Someone gave this little book to my Mum at Christmas, and the moment she saw the cover photo, she exclaimed "That's me!".Well, it is not my Mum, and she was prettier, with her blonde curls and a doll-like face, but she had the exact same dress as the girl in the photo.
The author Ingeborg Santor - whose picture it is - is about the same age as my mother. In the book, she shares her childhood memories, to most of which my mother can relate very well. Those were the years just after the war. My mother was born in 1944, a year before the war ended. Like the author, her childhood was characterised by lack of money, the need for making do with what was available, and a lot of things adults did and said that did not make much sense to children.
For the little girl in the book, finding dead baby birds that have fallen out of their nest in a storm is as dramatic as losing a beloved person. What the neighbour's son, a few years her senior, says has the same authority as what her parents or a teacher at school tell her.
Getting enough to eat is just as important as having the "right" kind of slate for school.
I enjoyed this book very much and just wish it would have been longer. As my parents are of that generation, and have told me a lot about their childhood, I find it very interesting to read anything about this period. It was a very different time from when I was the same age as the little girl in the books - my childhood took place in the 1970s, and yet again, that was a very different time from now.
Still, a lot of the experiences that are part of our childhood, the way we approach things and people, what we understand and what not, is similar.
As far as I know, "Frühe Zimmer, kleine Jahre" has only been published in German. If you are able to read German, you could give it a go. Chapters are brief and the language is simple enough.
The author's website is here.
Time is strange... I remember my grandparents talking about The War in my early childhood, while to me it was always something that belonged in History. Now I realise that it was no further back in history for them then, than the millennium is for me today (and that was like yesterday - right?)
ReplyDeleteMonica, sometimes I watch TV and at the end of the program they show its copyright date - when it is a date from the 1990s, I think "Oh, this was a new one", until I think a bit more and realise that the 90s were 20 years ago!
DeleteWhat a wonderful gift for your mother, with someone just her age who would share the same childhood memories! Love that she had the same dress too!
ReplyDeleteYou know my Dad was in Germany just after the war and he has the most incredible stories of what he experienced there.
It was from my sister. I remember that as soon as I had hit "publish" on the post.
DeleteYes, I you told me of your Dad having been in Germany at that time. He was a very young man then, almost a boy, and things must have made a deep impression on his young mind.
Though I grew up in a quite different area than this little girl, we both had the same experiences, joys and problems. The time after the war was not easy, especially for the adults, but I can say, my parents never let me and my brother feel this. We had a wonderful childhood and I am very thankful for my family.
ReplyDeleteThe same is true for me, Mum!
DeleteYour mother must have loved this book!
ReplyDeleteShe did, and I did, too!
DeleteIt is so interesting to read about the upbringing of people who are the same or similar age as ourselves. I had a fairly unusual childhood so rarely find a book which rings any bells for me, sadly.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I am sure that people would find a book about your childhood very interesting, Jenny!
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