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colleengeedrumm's review against another edition
4.0
In Germany, as in other European countries, the lime was a sacred tree, whose presence protected against ill luck.
We know not the place where our loved ones are - we know the place where they are not.
Music will feed you in your life.
For the second time in its history, its shuttered windows endured a long summer, autumn and winter unopened and unwarmed by human company and the heat from a fire.
This is my last chance to tell my side of the story, to prove I am not an enemy, otherwise there is no reason to prolong my useless life. How should I prove that I am not an enemy if I am not an enemy? I have always fought for the working class and the party. I may have made mistakes but I am not an enemy of the people. I always had to work, sometimes I was not aware who I was working for. -Leopold Bauer
Most simply walked, enjoying the monochrome tranquility. (frozen lake)
We know not the place where our loved ones are - we know the place where they are not.
Music will feed you in your life.
For the second time in its history, its shuttered windows endured a long summer, autumn and winter unopened and unwarmed by human company and the heat from a fire.
This is my last chance to tell my side of the story, to prove I am not an enemy, otherwise there is no reason to prolong my useless life. How should I prove that I am not an enemy if I am not an enemy? I have always fought for the working class and the party. I may have made mistakes but I am not an enemy of the people. I always had to work, sometimes I was not aware who I was working for. -Leopold Bauer
Most simply walked, enjoying the monochrome tranquility. (frozen lake)
alisonmostyn's review against another edition
4.0
Great read - particularly pertinent at the moment with the rise in far right groups
heidihaverkamp's review against another edition
4.0
A moving children's book for adults (I'd say) about a house in Germany and its occupants from the 1930s to the present, when the descendent of the Jewish family who built it reclaimed it and raised money to turn it into a peace center. Quite beautiful with beautiful illlustrations.
robhood's review against another edition
5.0
Thomas Harding is an excellent writer. This is the second non-fiction book of his that I have read. It was well documented and very interesting!
amerika282's review against another edition
5.0
SO GOOD. Such a great framing and focus with which to tell the story of a turbulent century in a totally engaging way.
mwgerard's review against another edition
5.0
The fascinating history of a summer lake house in Germany: http://mwgerard.com/review-the-house-by-the-lake/
jdintr's review against another edition
4.0
The fact that this is a book about Germany--and not merely Harding's family's remarkable history--earns it an extra star.
Harding's great-grandfather was a prosperous Berlin doctor, an honored hero of World War I who built a thriving medical practice on the Kaiserallee, one of the busiest areas of the city. He was also a Jew. In 1927 he leased land along the lake, Groß Glieneke, from a local landholder and built a small summer house. For ten years it was a family retreat. Then history intervened.
Harding's family--including his newly married grandmother, were booted out of Germany--but the house stayed, first reverting to the landlord, a right-wing member of the Stahlhelm, a militia that was eventually absorbed into the National Socialists. The Nazis confiscated the land, then passed it on to Will Meisel, a venal music industry exec who thought nothing of buying up Jewish businesses at bargain-basement prices.
The most interesting chapters deal with East Germany. The Berlin Wall cut off the house from the lake, and its residents during that time lived in the middle of one of the world's greatest conflicts, having to pass through a strict security zone just to get back and forth to their houses. This part climaxes with the fall of the wall in 1989.
Harding has written a book that Germanphiles will enjoy. He has made the case that the 'house by the lake' is a monument of German history--and the book traces his efforts to keep the house from being razed by the city of Potsdam, instead lobying to turn it into a Denkmal or historic monument.
Harding's great-grandfather was a prosperous Berlin doctor, an honored hero of World War I who built a thriving medical practice on the Kaiserallee, one of the busiest areas of the city. He was also a Jew. In 1927 he leased land along the lake, Groß Glieneke, from a local landholder and built a small summer house. For ten years it was a family retreat. Then history intervened.
Harding's family--including his newly married grandmother, were booted out of Germany--but the house stayed, first reverting to the landlord, a right-wing member of the Stahlhelm, a militia that was eventually absorbed into the National Socialists. The Nazis confiscated the land, then passed it on to Will Meisel, a venal music industry exec who thought nothing of buying up Jewish businesses at bargain-basement prices.
The most interesting chapters deal with East Germany. The Berlin Wall cut off the house from the lake, and its residents during that time lived in the middle of one of the world's greatest conflicts, having to pass through a strict security zone just to get back and forth to their houses. This part climaxes with the fall of the wall in 1989.
Harding has written a book that Germanphiles will enjoy. He has made the case that the 'house by the lake' is a monument of German history--and the book traces his efforts to keep the house from being razed by the city of Potsdam, instead lobying to turn it into a Denkmal or historic monument.
annetjeberg's review against another edition
5.0
My 6-year-old loved this. He wanted to read this one again, and again, and again. We have had so many great discussions about this book, and we have looked up some history, and that was a great bonding opportunity.
Recommended for the young history buffs out there.
Recommended for the young history buffs out there.