We Nazis were a generation of a thoroughly melodramatic cast of mind, and only when the choir of angels failed to strike up in the last act did we realize what kind of film we were in, and realize that what we saw was not some bad tragedy but hell itself. Nor was it a film at all. It was the play in which we had acted the part of ourselves. Suddenly we found ourselves personally involved in the showdown, saw that it all boiled down to saving our bare lives, which we did, and when it was finally over we crept offstage very quietly.
We remember everything. The great crimes committed in our names. The small acts of treachery and cowardice that were our own part in it. We remember the lies we heard, the stern order instructing us to spread them, and we remember that we carried out that order. We remember gray-faced people whom we saw passing by, and we remember that we saw them in the knowledge that they were lost. We remember.
(from Eva’s Cousin, pages 123-124)
Eva’s Cousin by Sibylle Knauss (translated from the German by Anthea Bell) is based on the memories of Gertrude Weisker, cousin of Eva Braun, as told to the author. Braun was the mistress (and later wife) of Adolph Hitler. The novel is narrated in the first person by Marlene, who traveled to Berchtesgaden, Germany, in 1944 near the end of World War II to spend time with her cousin, Eva, at Hitler’s Bavarian mountain retreat, the Berghof. It opens with an elderly Marlene walking the grounds of what used to be the Berghof, recounting the carefree days she spent as an innocent 20-year-old girl enjoying the luxurious retreat and the attentions of her more worldly cousin.
At the Berghof, Marlene and Eva are far removed from the war, skinny-dipping, watching movies, dancing, etc. But as time passes, Marlene and Eva don’t seem as close. They travel to Munich, where despite the bombed-out buildings, Eva laughs at Marlene when she becomes frightened at the sound of the air-raid sirens. Marlene’s feelings about the Nazis are conflicted; she begins an intimate relationship with an SS officer, then retreats to Hitler’s Tea House to live alone and helps an escaped slave laborer hiding out there. Marlene chronicles her time with Eva at the Berghof, up until and even after the mountain retreat is bombed by the Allies.
Hitler doesn’t make an appearance, and Marlene never meets him, but she ponders his relationship with her cousin. Eva is portrayed as childish, whiny, and clingy, wanting new dresses when the world is at war and becoming upset if Hitler doesn’t call her when she expects him to. Despite acting the part of the defenseless mistress, Eva wielded some power.
She was the woman of Hitler’s dreams. Pretty, young, vain, and completely ignorant of power politics. She learned nothing at all from mixing with the Bormanns, the Himmlers, the Speers around her. Nothing rubbed off on her even from the lower-ranking courtiers, the compliant Schaubs and von Belows. She always retained the sulky little air of willfulness with which she would inspect Hitler, her head on one side, and say:
You look like a chauffeur in that cap.
Everyone would hear her and suddenly realize how intimate she was with him. And every time they became aware of that they would feel afraid again, just as I still feel afraid today. (page 79)
I found Eva’s Cousin interesting, but I wish there was an author’s note to separate some of the facts from the fiction. (Knauss writes on the dedication page, “This story is as true as the facts on which it is based — and as fictional as any novel,” which of course doesn’t satisfy my curiosity.) Knauss is a talented writer, but I was put off by the lack of quotation marks for the dialogue. At times, the book dragged, but I think that can be attributed to the fact that Marlene seems to observe from a distance. I never felt like I was present in the story with her. Even during the bombing scenes at the end, I didn’t feel the emotions that those present might have felt. And even though Marlene began to distance herself from the Nazis at the Berghof, I didn’t feel like I knew enough about her to even care about her fate. Although the title of the book implies that it will be mostly about Eva’s cousin, it was mostly Marlene’s observations of Eva and her life as Hitler’s mistress when Hitler wasn’t around.
However, I found it hard to put down the book. Knauss’ portrayal of Eva Braun is a fascinating character study, and Marlene’s visit to the ruins of the Berghof made me curious about what former Nazis remember and how they perceive their beliefs and actions now. Marlene mentions early on that she only spoke of her connection to Eva once to her husband, as her first engagement abruptly ended when her fiancé and his family learned of her time on the Obersalzberg after being recognized by a waiter. Marlene makes some profound statements throughout her narrative that really get you thinking about how it must feel to be on the losing end of a war — especially one that involved so many atrocities committed by the Nazis — and how most people just wanted to put it all behind them.
But there is something that is too shameful to be remembered, even after all the years that have now gone by. No one can expect that of us! It is easier to admit guilt than embarrassment. The memory of a spurious emotion is horrible, shameful, humiliating. And hidden deep down, disguised and camouflaged out of all recognition, the evil of which we were capable lies in the same memory. That is where it hides. (page 124)
It’s been hard to put my thoughts about Eva’s Cousin into words. Despite Marlene being a dispassionate observer and the absence of any real action to push the story further, I liked the book, from its descriptions of Hitler’s home to Marlene’s thoughts about guilt and complicity. It’s a book that packs a punch without the reader realizing it until the last page is turned.
Disclosure: I purchased my copy of Eva’s Cousin. I am an Amazon associate.
© 2010 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
Sounds like this was an interesting book even though it wasn’t what you expected. I’m not sure if its a book I would want to read…I have a hard time with books where I don’t feel connected to the “characters.”
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I like to feel connected, but it’s not always necessary. I guess it just depends on the story. Even though I liked this one, I wanted to feel more for Marlene.
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I wonder about the facts and fiction too from reading this review. But it sounds interesting, and especially that portrait of Eva
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It was interesting, and it’s made me want to read more about her. I mean, who in their right mind wanted to be romantically involved with Hitler?!? Did she even know or suspect how evil he was?
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I was really blown away by the first quote in the review. Would this not represent the feelings of most of the German people? The problem I would have here is that it pretends to be a memoir but it isn’t. I know that is totally acceptable in the literary world, but I would get hung up on it. There are so many amazing books that ARE memoirs about WWII, I think I would rather read those.
Interestingly, with everything I’ve read and seen on WWII, this isn’t the first time I’ve heard that Eva was a bit of a twit. Giggly, ditzy and needy, without much of a thought about what was going on around her but the next party. Hard to imagine Hitler tolerating that. Maybe they deserved each other.
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When I first picked up the book, I assumed it was fiction right off the bat. It wasn’t until I brought it home and read the jacket flaps that I learned that a real cousin of Eva Braun’s talked to the author. I’m interested in both novels and non-fiction, so I figured I’d read it anyway. (Plus I got a brand-new hardcover for 99 cents at Wonder Books. What a steal!) But I definitely would have preferred it to be a real memoir.
I wasn’t surprised by Knauss’ portrayal of Eva. I’ve seen those documentaries of her twirling around in dresses with the mountains in the background. She did seem quite silly and ditzy. But I didn’t really know anything about her other than the basics. And who knows whether what is in this book is true or not. That’s why I’ll have to do some more research now.
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This sounds lika an interesting perspective to get on this issue. I am intrigued even if it isn’t a completely successful narrative. The author’s statement may have some truth to it but I would have liked to be a little bit more transparent.
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A little more transparency would have been great. I wonder if the narrative would have been more successful if she told the true experiences of Eva’s cousin based on the interviews with her. I wonder if distancing the fictional narrator from the action was a way of protecting her.
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This does sound interesting. I wonder if some things were lost in the translation.
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That is entirely possible, and I did wonder about that, too.
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This sounds interesting, though I doubt it’s something I’d read. Like you, I really appreciate an author’s note at the end of a historical novel separating fact from fiction. I appreciate the seamless blending of fiction and history, but when I look back on a novel, I like to know which is which.
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I agree. I don’t mind when authors stray from the facts — it is fiction after all — I just like to be told when they are doing so. But I’m not too hung up over it, since I knew from the outset it was a novel.
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The subject matter is gripping, although the lack of direction re: fact v. fiction would be frustrating to me. But you’ve got me wondering if there have been other, perhaps more illuminating, novels written on the same subject….I’m off to research!
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Please let me know what you find!
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There doesn’t seem to be much of anything written at all about Eva. Apparently this is because there is little known about her historically at all….even when she was “with” Hitler for all those years, only a few people in his inner circle even knew her. There’s brief biographical sketches to be found, but nothing that explains her motivations, etc….at least nothing but wild theories.
There is apparently a fictional “diary” called (aptly) The Devil’s Mistress: The Diary of Eva Braun, but it’s gotten some horrid reviews and it just pure fiction with no basis whatsoever in the few facts historians know.
There’s another non-fiction book that is well received: The Lost Life of Eva Braun by Angela Lambert and that looks promising.
The only historical fiction that exists is this very book you’ve reviewed here. Interesting, no?
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Interesting. I did know that most people were unaware that she existed until after she and Hitler had committed suicide. I’ll have to check out the non-fiction book you mentioned.
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This sounds like a fascinating book Anna although the lack of quotation marks would drive me crazy. That’s one of my pet peeves when it comes to reading.
Like you I like an author’s note as well so I know what is based on fact and what isn’t. Otherwise it’s a lot harder to even review something.
I’m glad you liked the book though – it does sound like one worth reading. Thanks for the great review.
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Even with the few flaws it still was good. It did take me a while to get over the quotation marks thing, though.
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I think it would be interesting to read about the “other side of the story”, the only book I’ve read that portrayed how Germans felt about the war was The Book Thief, and that’s so different from this one (it sounds like). I’d want something at the end that sorted out fact from fiction, too.
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This is very much different from The Book Thief because you see things from the POV of the Nazis and those close to them.
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Those are the kind of books I like…makes you think about them for days after you read the last page.
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So true because I just wrote the review the other day but finished it at the end of April.
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I am not sure whether I would like this book or not, but I added it to my “check it out” list.
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It’s certainly worth giving a try.
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This is one I have not read yet. I definitely will be adding it to the list. I don’t mind the fact and fiction mix
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I don’t mind that the fact and fiction were mixed, I just wish there had been an author’s note to let you know the difference. I’m curious to hear what you think about it, so I hope you get a chance to read it.
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It does sound interesting, but it might bother me a bit that fact and fiction are kind of mixed up. It would make me very curious to know what was fact.
Great review!
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Thanks! I hope you give it a try.
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Sounds like the kind of book that sends me straight to the computer to learn more. And, for me, that’s always a good thing in a book!
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It’s so true about books unlocking the gateway to learning. Boy, I’m such a geek! 😉
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Great review Anna. I think I would want to know too about which facts were embellished or fictionalized but sounds like it was a very interesting read overall. A long time ago I read a book, Hitler’s Niece, which was about Eva Braun. I don’t know if you’ve read it but you may find it interesting.
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Thanks, Iliana. I’m assuming Hitler’s Niece also was about the niece with whom he was obsessed, Geli Raubal? Sound like an interesting book, since some believe he murdered her. I’ll have to check it out.
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