse it provides of an under-represented chapter of lesbian history.
Rating: 2.5
June 3, 2010
Although I agree with all the criticisms lobbed at this book by other reviewers below, I nonetheless give it 5 stars because it fascinated me, due simply to the heartbreaking, scandalous, and improbable tale underlying it.
As others have written, Aimee may be flighty and appear not take the plight of her lover seriously, but I feel it is easy to judge her retrospectively. I don't believe she behaves differently than many people in the throes of a deep infatuation; however, given that she is infatuated with a Jew living underground in Nazi Germany, her foibles seem much more weighty to the reader. The book is heavy on quotes from love letters, which I skimmed as they became repetitive. I agree that the author has a bias against Lilly Wust- as she herself states in the epilogue- and this colors her tone throughout the book. The author is allowed to have a point of view, though, even if she is writing non-fiction. She presents the facts in such a way that I was able to draw my own conclusions about the characters' motivations.
All in all, I felt the book lent yet another valuable perspective in the larger body of personal stories of the Holocaust. It was difficult to not to feel Felice's personality shining through.
As others have written, Aimee may be flighty and appear not take the plight of her lover seriously, but I feel it is easy to judge her retrospectively. I don't believe she behaves differently than many people in the throes of a deep infatuation; however, given that she is infatuated with a Jew living underground in Nazi Germany, her foibles seem much more weighty to the reader. The book is heavy on quotes from love letters, which I skimmed as they became repetitive. I agree that the author has a bias against Lilly Wust- as she herself states in the epilogue- and this colors her tone throughout the book. The author is allowed to have a point of view, though, even if she is writing non-fiction. She presents the facts in such a way that I was able to draw my own conclusions about the characters' motivations.
All in all, I felt the book lent yet another valuable perspective in the larger body of personal stories of the Holocaust. It was difficult to not to feel Felice's personality shining through.
March 6, 2013
it was amazing.. I came to this book from the movie, and while I started to read it imagining the actresses of the movie as the characters in the book, I ended up with having the real pictures of Aimée and Jaguar in my head while reading (there are heartbreakingly good photos of them at the end of the book). at times it was tough, cause even though I knew how this tragic story was gonna end, I was still hoping, together with Aimée. the most tragic thing about this book though is that Jaguar's fate was the fate of so fucking many people - excuse the swearing. their letters and diary entries often made me smile inside, cause they are such good prose. and their poetry is fab as well. oh and the book also taught me A LOT about Nazi Germany and concentration camps, even though I thought I knew quite something already. also to hear about the war from the perspective of a Nazi woman was interesting.. I still feel so sorry for Aimée and I know that this should not have happened. read this book, guys, it will make you a better person.
June 28, 2015
Wonderful! 3.5/5 STARS
How fortuitous that I should read this book three weeks before the United States Supreme Court’s landmark decision on same sex marriage! I’m unclear how it landed on my To Read shelf … I think Amazon’s (Goodread’s parent company) algorithms suggested it to me while I was reading the Miseducation of Cameron Post. (I loved that story too!)
Anyway, I’m usually not drawn to love stories or romances but this one piqued my interest with great earnest. My unending fascination with all things WWII lured me in for a closer look at this wonderful story about boundless and passionate love during one of the darkest times in human history; a true story of unbridled love in a time of inhumane cruelty and genocidal hatred.
The story takes place in Berlin 1943 through the end of WWII. Nazi Germany is well into the prosecution of the Final Solution, systematically, relentlessly and ruthlessly moving the Jewish population out of Berlin, herding them into rail cattle cars destined for concentration camps far from the capitol of the Third Reich. The Allies begin to make periodic bombing runs near the city, and the German Wehrmacht has suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad, but the Nazi propaganda machine reassures the German population that victory is only a matter of time. As the tide of the war turns from German blitzkrieg, conquest and repression to retreat, defense, defeat, and surrender, life in the once prosperous German city becomes harsh and unforgiving under the onslaught of relentless bombing and eventual conquest by the converging Allied forces.
Under these extreme, desperate and violent conditions, Elizabeth Wust and Felice Schragenheim fall deeply in love.
Elizabeth Wust, also known as Lilly and Aimee, is the wife of Nazi officer Gunter Wust and mother of their four boys. She resides in downtown Berlin and has made many female acquaintances while her husband is away in military service. Her apartment is seemingly endlessly active with the comings and goings of her friends, many of whom are Jews living underground or as inconspicuously as possible from Nazi authorities. (In 1981 at age 68 Lilly was awarded the Federal Service Cross for sheltering and caring for four Jewish women in her apartment in Berlin)
Felice Schragenheim, also known as Jaguar, ‘Lice, Fice and Putz, is a Jewish “U-Boater” living underground in Berlin constantly eluding and evading the ever tightening grip of the Gestapo and Nazi SS.
By Lilly’s ninth wedding anniversary in March 1943, her marriage with Gunter is empty and tenuous. Gunter’s infidelity is frequent and public. Lilly has an affair with a former co-worker at Deutsche Bank that results in one of her four children. Her emotional connection to her children remains strong despite her eventual divorce from Gunter.
Inge Wolf, completing her government ordered compulsory one year of domestic service working for Lilly Wust, is one of Felice’s many friends. While Felice waits on the sidewalk outside Lilly’s apartment for Inge to finish her work, Lilly invites her inside out of the cold. Their attraction is instant and intense!
"I got nothing at all from my men. Men took their pleasure with me and I felt used. With Felice it was totally different. She was my counterpart, my complement, literally. I felt I was both myself and Felice. We were a mirror image. She needed only to touch me and I …When she kissed me I surrendered to her completely. Sex was pleasing for the first time in my life. I had never found men attractive. I was built wrong somehow, but I didn’t know that…with Felice I myself could be the one who loved. And then this sense of belonging together unconditionally … Though I was the older one, I always had the feeling I was the younger one. She controlled me completely, she did. But it was wonderful! She always wore the pants. After all, it was she who had seduced me."
While the core of the story is a straight forward historical account of a lesbian love affair in the 1940s in Nazi Germany of all places, the pages are filled with passionate poems and love letters written by Aimee and Jaguar to each other, interviews with Lilly, her children and friends of Lilly and Felice and black and white photographs dating back to 1919 through 1993.
My emotional investment in the story grew in size and scope as the intensity and passion of their love constantly collided with the dark, horrifying omnipresence of Nazi pursuit and prosecution of the Jews in Berlin. Felice is forever on the run or in the shadows to elude capture and Lilly is ever vigilant of suspicious and informant neighbors. Despite the great risks of arrest, physical abuse and deportation, the attraction between the two is undeniable and relentless, leaping off each page at me as I winded my way to the sorrowful ending.
Many reviewers have criticized the book for some awkward translation from German to English. Others criticized Lilly’s naiveté and recklessness in loving ergo mortally endangering Felice and the author’s apparent negative and critical opinion of Lilly.
Honestly, I didn’t dig that deep for any philosophical or moral judgments of the people in this story. I took it at face value – an emotional and heartbreaking lesbian love story in a place and time where Jews and homosexuals were deemed subhuman and disposable. While this book certainly is not for everyone, it resonated with me in a very emotional and heartfelt way.
August 28, 2015
I put off reading this book for six years, because I expected to be emotionally devastated. The story should be devastating. I'm not sure why, when I finally read it, I more or less responded with an emotional shrug. Is it the poor translation? Perhaps the original author was a less-than-compelling writer? I cannot pinpoint it. I suspect the answer may lie in the epilogue, where Erica Fischer tells about her experience researching the book. She was frustrated, eventually even hostile towards the elderly Lilly (who does, I admit, sound like a person I would not care for). Lilly clung all her life to that year with Felice, and seemed to forget or ignore everything that didn't fit into her neat personal narrative. Initial Nazi sympathies, the fact that Felice was too good and too vibrant for her, and, most frustrating of all, her unwillingness to move past her wartime experiences and live in her present.
These days we would most likely put Lilly in therapy for PTSD. What moves me most is not Felice's death, though the circumstances are so narrow that throughout the book I was thinking "surely, she will not be taken away and exterminated in the last months of the war." What are the chances! No, what made me saddest was the lifelong depression that Lilly suffered. For that, she got little sympathy. Not even the person who cared enough to write about her life gave her much sympathy. I feel sympathy for her, and wish- oh, don't we all- to rewrite that history.
I preceded this book with In the Garden of Beasts by Larson. Larson's book is well-written and fascinating, and I am sorry to say that in direct comparison, Aimee & Jaguar pales.
P.S. I do think the Aimee & Jaguar love story is great. Lesbians in the 40s! In that aspect it was totally fascinating.
These days we would most likely put Lilly in therapy for PTSD. What moves me most is not Felice's death, though the circumstances are so narrow that throughout the book I was thinking "surely, she will not be taken away and exterminated in the last months of the war." What are the chances! No, what made me saddest was the lifelong depression that Lilly suffered. For that, she got little sympathy. Not even the person who cared enough to write about her life gave her much sympathy. I feel sympathy for her, and wish- oh, don't we all- to rewrite that history.
I preceded this book with In the Garden of Beasts by Larson. Larson's book is well-written and fascinating, and I am sorry to say that in direct comparison, Aimee & Jaguar pales.
P.S. I do think the Aimee & Jaguar love story is great. Lesbians in the 40s! In that aspect it was totally fascinating.
July 23, 2013
I've wanted to read this for years- I came across the story in a magazine and found it heartbreaking. So to say I feel disillusioned is something of an understatement.
My 3 star rating is solely for the love story and the girls themselves. What I found very difficult to swallow was the author's clear dislike/disdain for Lily- a nice attitude for a biographer! Yes, I can understand her anger towards Germans of the period, but seeing as Lily went some way towards redeeming herself, I found her hostile attitude (plus the clumsy way she linked it to the situation in Bosnia) insufferable. I thought her speculations about the relationship not lasting were tasteless in the extreme- who made her God?
It's such a shame, because in the hands of a better, less biased author, this could've been great. If anybody else writes a book on the subject, I intend to read it- and I'll try to catch the film too.
My 3 star rating is solely for the love story and the girls themselves. What I found very difficult to swallow was the author's clear dislike/disdain for Lily- a nice attitude for a biographer! Yes, I can understand her anger towards Germans of the period, but seeing as Lily went some way towards redeeming herself, I found her hostile attitude (plus the clumsy way she linked it to the situation in Bosnia) insufferable. I thought her speculations about the relationship not lasting were tasteless in the extreme- who made her God?
It's such a shame, because in the hands of a better, less biased author, this could've been great. If anybody else writes a book on the subject, I intend to read it- and I'll try to catch the film too.
June 6, 2012
As with any WWII story involving a Jewish person living in Germany, it's bound to be sad. I felt connected to the characters, but the author's style really made this a tough read. The story was set up like a documentary, only in book form. There would be bits of prose, excerpts of diaries and letters and then straight dialogues from interviews. These elements were not synthesized in a way that made reading it enjoyable.
This is a story of a young German mother who meets a Jewish woman and begins to house her. They fall in love rather quickly, since Elisabeth (or Lilly, or Aimée) was unhappy in her marriage to a Nazi soldier. Felice (or Jaguar), the illegal Jew, lives happily with her lover until, of course, she is captured by the Gestapo. The struggles that follow, and Lilly's brave attempts to help Felice make up the bulk of the story. Reading about the lives of Jews in Nazi-era Berlin was of course depressing, but the most chilling part of this read came at the very end, where the author describes the living conditions of a hopeless, possibly deranged Lilly in her old age.
Perhaps a WWII enthusiast would better enjoy this book, but again the writing style just didn't do it for me.
This is a story of a young German mother who meets a Jewish woman and begins to house her. They fall in love rather quickly, since Elisabeth (or Lilly, or Aimée) was unhappy in her marriage to a Nazi soldier. Felice (or Jaguar), the illegal Jew, lives happily with her lover until, of course, she is captured by the Gestapo. The struggles that follow, and Lilly's brave attempts to help Felice make up the bulk of the story. Reading about the lives of Jews in Nazi-era Berlin was of course depressing, but the most chilling part of this read came at the very end, where the author describes the living conditions of a hopeless, possibly deranged Lilly in her old age.
Perhaps a WWII enthusiast would better enjoy this book, but again the writing style just didn't do it for me.
November 1, 2020
Finally, I plucked up the courage to read this book, given to me by a dear friend years ago. I knew it was going to hit very close to home and I didn't want to reopen the old wounds, for years I put if off, but I'm glad I did read it eventually.
Apart from the love story of two women, this is a story of how life was in Berlin before, during, and after the war. This is a story of the Jewish community and their struggle. This is a story of how people can turn a blind eye. A story of how war affects those fortunate enough to survive.
As to the love story, I look at Lilly and Felice and see myself. We had much the same hopes and dreams for the future, which never came true. We wrote each other letters and poems, spoke of never-ending love, were infatuated and blind. Though ours was a merciful fate (no one died), we parted disillusioned and bitter. Would it be the same for Aimée and Jaguar? Nobody knows that.
I feel very sorry for Lilly, and I hope that the rest of her life, though not easy, had at least some happiness in it. I mourn Felice and all the others, far too many, who perished at the hands of the antisemites. And I am grateful to the author Erica Fischer for telling their story.
Apart from the love story of two women, this is a story of how life was in Berlin before, during, and after the war. This is a story of the Jewish community and their struggle. This is a story of how people can turn a blind eye. A story of how war affects those fortunate enough to survive.
As to the love story, I look at Lilly and Felice and see myself. We had much the same hopes and dreams for the future, which never came true. We wrote each other letters and poems, spoke of never-ending love, were infatuated and blind. Though ours was a merciful fate (no one died), we parted disillusioned and bitter. Would it be the same for Aimée and Jaguar? Nobody knows that.
I feel very sorry for Lilly, and I hope that the rest of her life, though not easy, had at least some happiness in it. I mourn Felice and all the others, far too many, who perished at the hands of the antisemites. And I am grateful to the author Erica Fischer for telling their story.
January 16, 2020
If you intend to read a book about what Nazizm did to people, make it this one. On the one hand, it's very detailed, but not intended to shock; rather respectful and informative. On the other, it is a study a study of maddening love that Aimée throws herself into the more ardently, the more difficult the circumstances.
October 29, 2016
I dont even know where to start with this. But all I can say that this story was both soo beautiful, heartbreaking and terrifying! I actually started it this summer, and then had to take a break because it made me feel too much, seriously. I highly recommend it and Its such an important story, and these women deserve to have their story told. But I also have to say that reading about what all these people went through during this time, all the loss, hate and fear, made me sick. So I needed to take a break while reading, for 2 months... But yeah, Its such an important story and very beautifully told! ❤️ And I actually think everyone should read it once in their life...
November 6, 2021
It took me so long to finish this book because it just made me so angry. And so sad. But these stories must be read, and must be remembered.
“It makes me sad sometimes,” Lilly says. “Now it’s no longer my story”
June 23, 2023
this book was definitely interesting. it was sad, as excepted, but i just didn’t like the set up. i did learn more about the way if life during the war and the holocaust and how germans had to deal with as opposed to life in concentration camps. i cant say i liked it but i did learn something, so that is something.
June 28, 2015
"I would rather experience great unhappiness and be destroyed by it than live in moderate happiness to a moderate end."
I am deeply unnerved by this book and sadly disappointed.
First, I absolutely adored this story, and I hate myself for hyping it up so much after watching the movie. After hunting down the English edition for so long (sadly my Deutsch is, admittedly, too scheiße to read the original German, despite my many years of study), I suppose I simply had too many great expectations.
Fundamentally, this is an extremely significant story that simply had to be told. I thank Fischer for this, but I would've strongly suggested she approached the writing of Aimée and Jaguar a lot differently. The tragic love story of two women in Nazi Germany should not, in my opinion, read like a fact book. Consequently, I felt little-to-no empathy towards the main characters--our protagonists Lilly and Felice--for most of the story, despite this improving in the latter half of the book. I felt the most for Felice and however little fault this is of the author, I left this book wanted to know more about her. Otherwise, this book read very much like a documentary; it compiles transcripts from various characters while stringing together letters, excerpts and a on top of it all: a narrative. It was far too muddled and it stifled the emotions I expected to feel during this novel. Although this may very well be the harsh consequences of the translation, it nevertheless does not change the format.
I don't want to blast this book apart, because I really do find the story a very fascinating one and it is collected well. I'm sure most of the book is based upon fragments of fact and Wurst's recollection, so in this instance Fischer does quite well to piece everything together. I'm also a huge fan of luscious lesbian Berlin and the lives of lesbians throughout history, therefore I found this a very fascinating read in terms of how people handled it back then and how the protagonists themselves reacted to having such feelings. On a lighter note, it did fill me with happiness to see the way the family and relatives within the book reacted towards Lilly and Felice's relationship. It was a heart-warming thing to read about, especially given the time period.
I suppose what I'm most unnerved about is the author's treatment of Elisabeth (Lilly) Wurst. I'm not so much upset, more confused, simply by the epilogue. I understand Wurst may not have been wholly truthful in her recollections (after all, some things are quite hard to admit; we've all made mistakes) but this was no reason to react so harshly. It seemed very strange and peculiar, as if she were saying Lilly deserved no sympathy due to her heritage being that of strict German and not Jewish. It just read wrongly.
Overall, I will pocket this book for years to come. It is a significant story I will keep with me for a long time. Meanwhile, however, I will delight in the movie more times than I ever will the book.
I am deeply unnerved by this book and sadly disappointed.
First, I absolutely adored this story, and I hate myself for hyping it up so much after watching the movie. After hunting down the English edition for so long (sadly my Deutsch is, admittedly, too scheiße to read the original German, despite my many years of study), I suppose I simply had too many great expectations.
Fundamentally, this is an extremely significant story that simply had to be told. I thank Fischer for this, but I would've strongly suggested she approached the writing of Aimée and Jaguar a lot differently. The tragic love story of two women in Nazi Germany should not, in my opinion, read like a fact book. Consequently, I felt little-to-no empathy towards the main characters--our protagonists Lilly and Felice--for most of the story, despite this improving in the latter half of the book. I felt the most for Felice and however little fault this is of the author, I left this book wanted to know more about her. Otherwise, this book read very much like a documentary; it compiles transcripts from various characters while stringing together letters, excerpts and a on top of it all: a narrative. It was far too muddled and it stifled the emotions I expected to feel during this novel. Although this may very well be the harsh consequences of the translation, it nevertheless does not change the format.
I don't want to blast this book apart, because I really do find the story a very fascinating one and it is collected well. I'm sure most of the book is based upon fragments of fact and Wurst's recollection, so in this instance Fischer does quite well to piece everything together. I'm also a huge fan of luscious lesbian Berlin and the lives of lesbians throughout history, therefore I found this a very fascinating read in terms of how people handled it back then and how the protagonists themselves reacted to having such feelings. On a lighter note, it did fill me with happiness to see the way the family and relatives within the book reacted towards Lilly and Felice's relationship. It was a heart-warming thing to read about, especially given the time period.
I suppose what I'm most unnerved about is the author's treatment of Elisabeth (Lilly) Wurst. I'm not so much upset, more confused, simply by the epilogue. I understand Wurst may not have been wholly truthful in her recollections (after all, some things are quite hard to admit; we've all made mistakes) but this was no reason to react so harshly. It seemed very strange and peculiar, as if she were saying Lilly deserved no sympathy due to her heritage being that of strict German and not Jewish. It just read wrongly.
Overall, I will pocket this book for years to come. It is a significant story I will keep with me for a long time. Meanwhile, however, I will delight in the movie more times than I ever will the book.
May 20, 2011
The World War II time period is one of my favorites to read about and study, so I was very curious to read this title. While I do not think the author's writing was very good (quite dry and boring), the story was astounding. In none of my other reading, courses or film watching have I heard a story from a similar lens. The lesbian angle is new of course, but so were all of the details about the Jews who managed to keep living underground (as it were) in Berlin throughout the conflict.
Much of the story, thank goodness, is told in snippets from Aimée's diary, Jaguar's poems, letters and interviews with the people who were still alive when this book was being constructed in the early 1990s. The number of primary sources included in the tale is unique, as well.
The epilogue of the book consists of Erica Fischer's comments on the creation of the book, most of which is a diatribe of Lilly. She does not trust Lilly, the main source for most of the recounted memories, because Lilly apparently knew her story too well and left gaps of time out. I cannot help but wonder if this is why her writing is so stilted and I did not care much for Aimée or Jaguar on a close level; I wanted them to live, of course, but I was not emotionally invested. I think Fischer's mistrust and judgment came into her writing and storytelling. For all that the cover names this a love story, she has her own opinions about that and it is quite evident.
After the war, Lilly wanted to convert to Judaism and thought of herself as a Jewess, about which Fischer has this to say: "I do not grant her the status of victim. I guard the line that runs between her and Felice, my mother, and myself obdurately, protective of my small piece of identity" (271). I leave this book skeptical of Erica Fischer as a historian, as she seems to biased, in this tale at least. Still, I am happy to have read it, if only for its unique historical perspective.
Much of the story, thank goodness, is told in snippets from Aimée's diary, Jaguar's poems, letters and interviews with the people who were still alive when this book was being constructed in the early 1990s. The number of primary sources included in the tale is unique, as well.
The epilogue of the book consists of Erica Fischer's comments on the creation of the book, most of which is a diatribe of Lilly. She does not trust Lilly, the main source for most of the recounted memories, because Lilly apparently knew her story too well and left gaps of time out. I cannot help but wonder if this is why her writing is so stilted and I did not care much for Aimée or Jaguar on a close level; I wanted them to live, of course, but I was not emotionally invested. I think Fischer's mistrust and judgment came into her writing and storytelling. For all that the cover names this a love story, she has her own opinions about that and it is quite evident.
After the war, Lilly wanted to convert to Judaism and thought of herself as a Jewess, about which Fischer has this to say: "I do not grant her the status of victim. I guard the line that runs between her and Felice, my mother, and myself obdurately, protective of my small piece of identity" (271). I leave this book skeptical of Erica Fischer as a historian, as she seems to biased, in this tale at least. Still, I am happy to have read it, if only for its unique historical perspective.
September 3, 2019
Homosexualität war im nationalsozialistischen Deutschland strafbar. Im Dritten Reich betrachtete man schwule Männer als entartet und als eine Bedrohung für den Staat, da man fürchtete, sie versuchten, interne Strukturen zu unterwandern und diese von innen heraus zu zerstören. Seit 1934 wurden Homosexuelle verstärkt verfolgt, interniert und ermordet. Laut Paragraf 175 des Reichsstrafgesetzbuches genügten bereits „begehrliche Blicke“, um eine Verhaftung und teilweise sogar eine sofortige Deportation zu rechtfertigen.
Die Zahl der Verurteilungen stieg bis Kriegsbeginn 1939 stetig an. Wikipedia verzeichnet für das Jahr 1935, in dem §175 in Kraft trat, 2.363 Schuldsprüche – 1938 waren es 9.536. Männer, die auf sogenannte „Umerziehungsmaßnahmen“ nicht wie gewünscht reagierten, wurden in Konzentrationslager verschleppt und gezwungen, ein Symbol zu tragen, das ihre sexuelle Orientierung für alle sichtbar machte: den rosa Winkel. Wie viele schwule Männer in den KZs umgebracht wurden, ist rückblickend schwer zu ermitteln, weil nicht klar ist, wie viele von ihnen für ihre Zugehörigkeit zu einer anderen verfolgten Bevölkerungsgruppe interniert wurden. Schätzungen zufolge wurden etwa 10.000 Schwule in die KZs gebracht, von denen circa 53% die Qualen der Lager nicht überlebten.
Paradoxerweise richtete sich der Hass der Nazis primär auf schwule Männer, nicht auf Homosexuelle im Allgemeinen. Lesbische Frauen waren von Paragraf 175 nicht betroffen; es existieren allerdings Hinweise darauf, dass Lesben aus anderen Gründen inhaftiert und in den KZs für entsprechendes Verhalten bestraft wurden. Dennoch zweifelt der Historiker Alexander Zinn an, dass eine gezielte Verfolgung homosexueller Frauen stattfand. Seine These ist meiner Meinung nach nicht von der Hand zu weisen, was ich in der Position der Frau im Nationalsozialismus begründet sehe. Das Dritte Reich war strikt patriarchalisch. Frauen hatten sich um Küche, Kinder und Kirche zu kümmern und sollten sich sonst bevorzugt im Hintergrund halten. Ich glaube, dass die alten Säcke der Parteispitze um Hitler gar nicht auf die Idee kamen, Frauen könnten so etwas wie eine individuelle sexuelle Identität besitzen. Ich kann mir gut vorstellen, dass ihr völliges Unverständnis des weiblichen Geschlechts, die vollkommene Reduzierung der Frau auf ihre Rolle als Mutter, Ehe- und Hausfrau, Lesben vor einer dem Paragrafen 175 ähnlichen Gesetzgebung schützte. Den Nazis fehlte einfach die Fantasie. Doch selbst wenn ihnen bewusst war, dass sich einige Frauen zum eigenen Geschlecht hingezogen fühlten, sahen sie darin eventuell nicht dieselbe Bedrohung, die sie in schwulen Männern vermuteten.
Woran auch immer es lag, homosexuelle Frauen konnten ihre Orientierung freier ausleben als homosexuelle Männer, obwohl Denunzierungen selbstverständlich möglich waren. Wie hoch das Risiko konkret war, hing stark davon ab, wie stabil und zuverlässig das soziale Netz der Frauen war. Wer sich in einem eingeschworenen Freundeskreis bewegte und sich sonst nichts zu Schulden kommen ließ, war vor einer Entdeckung relativ sicher. Diese Faktenlage erklärt, wieso Lilly Wust und Felice Schragenheim verhältnismäßig offen in einer lesbischen Beziehung leben konnten.
Elisabeth Wust und Felice Rachel Schragenheim lernten einander am 27. November 1942 im Café Berlin am Bahnhof Zoo kennen. Lilly war 29 Jahre alt, Mutter von vier Söhnen und mehr oder weniger unglücklich mit Günther Wust verheiratet, der als Soldat in Bernau stationiert und im zivilen Leben Bankbeamter war. Felice war 20 Jahre alt und wollte Journalistin werden. Sie war Jüdin, was sie Lilly anfangs verschwieg. Es war für Felice längst gefährlich geworden, sich in Berlin aufzuhalten, doch ihre Ausreiseversuche waren alle fehlgeschlagen. Anfang Oktober 1942 erhielt sie einen Deportationsbescheid, fingierte ihren Selbstmord und verschwand im Untergrund. Deshalb stellte sie sich Lilly als Felice Schrader vor. Die junge Hausfrau und Mutter gefiel ihr und sie begann beinahe sofort, um Lilly zu werben. Dass diese verheiratet war, schien sie nicht zu kümmern. Lilly fühlte sich geschmeichelt und empfand wohl auch eine gewisse Neugier, wies Felices Annäherungsversuche jedoch vorerst zurück. Erst, als Lilly im März 1943 mit einer akuten Kiefernvereiterung ins Krankenhaus eingeliefert wurde, wo Felice sie regelmäßig mit einem großen Strauß roter Rosen besuchte, gab sie nach und stellte sich ihren unbekannten Gefühlen. Am 29. März, Lillys neuntem Hochzeitstag, küssten sich die beiden Frauen zum ersten Mal.
Ihre Liebe entbrannte heiß und leidenschaftlich. Sie schrieben einander glühende Liebesbriefe und Gedichte, in denen sie sich gegenseitig mit zärtlichen Spitznamen ansprachen. Lilly war Aimée, Felice war Jaguar. Schnell begannen sie, sich als Ehepaar zu verstehen. Sie wohnten zusammen bei Lilly, die sich am 12. Oktober 1943 scheiden ließ. Günther Wust war bereits im August nach Ungarn eingezogen worden. Obwohl sich die Situation in Berlin zuspitzte, Lebensmittel knapp wurden, der Strom immer häufiger ausfiel und sie die Nächte in Luftschutzbunkern verbringen mussten, lebten sie wie berauscht von ihren Emotionen. Kurz nach ihrem Einzug hatte Felice Lilly ihre jüdische Identität gestanden. Die Gefahr, in der Felice schwebte, war beiden wohl bewusst, aber wirklich ernst nahmen sie sie nicht. Die lebenslustige Felice weigerte sich, sich in ihrer gemeinsamen Wohnung zu verschanzen. Sie ging weiterhin aus und half dem jüdischen Widerstand, fand 1944 mit gefälschten Papieren sogar eine Anstellung als Stenotypistin bei der National-Zeitung und leitete alle Informationen, die sie dort sammeln konnte, an ihre Freunde im Untergrund weiter, ohne Rücksicht auf ihre eigene Sicherheit zu nehmen.
Es kann lediglich gemutmaßt werden, wer Felice letzten Endes verriet. Sie wurde am 21. August 1944 von der Gestapo in Lillys Wohnung festgenommen. Die uniformierten Männer hatten ein Foto von Felice bei sich, von dem es angeblich nur drei Abzüge gab: einen besaß Felice selbst, der zweite wurde von einer ebenfalls jüdischen Freundin verwahrt und der dritte gehörte Lilly. Noch während der Befragung versuchte Felice, zu flüchten, wurde allerdings schnell wieder eingefangen und abgeführt. Sie wurde als Jüdin verhaftet, nicht als lesbische Frau.
Die Gestapo brachte Felice in das Judensammellager im Jüdischen Krankenhaus. Dort besuchte Lilly ihre Geliebte mehrfach, bis Felice am 08. September 1944 in das Ghetto Theresienstadt deportiert wurde. Lilly war außer sich und beschloss, selbst nach Theresienstadt zu fahren, obwohl Freunde von Felice sie beschworen, die Reise zu unterlassen. Nicht nur brachte sie sich selbst in Gefahr, es bestand auch das Risiko, dass ihr Besuch Felice zusätzlich schaden könnte. Aber Lilly wollte nicht hören und bestieg am 27. September mit einem falsch ausgestellten Grenzübergangsschein, warmer Kleidung und Lebensmitteln im Gepäck den Zug nach Tschechien. Sie drang bis zur Kommandantur der deutschen Dienststelle vor, scheiterte jedoch an SS-Oberscharführer Rudolf Heindl, der sie wutentbrannt vor die Tür setzte. Resigniert machte sie sich auf die lange Heimreise.
Felices weiterer Weg durch die Tötungsmaschinerie des Dritten Reiches ist durch Briefe und Postkarten belegt, die sie an Lilly und Freunde schickte. Am 09. Oktober 1944 transportierte man sie von Theresienstadt nach Auschwitz. Anfang November 1944 wurde sie in ein Lager bei Breslau in Polen gebracht. Ein Brief an Lillys Eltern, der am 14. November eintraf und auf den 03. November datiert war, trug den Poststempel der kleinen Stadt Trachenberg, heute Żmigród. Darin berichtete sie, dass sie aufgrund einer leichten Scharlachinfektion im Krankenhaus läge und hoffte, bis zum 09. Dezember auf der Station verbleiben zu können. In den folgenden Tagen schrieb sie einige lange Briefe an Lilly, in denen sie Neuigkeiten von Zuhause und Lebensmittel erbat. Ihre letzte Nachricht aus dem Krankenhaus schrieb sie am 14. oder 15. November 1944. Lillys Antwortschreiben kamen nicht mehr an. Felice wurde in das KZ Groß-Rosen verschleppt.
In Berlin wurde Lilly zu einer Befragung durch die Gestapo am 13. Dezember 1944 vorgeladen. Stundenlang musste sie sich intime Fragen, kaum verhohlene Drohungen und Vorwürfe gefallen lassen. Doch sie hielt dicht. Sie behauptete steif und fest, nicht gewusst zu haben, dass Felice Jüdin war und leugnete ihre romantische Beziehung. Ihr missglückter Besuch in Theresienstadt wurde ebenfalls thematisiert, aber Lilly beharrte darauf, dass sie lediglich einer Freundin Kleidung und Lebensmittel bringen wollte. Letztendlich ließ man sie mit einer Verwarnung davonkommen. Sie musste unterschreiben, dass man sie als Mutter von vier kleinen Kindern verschonte, ihr „judenfreundliches Verhalten“ jedoch eigentlich eine Deportation ins KZ rechtfertigen und sie bei der geringsten Verfehlung inhaftiert würde.
Das letzte persönliche Lebenszeichen von Felice traf am 05. Januar 1945 ein. Der an Lillys Eltern adressierte Umschlag enthielt zwei Briefe, einer davon richtete sich an Lilly und war auf den 26. Dezember 1944 datiert. Felice bedankte sich für das letzte Päckchen und berichtete, wie kalt es bei ihr sei. Sie schloss mit Liebesschwüren und Küssen.
Die Rote Armee erreichte Berlin am 02. Mai 1945. Im Chaos der Befreiung schaffte es Lilly, für sich, ihre Kinder und drei jüdische Frauen, die sie seit Februar bei sich versteckte, eine Unterkunft zu organisieren, bis sie zurück in ihre Wohnung konnten. Sie schreckte nicht davor zurück, sich dafür Felices gelben Judenstern anzuheften.
Im Juni begann sie, Felice in den Straßen der Hauptstadt zu suchen. Sie war sicher, dass ihr Jaguar unter den KZ-Heimkehrern sein würde, die Stück für Stück eintrafen. Sie ließ Felice im Radio ausrufen, erkundigte sich bei Häftlingen, die selbst in Groß-Rosen waren, schaltete die Organisation der Vereinten Nationen für Hilfe und Wiedergutmachung ein und hängte Suchanzeigen aus. Im August erfuhr sie, dass Felice Groß-Rosen mit der Auflösung des Lagers im Januar 1945 verlassen hatte und nach Bergen-Belsen geschickt wurde. Dort verliert sich ihre Spur. Die etwa 700 Frauen, die nach Bergen-Belsen transportiert wurden, erlagen laut einem Brief, den Lilly an Felices Schwester Irene schrieb, fast alle dem Fleckfieber (damals auch Hungertyphus genannt). Aber Lilly konnte nicht aufgeben. Sie hoffte und wartete, suchte die Nähe der jüdischen Gemeinde und wäre wohl konvertiert, hätte die Synagoge diesen Schritt nicht verhindert. Sie identifizierte sich mehr und mehr mit der Religion, derentwegen ihr Felice entrissen worden war und schimpfte auf „die Deutschen“. Doch ihre Geliebte fand nicht zu ihr zurück. Felice Schragenheim wurde am 14. Februar 1948 offiziell für tot erklärt. Ihr Todestag und -ort sind bis heute unbekannt. Für die Akten wurde der Zeitpunkt ihres Todes auf den 31. Dezember 1944 festgelegt.
Lilly erholte sich nie von Felices Verlust. Sie verarmte und vereinsamte, versuchte mehrmals, sich das Leben zu nehmen. Ihre Erinnerungen verwahrte sie in ihrem sogenannten „Tränenbüchlein“, eine fein säuberliche Sammlung aller Briefe und Gedichte, die sie und Felice einander schrieben, sowie ihrer Tagebucheinträge. Am 21. September 1981 wurde ihr das Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande für „Unbesungene Helden“ verliehen – eine Ehrung, weil sie vier Jüdinnen versteckt hatte. Möglicherweise war es diese Auszeichnung, die das Interesse der jüdischen Autorin Erica Fischer weckte. Sie suchte Lilly Wust auf und führte ab Winter 1991 Gespräche mit ihr, um ihre tragische Liebesgeschichte zu rekonstruieren. Lillys „Tränenbüchlein“ war hierbei natürlich eine große Hilfe, aber auch das Gedächtnis der mittlerweile fast 80-Jährigen funktionierte tadellos. Das Buch, das durch die Aufarbeitung ihrer Vergangenheit entstand und 1994 erstveröffentlicht wurde, trägt den Titel „Aimée & Jaguar: Eine Liebesgeschichte, Berlin 1943“.
Die vollständige Rezension findet ihr auf meinem Blog, da sie leider zu lang für Goodreads ist: wortmagieblog
April 18, 2019
"Why am I writing all of this -- I love you so much, in a way I have never felt, never known before. Now I am tormenting you and me. Why does one torment that which one loves? Because one loves."
I've never felt engrossed in a book for a long time until I entered the the world of Aimée & Jaguar. Set in WWII, a Nazi mother and a Jewish woman fall in love in bleak and horrific Nazi Germany. Women's stories during the war tend to be ignored and they seem to be rather non-existent. How much more a story between two women, on opposite grounds, falling in love? It is a breath of fresh air to read something that recounts this. Surprisingly, the copy I bought from a book sale only have 362 pages which had the Author's infamous Epilogue cut (other reviewers rated it low because of it). I guess this preserved its impacting and memorable story without tinging Aimée's actions and experiences but it can be somehow confusing and you lose yourself whilst reading because the timelines tend to jump. The wonderful yet painful thing about this biography is how I still hoped together with Aimée even though I know how it ends after watching the film years back. There are letters, poems and scanned tickets and photos in the book. The letters between them are heartbreaking and you see the longing and the love travel in each word just to reach one another. Moreover, as it further unfolds you realize that they are just humans too, especially Aimée and Jaguar, with flaws and all. Pages away from the characters, you get knocked down and be reminded how the war affected everything and how people sometimes do things which doesn't make any sense but they do it nevertheless and you think to yourself whilst reading, 'How about its repercussions?' yet you can't entirely blame anyone at all. Love can only do so much and sometimes that includes doing foolish things. I cried a few pages before I finished this book, went back to look at the pictures once more and felt closer to emotions I've never felt for a long time, and therefore this book has a special place in my heart.
"It is strange that when I think of the future, I never think of the children, it is always as if we will be alone together."
I'll spend the day thinking about them, re-watching the film and watching the documentary.
I've never felt engrossed in a book for a long time until I entered the the world of Aimée & Jaguar. Set in WWII, a Nazi mother and a Jewish woman fall in love in bleak and horrific Nazi Germany. Women's stories during the war tend to be ignored and they seem to be rather non-existent. How much more a story between two women, on opposite grounds, falling in love? It is a breath of fresh air to read something that recounts this. Surprisingly, the copy I bought from a book sale only have 362 pages which had the Author's infamous Epilogue cut (other reviewers rated it low because of it). I guess this preserved its impacting and memorable story without tinging Aimée's actions and experiences but it can be somehow confusing and you lose yourself whilst reading because the timelines tend to jump. The wonderful yet painful thing about this biography is how I still hoped together with Aimée even though I know how it ends after watching the film years back. There are letters, poems and scanned tickets and photos in the book. The letters between them are heartbreaking and you see the longing and the love travel in each word just to reach one another. Moreover, as it further unfolds you realize that they are just humans too, especially Aimée and Jaguar, with flaws and all. Pages away from the characters, you get knocked down and be reminded how the war affected everything and how people sometimes do things which doesn't make any sense but they do it nevertheless and you think to yourself whilst reading, 'How about its repercussions?' yet you can't entirely blame anyone at all. Love can only do so much and sometimes that includes doing foolish things. I cried a few pages before I finished this book, went back to look at the pictures once more and felt closer to emotions I've never felt for a long time, and therefore this book has a special place in my heart.
"It is strange that when I think of the future, I never think of the children, it is always as if we will be alone together."
I'll spend the day thinking about them, re-watching the film and watching the documentary.
February 24, 2017
3.25-3.5
A book who's content is worthy of reading. Aimee and Jaguar is a true story, and a fascinating, it records a love story between two women in the middle of WWII Berlin. It's crazy just to think about that without hearing any particular, but when one discovers that one woman is married to a Nazi and one is a Jewess. Lilly Wust (Aimee) is married to a Nazi officer, and a mother of 4, Felice (Jaquar) is a Jewish woman living underground (they were referred to as Uboats). They meet through a mutual friend and Felice tells their friend she wants to see if Lilly "can smell Jews,"like she proclaims, so she starts coming around. Not only can Lilly not "smell" Felice, but her presence in Lilly and her children's lives will forever be changed. Felice is the one true love of Lilly's life, but this is not a happily ever after story.
Jaguar decides to stay in Berlin, even though all the Jewish left were underground. That was certainly her undoing, and inflicted damage that Lilly never recovered from. Erica Fischer interviewed Lilly in 1991, when she was 80 years old. She said Lilly was so accustomed to telling the story in the same way "mechanically,"with emotions at the same points, that it took her months to break down rote memory and touch their lives deeply.
I rated the book low because I felt Erica's writing was "mechanical." Much of the book felt like reading a dry history book. I believe it's an authors responsibility to take the given information and form an informative but also enjoyable book. In the beginning, the dates of the journal entries and letters jump around making it difficult to establish a memorable time line. Later in the book the journals and letters are chronological.
The history in this book, taken directly from letters and journals, was enough to keep enough of my interest to finish the book. I thought the love story wasn't well developed, and I felt it wasn't written in an inspiring fashion.
A book who's content is worthy of reading. Aimee and Jaguar is a true story, and a fascinating, it records a love story between two women in the middle of WWII Berlin. It's crazy just to think about that without hearing any particular, but when one discovers that one woman is married to a Nazi and one is a Jewess. Lilly Wust (Aimee) is married to a Nazi officer, and a mother of 4, Felice (Jaquar) is a Jewish woman living underground (they were referred to as Uboats). They meet through a mutual friend and Felice tells their friend she wants to see if Lilly "can smell Jews,"like she proclaims, so she starts coming around. Not only can Lilly not "smell" Felice, but her presence in Lilly and her children's lives will forever be changed. Felice is the one true love of Lilly's life, but this is not a happily ever after story.
Jaguar decides to stay in Berlin, even though all the Jewish left were underground. That was certainly her undoing, and inflicted damage that Lilly never recovered from. Erica Fischer interviewed Lilly in 1991, when she was 80 years old. She said Lilly was so accustomed to telling the story in the same way "mechanically,"with emotions at the same points, that it took her months to break down rote memory and touch their lives deeply.
I rated the book low because I felt Erica's writing was "mechanical." Much of the book felt like reading a dry history book. I believe it's an authors responsibility to take the given information and form an informative but also enjoyable book. In the beginning, the dates of the journal entries and letters jump around making it difficult to establish a memorable time line. Later in the book the journals and letters are chronological.
The history in this book, taken directly from letters and journals, was enough to keep enough of my interest to finish the book. I thought the love story wasn't well developed, and I felt it wasn't written in an inspiring fashion.
December 26, 2016
I absolutely loved this book. It is one of my all time favorites and the movie was wonderful to. If you have not had a chance to read, please do because it won't disappoint.
February 5, 2019
Based on true events this love story between the wife of Nazi officer and Jewish girl is quite extraordinary. What I found very interesting are two things: construction of it - combination of real letters, poems between Aimee & Jaguar (Felice Schragenheim), dialogues which are built from the interviews with the Elisabeth/Lilly/Aimee Wust, and the second - depiction of the war. At the beginning WW II is almost just the backdrop for the love part of the story and the nearer at the end of the book, and the war we are, the more devastations of the events comes to the foreground. Of course, story is sad, but author succeeded to escape from overbearing sentimentality and she left to the story to speak for itself.
May 15, 2019
"My God, we've had it up to here with all of it, nor do we believe that people here will change. Heroic battles and anti-Semitism. Revolting. I no longer want to have anything to do with this Germany, thank you very much. Not with this one."
September 27, 2023
Outre la romance entre Lilly et Felice, le livre témoigne aussi des conditions de vie atroces des personnes juives en Allemagne dès 1936.
November 24, 2016
Erica Fischer (*1943) ist Journalistin, Schriftstellerin und Übersetzerin und eine Mitbegründerin des österreichischen Feminismus. Bekannt wurde sie durch ihr Buch Aimée und Jaguar, das erstmals 1994 erschien.
Untertitelt ist das Buch mit "Eine Liebesgeschichte, Berlin 1943" - es ist eine dokumentarische Erzählung der Beziehung von Lilly Wust und Felice Schragenheim während der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus und gegen Ende des zweiten Weltkriegs. Lilly hat einen nationalsozialistisch eingestellten Ehemann und vier Kinder, Felice ist eine untergetauchte Jüdin. Nach einer kurzen, intensiven Zeit des Zusammenseins wird Felice 1944 verhaftet und kommt im Konzentrationslager Bergen-Belsen kurz vor Kriegsende um.
Mit großem Aufwand hat Erica Fischer nicht nur die Überlebende Lilly Wust interviewt, als diese bereits 80 Jahre alt war, sondern auch zahlreiche Zeitzeugen befragt, Dokumente und Fotos zusammengetragen. Darin liegt auch der große Unterschied zu zahlreichen Romanen, die Thematik und historischen Hintergrund gemein haben. Es ist eine wahre Geschichte, das ist das eine, aber gleichzeitig bemüht Fischer sich sehr um eine facettenreiche Darstellung, die eben nicht nur eine rosarote Liebesgeschichte zeigt, wie Lilly Wust sie in Erinnerung haben wollte. Kritisch wird Lillys Beziehung zum Nationalsozialismus gezeigt, ihre Reaktionen nach Kriegsende - die Ablehnung von allem Deutschen und eine fast seltsam anmutenden Hinwendung zum Judentum - bleiben nicht unerwähnt, obwohl dies möglich gewesen wäre. Die Tatsache, dass man sich nie ganz Klarheit über den Lillys Charakter verschaffen kann, spiegelt die Komplexität der Situation, in der sich die Frauen historisch und gesellschaftlich befunden haben. Der umfangreiche Anhang mit Fotos, Briefen und Dokumenten belegt das Streben nach Genauigkeit und Authenzität.
Zusammen ergibt dies ein beeindruckendes Buch und Zeitzeugnis mit einer anrührenden Geschichte zweier sehr unterschiedlicher Frauen.
Das Buch wurde in 20 Sprachen übersetzt. Max Färberböck verfilmte die Liebesgeschichte 1998 unter demselben Titel.
Untertitelt ist das Buch mit "Eine Liebesgeschichte, Berlin 1943" - es ist eine dokumentarische Erzählung der Beziehung von Lilly Wust und Felice Schragenheim während der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus und gegen Ende des zweiten Weltkriegs. Lilly hat einen nationalsozialistisch eingestellten Ehemann und vier Kinder, Felice ist eine untergetauchte Jüdin. Nach einer kurzen, intensiven Zeit des Zusammenseins wird Felice 1944 verhaftet und kommt im Konzentrationslager Bergen-Belsen kurz vor Kriegsende um.
Mit großem Aufwand hat Erica Fischer nicht nur die Überlebende Lilly Wust interviewt, als diese bereits 80 Jahre alt war, sondern auch zahlreiche Zeitzeugen befragt, Dokumente und Fotos zusammengetragen. Darin liegt auch der große Unterschied zu zahlreichen Romanen, die Thematik und historischen Hintergrund gemein haben. Es ist eine wahre Geschichte, das ist das eine, aber gleichzeitig bemüht Fischer sich sehr um eine facettenreiche Darstellung, die eben nicht nur eine rosarote Liebesgeschichte zeigt, wie Lilly Wust sie in Erinnerung haben wollte. Kritisch wird Lillys Beziehung zum Nationalsozialismus gezeigt, ihre Reaktionen nach Kriegsende - die Ablehnung von allem Deutschen und eine fast seltsam anmutenden Hinwendung zum Judentum - bleiben nicht unerwähnt, obwohl dies möglich gewesen wäre. Die Tatsache, dass man sich nie ganz Klarheit über den Lillys Charakter verschaffen kann, spiegelt die Komplexität der Situation, in der sich die Frauen historisch und gesellschaftlich befunden haben. Der umfangreiche Anhang mit Fotos, Briefen und Dokumenten belegt das Streben nach Genauigkeit und Authenzität.
Zusammen ergibt dies ein beeindruckendes Buch und Zeitzeugnis mit einer anrührenden Geschichte zweier sehr unterschiedlicher Frauen.
Das Buch wurde in 20 Sprachen übersetzt. Max Färberböck verfilmte die Liebesgeschichte 1998 unter demselben Titel.
April 23, 2022
I came across this book after seeing the movie. I actually have it on DVD. I read some reviews from people who did not think this book was “feminist enough”. But I approached this book from a different angle. I looked at it for what I thought it was, a true historical story.
I appreciate the history of Felice through poems and letters and other documents. It’s something that is not really in the movie as the movie focuses on the love story. The book does as well but it also goes into how the Nazi laws restricting the rights of Jews to downright quashing them. I am not sure if the author meant this as a feminist work or more of a historical work. Either way, it is a sad story that I would definitely recommend.
For more in depth reviews and future book giveaways go to. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC82t...
I appreciate the history of Felice through poems and letters and other documents. It’s something that is not really in the movie as the movie focuses on the love story. The book does as well but it also goes into how the Nazi laws restricting the rights of Jews to downright quashing them. I am not sure if the author meant this as a feminist work or more of a historical work. Either way, it is a sad story that I would definitely recommend.
For more in depth reviews and future book giveaways go to. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC82t...
May 7, 2012
A summer read that did not disappoint. I loved loved loved Aimee and Jaguar's dedication to one another through the medium of letters. I am so thankful these survived to give the story the unique taste of the past. LETTERS! I wish more people wrote letters, they are such a real declaration of the present moment what ever that moment maybe. I have to go further and say they the movie that is based on this book is also really great. But, the book is a MUST. What brave women they are to have loved eachother so much during that particular time and place in history. Truly a unique story.
August 16, 2022
heart-breaking love story about two women during WW2 in West Berlin. told in a completely unique format (a combination of first-person letters and diary entries and memoir-esque commentary), this book for my HIEU class on everyday life puts me in the shoes of women who love each other and are torn apart by the world tearing itself apart. only wish I didn't have to read it for class so I could savor it more
March 7, 2023
Ein Buch, das ich, erst einmal angefangen, nicht aus der Hand legen konnte. Ich habe einen authentischen, hautnahen Einblick in die Zeit des NS bekommen, konnte die Angst spüren, die diese Frauen gehabt haben müssen. Da es sich hier um echte Biografien handelt, fand ich es noch mitreißender.
January 7, 2017
This could have been a good book. But, it moves very very slow and i find my mind drifting away. Just csnt finish it. And, i love a good lesbian romance!
May 14, 2018
This is a story that remains heartbreakingly relevant. It's first and foremost about ordinary people in all their complexity -- sometimes petty and sometimes heroic, sometimes passionate and sometimes cruel. But it's about those people during a time of evil; genuine evil, when it was taken as a fact by far too many that some people were not people, and deserved to be hated, robbed, enslaved, and murdered. At a time when many countries are again (or still) turning away refugees and a sickeningly familiar brand of racism is on the rise, this is one of many stories that needs to be remembered.
The writing of this book, unfortunately, is not always up to the power of the material. Whether because of the translation or because of the original text, some of it is presented confusingly. In addition, there are as many irrelevant details as there are illuminating anecdotes about these people and their lives. Some of it also seems too slanted to the author's own viewpoints. This is still an important story, but the storytelling sometimes let it down.
The writing of this book, unfortunately, is not always up to the power of the material. Whether because of the translation or because of the original text, some of it is presented confusingly. In addition, there are as many irrelevant details as there are illuminating anecdotes about these people and their lives. Some of it also seems too slanted to the author's own viewpoints. This is still an important story, but the storytelling sometimes let it down.
June 7, 2023
Crónica que visibiliza una relación lésbica en el Berlín de principios de los años 40; que tiene como protagonistas a una joven burguesa de origen judío llamada Felice Schragenheim y una ama de casa aria de nombre Elisabeth “Lilly” Wust.
Felice convivió junto a Lilly y sus hijos desde la primavera de 1943 hasta el verano de 1944, cuando fue detenida por la Gestapo.
Erica Fischer, reconstruye la historia de ambas mujeres a través de su correspondencia personal, poemas dedicados, recuerdos y extractos del diario de Lilly; pero también a partir de los testimonios recogidos durante entrevistas a familiares y amigos de la pareja. El título del libro, hace referencia a los apodos que solían emplear para llamarse entre ellas.
Es fácil empatizar con Felice: inteligente, culta, generosa, con cierto talento para la poesía, poseedora de un agudo e irónico sentido del humor y con una gran madurez para su corta edad (22 años). Huérfana de padre y madre y con su única hermana en el extranjero; sus parientes más cercanos fueron deportados a Theresienstadt en 1942. Cómo muchos judíos alemanes Intentó abandonar el país, pero las múltiples trabas burocráticas impuestas imposibilitó su partida. Luego de recibir su notificación de deportación quitó la estrella de David de su abrigo y pasó a la clandestinidad, adoptando desde ese momento varios alias. La autora no precisa cuando Felice entró en la resistencia, pero si menciona su colaboración con la misma; pasando información que sustrae de una publicación nazi donde con una identificación falsa trabajaba como periodista. Tras su captura es deportada al campo de detención de Theresienstadt. Su deterioro físico, así como su paso por los campos, se conoce a través de las últimas cartas escritas a Lilly y por los testimonios de algunos sobrevivientes del holocausto que recuerdan haberla conocido.
En una de sus últimas cartas Felice expresa su frustración y el miedo que siente ante su futuro cada día más incierto y descorazonador; pero sin perder ese sentido de humor del cual solía hacer gala. Unas declaraciones sin duda demoledoras:
“Me siento como alguien que acaba de conseguir sacar su cabeza del agua helada solo para ser empujada nuevamente hacia abajo. Pero solo te lo diré a ti, pues sólo mi gatita puede saber que el bravo jaguar tiene miedo. Oren por él, ¿de acuerdo?”
Se desconoce la fecha de su fallecimiento, probablemente se produjo en la marcha de la muerte que llevó a los deportados de Gross Rosen a Bergen Belsen.
En cuanto a Lilly, el perfil que presenta Fischer sobre ella tiene muchos matices: Madre de cuatro hijos (uno de ellos hijo de uno de sus amantes) y casada con un ex empleado de banca simpatizante nazi y soldado del ejército alemán; es descrita como una mujer inmadura, frívola, interesada, emocionalmente dependiente e inconsciente; pero también valiente y solidaria, pues luego de la detención de Felice, brindó protección a otras tres mujeres judías . La desaparición de Felice significó un duro golpe para su estabilidad emocional del cual nunca se recuperó totalmente, y según se da a entender en el libro; después de la guerra, Lilly desarrolló un fuerte sentimiento anti alemán y pro judío que rayaba la obsesión. Además su vida no fue fácil: intentos de suicidio, depresiones, un nuevo fracaso matrimonial con episodios de violencia de género. Vivió en la pobreza y hasta comienzos de la década de los 60’s no encontró un trabajo con el que ganarse la vida y mantener a sus hijos.
Obviamente el retrato de Lilly resulta profundamente más humano que el perfil un tanto plano e idealizado (a pesar de lo sumamente trágico) de Felice.
Lilly fue condecorada por el gobierno de la antigua República federal en 1981, y tras varios actos de vandalismo de los cuales fue víctima llevó una vida de reclusión; subsistiendo con una escueta pensión y aquejada de varias enfermedades.
Son impactantes las declaraciones de Lilly sobre la reacción de sus compañeros de trabajo y vecinos tras recibir su condecoración, que muestra que tras 36 años de la caída del régimen nazi, la intolerancia y el resentimiento contra quienes no simpatizaban con el nazismo continuaba presente en la sociedad alemana:
“El día de la ceremonia no dije nada al respecto en el trabajo, simplemente no me presenté ese lunes. No quería llamar la atención, ¡pero estaba en todos los periódicos! Los medios casi me vuelven loca. Los rechacé a todos, no quería causar sensación, Dios lo sabe. Y luego, la gente reaccionó de una manera extraña. La administración fue excelente. Me dieron este jarrón aquí, lleno de rosas. Pero la gente con la que tenía amistad en la fábrica, nunca hubiera esperado su reacción. La mayoría de ellos se distanciaron de mí. Incluso aquí en mi barrio, ya sabes. No es que ya no me hablaran, pero lo noté. Me marcaron, y eso es algo de lo que no me recuperaré. Moriré con esa marca. Esa es la razón por la que me retiré totalmente. Ya no confiaba en nadie, en nadie. ¡Nadie quiere asumir la responsabilidad, incluso hoy! La gente no ha cambiado en absoluto, al menos no ellos.”
Me ha llamado mucho la atención como se desarrollaba la vida cotidiana de los berlineses durante el conflicto bélico, tan aislados e ignorantes de los horrores del frente y de los campos de exterminio; así como los diferentes medios que empleaban otros judíos fujitivos, que al igual que Felice vivían en la clandestinidad; sus tretas para despistar a la Gestapo, viviendo anónimamente y confundiéndose con el resto de la población.
No son muchas las crónicas relacionadas con la Segunda Guerra Mundial protagonizadas solo por mujeres, lo cual le otorga al libro un carácter especial e interesante, además la historia de Felice y Lilly es conmovedora y de profundo interés humano.
Felice convivió junto a Lilly y sus hijos desde la primavera de 1943 hasta el verano de 1944, cuando fue detenida por la Gestapo.
Erica Fischer, reconstruye la historia de ambas mujeres a través de su correspondencia personal, poemas dedicados, recuerdos y extractos del diario de Lilly; pero también a partir de los testimonios recogidos durante entrevistas a familiares y amigos de la pareja. El título del libro, hace referencia a los apodos que solían emplear para llamarse entre ellas.
Es fácil empatizar con Felice: inteligente, culta, generosa, con cierto talento para la poesía, poseedora de un agudo e irónico sentido del humor y con una gran madurez para su corta edad (22 años). Huérfana de padre y madre y con su única hermana en el extranjero; sus parientes más cercanos fueron deportados a Theresienstadt en 1942. Cómo muchos judíos alemanes Intentó abandonar el país, pero las múltiples trabas burocráticas impuestas imposibilitó su partida. Luego de recibir su notificación de deportación quitó la estrella de David de su abrigo y pasó a la clandestinidad, adoptando desde ese momento varios alias. La autora no precisa cuando Felice entró en la resistencia, pero si menciona su colaboración con la misma; pasando información que sustrae de una publicación nazi donde con una identificación falsa trabajaba como periodista. Tras su captura es deportada al campo de detención de Theresienstadt. Su deterioro físico, así como su paso por los campos, se conoce a través de las últimas cartas escritas a Lilly y por los testimonios de algunos sobrevivientes del holocausto que recuerdan haberla conocido.
En una de sus últimas cartas Felice expresa su frustración y el miedo que siente ante su futuro cada día más incierto y descorazonador; pero sin perder ese sentido de humor del cual solía hacer gala. Unas declaraciones sin duda demoledoras:
“Me siento como alguien que acaba de conseguir sacar su cabeza del agua helada solo para ser empujada nuevamente hacia abajo. Pero solo te lo diré a ti, pues sólo mi gatita puede saber que el bravo jaguar tiene miedo. Oren por él, ¿de acuerdo?”
Se desconoce la fecha de su fallecimiento, probablemente se produjo en la marcha de la muerte que llevó a los deportados de Gross Rosen a Bergen Belsen.
En cuanto a Lilly, el perfil que presenta Fischer sobre ella tiene muchos matices: Madre de cuatro hijos (uno de ellos hijo de uno de sus amantes) y casada con un ex empleado de banca simpatizante nazi y soldado del ejército alemán; es descrita como una mujer inmadura, frívola, interesada, emocionalmente dependiente e inconsciente; pero también valiente y solidaria, pues luego de la detención de Felice, brindó protección a otras tres mujeres judías . La desaparición de Felice significó un duro golpe para su estabilidad emocional del cual nunca se recuperó totalmente, y según se da a entender en el libro; después de la guerra, Lilly desarrolló un fuerte sentimiento anti alemán y pro judío que rayaba la obsesión. Además su vida no fue fácil: intentos de suicidio, depresiones, un nuevo fracaso matrimonial con episodios de violencia de género. Vivió en la pobreza y hasta comienzos de la década de los 60’s no encontró un trabajo con el que ganarse la vida y mantener a sus hijos.
Obviamente el retrato de Lilly resulta profundamente más humano que el perfil un tanto plano e idealizado (a pesar de lo sumamente trágico) de Felice.
Lilly fue condecorada por el gobierno de la antigua República federal en 1981, y tras varios actos de vandalismo de los cuales fue víctima llevó una vida de reclusión; subsistiendo con una escueta pensión y aquejada de varias enfermedades.
Son impactantes las declaraciones de Lilly sobre la reacción de sus compañeros de trabajo y vecinos tras recibir su condecoración, que muestra que tras 36 años de la caída del régimen nazi, la intolerancia y el resentimiento contra quienes no simpatizaban con el nazismo continuaba presente en la sociedad alemana:
“El día de la ceremonia no dije nada al respecto en el trabajo, simplemente no me presenté ese lunes. No quería llamar la atención, ¡pero estaba en todos los periódicos! Los medios casi me vuelven loca. Los rechacé a todos, no quería causar sensación, Dios lo sabe. Y luego, la gente reaccionó de una manera extraña. La administración fue excelente. Me dieron este jarrón aquí, lleno de rosas. Pero la gente con la que tenía amistad en la fábrica, nunca hubiera esperado su reacción. La mayoría de ellos se distanciaron de mí. Incluso aquí en mi barrio, ya sabes. No es que ya no me hablaran, pero lo noté. Me marcaron, y eso es algo de lo que no me recuperaré. Moriré con esa marca. Esa es la razón por la que me retiré totalmente. Ya no confiaba en nadie, en nadie. ¡Nadie quiere asumir la responsabilidad, incluso hoy! La gente no ha cambiado en absoluto, al menos no ellos.”
Me ha llamado mucho la atención como se desarrollaba la vida cotidiana de los berlineses durante el conflicto bélico, tan aislados e ignorantes de los horrores del frente y de los campos de exterminio; así como los diferentes medios que empleaban otros judíos fujitivos, que al igual que Felice vivían en la clandestinidad; sus tretas para despistar a la Gestapo, viviendo anónimamente y confundiéndose con el resto de la población.
No son muchas las crónicas relacionadas con la Segunda Guerra Mundial protagonizadas solo por mujeres, lo cual le otorga al libro un carácter especial e interesante, además la historia de Felice y Lilly es conmovedora y de profundo interés humano.
April 10, 2023
2.25
Ostatnia ćwierć reportażu przesmutna i bardzo, bardzo przykra. Jednocześnie pozwoliła odrobinę podnieść ocenę książki (uspokojenie miszmaszu i faktyczne skupienie się na przeżyciach), która, niestety, została fatalnie napisana – ta historia zasługiwała na dobry, literacki przekaz. Tłumaczenie kulało, a niektóre zdania zdawały się nie mieć ze sobą powiązania mimo występowania obok siebie. Fabularyzowane fragmenty przeplatały się ze współczesnymi dziennikarce relacjami osób z otoczenia Lilly i Felice. Całość prezentowała się chaotycznie, prawdopodobnie dlatego, że została sklecona w nieumiejętny sposób. Miało się wrażenie, że dziennikarka chciała przekazać tak wiele, że pisarsko nie dała rady tego unieść. Nie czułam się też komfortowo z tak wnikliwym zaglądaniem w korespondencj�� kobiet; dobrze przynajmniej, że listy, zdjęcia i dokumenty udostępniła sama Lilly.
Ostatnia ćwierć reportażu przesmutna i bardzo, bardzo przykra. Jednocześnie pozwoliła odrobinę podnieść ocenę książki (uspokojenie miszmaszu i faktyczne skupienie się na przeżyciach), która, niestety, została fatalnie napisana – ta historia zasługiwała na dobry, literacki przekaz. Tłumaczenie kulało, a niektóre zdania zdawały się nie mieć ze sobą powiązania mimo występowania obok siebie. Fabularyzowane fragmenty przeplatały się ze współczesnymi dziennikarce relacjami osób z otoczenia Lilly i Felice. Całość prezentowała się chaotycznie, prawdopodobnie dlatego, że została sklecona w nieumiejętny sposób. Miało się wrażenie, że dziennikarka chciała przekazać tak wiele, że pisarsko nie dała rady tego unieść. Nie czułam się też komfortowo z tak wnikliwym zaglądaniem w korespondencj�� kobiet; dobrze przynajmniej, że listy, zdjęcia i dokumenty udostępniła sama Lilly.
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