Jennifer TeegeReseñas

quite the family history

2.5 stars. The circumstances of Teege's life and family history are certainly fascinating, but the book was not so much. It felt slightly repetitive, and it was hard to relate to some of Teege's decisions. It all felt very surface-level. But it did make me consider how Germans post-World War II did (or didn't) deal with the ways their elder relatives dealt with their feelings about what they had done during the war. I hadn't really given that much thought before.

Jennifer Teege spent her earliest years in a Catholic orphanage. Teege’s German mother had a brief relationship with Teege’s Nigerian father, but they were no longer together by the time Teege was born. At that time in Germany, it was common for single mothers who had to work to place their children in an orphanage. They still had visitation rights and often the children would spend weekends with their mothers or other family. When she was a toddler, Teege was taken in by a foster family. She still saw her mother and grandmother regularly until she was adopted by her foster family.

Teege’s sense of identity was upended at age 38 when she picked up a random book off of a library shelf. She found she was holding a book about her mother and her mother’s father, the Nazi war criminal Amon Goeth, the concentration camp commandant known to many from the film Schindler’s List. Teege sought out a therapist to help her deal with this new knowledge as well as the abandonment issues stemming from her relationships with her birth mother and grandmother. Also, Teege had lived and studied in Israel for several years in her twenties, and she didn’t know how to tell her Israeli friends that her grandfather had been a mass murderer of Jews.

This book is an odd mix of memoir and biography, with parts written by Teege interspersed with more objective commentary by her co-author, Nikola Sellmair. Teege contextualizes her individual psychological trauma with that of other descendants of Nazi war criminals, descendants of average Germans who sympathized with the Nazi party, and descendants of Holocaust survivors. She also reflects on generational differences between the children and the grandchildren of war criminals and Holocaust survivors. Teege’s personal journey is an example of how one reckons with one’s past and the weight of family secrets in order to contribute to a better future.

This memoir is a very important book because Jennifer Teege's story is very unique and has great historical and philosophical consequence. A person of color, she was raised in Germany and adopted at age 7 and sent to school in Israel for years, where she learned Hebrew. At age 38, she learns that her grandfather was a famous Nazi. How history has affected her life, both before she knew the truth and afterward, makes for a fascinating read.
I give the book 4 stars because it didn't have the greatest structure, but it's a book that should affect every reader in profound ways.

Jennifer Teege was in her late thirties when she discovered that she was the grandfather was Amon Goeth, the Nazi Commandant depicted in the film Schindler's List. Jennifer's birth mother was born to Goeth's girlfriend after Goeth was executed for crimes against humanity. Monica, Jennifer's mother, gave her up for adoption a few weeks after she was born. Her birth father was a Nigerian man who was studying in Germany at the time. A German family adopted her and she grew up along with her parents two birth children. While Jennifer was the only dark skinned child in her elementary school she did not feel rejected because of her differences. Jennifer met her birth mother and birth grandmother as a child but she never knew about her family's Nazi past. She even spent four years living and studying in Israel without knowing those things. It came as a huge shock when she learned
whose DNA she inherited. This book tells of Ms. Teege's quest to discover the meaning of her family's hidden past. She visited the sites portrayed in Schindler's List and struggled to find a way to tell her friends in Israel what she had discovered. I listened to this book as an audio book.

I do not apologise if this review offends you. I am tired of the Jews still being whiny little victims some 80 years after the end of the war. They need to put the war behind them and grow the hell up!!

Like most people in the western world, I have grown up with the stories of the millions of Jews who were killed by the Nazis during world war 2. We accept that the Jews are victims and that they choose to still carry their victimhood forward to the 21st century.

But what about the other side of the picture? What about the Germans? In particular those who are descended from the Nazis? Are they victims too?

When I first picked this book up, I did so simply as a genealogical story, and the story of an adopted woman trying to find (accept? understand?) her biological family.

This is the story of Jennifer Teege, nee Goeth who discovered in 2008, at the age of 38, that her maternal grandfather was Amon Goeth, the Nazi Commandant at the Plaszow Concentration Camp in Poland.

Amon Goeth was a notorious party goer, womaniser and drinker. One of his drinking buddies was Oskar Schindler.

Jennifers mother Monika and grandmother Irene, both tried to deny the truth of Amons activities. Monika never knew him. He was executed just a few months after she was born. Irene always claimed that the Jews were dirty (unhygenic) people and that Amon only shot those who were dirty. Whenever Amon was shooting at Jews from his balcony, she would turn the music up loud so that she didnt hear the shots. Both Irene and Amon knew Oskar Schindler. He came to their home many times for drinking parties. Even after the war, Irene continued to deny that Amon was a killer, a murderer.

The Germans (as a nation) have always claimed that they had no idea and that they did not know. They stuck their heads in the sand and refused to accept the truth. I admire Jennifer greatly for wanting to know the truth. She is NOT a victim!! She chose to rise above her knowledge and accept the truth.

In this book I learnt how one adopted woman dealt with the truth of her biological family. Sure she had depression, She had a lot of mental issues to deal with. But she came through it and has now accepted the truth of her ancestry. Jennifer is no longer a victim!!!

The JEWS however are still claiming to be the victims. They choose to continue to be victims even now 80 years later and it is getting very tiring listening to them whining about "woe is me, the nazis killed my family".

So what?

Get over it!!

That was 80 years ago.

I refuse to be guilty about something that happened before I was born!!! That was NOT MY PROBLEM!!!!

As for the "never again" claims. Such a load of BS.

The Israelis are doing the exact same thing to the Palestinians that the Nazis did to them. I see the Jews learned that lesson very well!!!

Teege discovers that her maternal grandfather is Amon Goeth, the infamous Butcher of Plaszow, the commandant depicted in the movie, Schindler’s List. She digs further into her family history, in an attempt to come to terms with this horrible piece of her history. Ultimately, she does make peace with her family’s past. Overall, I found her story riveting, both the history and her description of her personal experiences. Being a WWII buff myself, I had never given any thought to how the actions of those directly involved in it could affect future generations, but Teege’s story offered a unique viewpoint on this troubled time in our world’s history. This is a definite must-listen (or read).

Jennifer, who is adopted, goes to the library and randomly picks a book off the shelf entitled "Do I Have to Love My Father?". She flips through the book and runs across her biological mother's name. As she reads further she realizes her grandfather was Amon Goeth, the Commandant in Poland, who killed hundreds of Jews. He was featured in the movie Schindler's List and was a friend of Oskar Schindler.
This book is true, but the story seems almost so fantastic it should be on a soap opera. I believe it and it is a very interesting story.

"È lo sguardo della donna in copertina che mi sembra famigliare. Sono nella Biblioteca Centrale di Amburgo con un libro in mano. Ha una copertina rossa con la foto in bianco e nero di una donna di mezza età. Il suo sguardo è pensoso. Addolorato e spento. Sembra infelice. (fonte: Google Books)

I heard an interview with Jennifer Teege back in April regarding this book. I wondered how could someone reconcile unearthing something of this scale from their past without falling to pieces? How did her family and friends (especially her Jewish friends) react to the news? There was no doubt in my mind that I needed to track down a copy of the book to find those answers.

Jennifer's story in her own words, partnered with Nikola Sellmair's narrative, provides for a harrowing journey through the attempt to confront the past and reconcile it with the present. One book I will not forget anytime soon, that I am grateful for having the chance to read.

I don't even know where to begin on this one. It's is not as simple as finding out that her grandfather was a part of the Nazi party, which would still not be ideal. He was among the most well known and those whose deeds were well publicized.

The book follows Teege's journey as she seeks what this discovery means for her and her life. It may not on the outside seem like finding out something about your grandfather can cause you to question who you are at your core, but I imagine it does. There is a certain amount of 'nature vs nurture' that we all question and finding out that your biological grandfather, regardless of whether or not you've met him, is capable of the things he did could make anyone question what was inside of them.

Along Teege's journey, the book also uses the third person occasionally to show the typical progression through this knowledge as it concerns Germans in general. The children of Nazi's had to love their parents and they had a strange relationship to that era that many of them were born in. The grandchildren of Nazi's are far more likely to distance themselves from those grandparents with the knowledge of what they did or were complacent in allowing. But not all of these grandchildren are raised with the knowledge of who their specific grandparent was within the party, even when they knew there was involvement.

Teege had no idea that her family had ever been associated with the Nazi party. Her mother didn't appear to have problems mixing races, as her father was Nigerian. Her grandmother, who was a witness to many of her grandfather's deeds before he was executed at the end of the war, loved her unconditionally. Then she came across a book with her biological mother's face on it that was titled I Have to Love My Father, Don't I? This was when she began to realize there was a bit more to her history than she or her adopted family had been told when they adopted her.

The thing about this story that stands out in a way that is different from her peers is that Teege's travels had put her in contact with plenty of people who had once been persecuted by her grandfather and his associates. She had been immersed in the other side of the conflict he was in the middle of and had to find a way to reconcile her personal history with her family history. She had to find a way to bring those two worlds together and the result is an interesting kind of healing. It seems like a first step, if nothing else. I'm sure she's not the only person of her generation to want to find a healing, or even to find one, but her story is exceptional because of the way it happens.

A well-written journey of self discovery. Intriguing and real, though I would have liked to see more raw emotion. I felt like the words that wove this memoir were so carefully chosen. Unfortunately, I think this care sugar coated the emotions and feelings everyone had.

This was a haunting, amazing book. I re-read it quite often.

this was a very interesting book and is a true story.

this was a very interesting book and is a true story.

Haar huid is donker. Haar vader kent ze niet. Haar moeder spreekt of ziet ze nauwelijks. Pas op achtendertigjarige leeftijd ontdekt Jennifer Teege door toeval haar familiegeheim. Ze is de kleindochter van nazikampcommandant Amon Göth, bekend van Steven Spielbergs film Schindler's List. Göth was verantwoordelijk voor de dood van duizenden mensen en werd in 1946 opgehangen. Jennifer realiseert zich dat haar grootvader haar zou hebben aangemerkt als 'onzuiver' en haar zou hebben doodgeschoten.
In het boek beschrijft Jennifer de zoektocht naar haar familiegeschiedenis, het verhaal van haar moeder en grootmoeder; en vertelt ze ondertussen ook haar eigen levensverhaal. Het is een bewogen reis naar de afgrond van het verleden en terug naar de hedendaagse, bevrijdende werkelijkheid.

Als ich vor einigen Jahren Jennifer Teege im Radio hörte, war ich überrascht über diese unglaubliche Geschichte: Eine 38-jährige dunkelhäutige Frau erfährt durch Zufall, dass sie die Enkelin von Amon Göth ist. Ich hatte aber auch ein paar Bedenken. Wird sie denn noch was zu erzählen haben, außer dieser schockierenden Erfahrung? Tatsächlich hat Jennifer Teege viel zu erzählen, das wurde in dem Radio-Interview schnell klar und zeigt sich auch in diesem Buch. Sie selbst und ihre Ko-Autorin Nikola Sellmair schreiben einen klaren, reflektierten Stil, analysieren Begegnungen und Gedanken, fügen Hintergrundinformationen zusammen. Dass Jennifer Teege in Israel gelebt hat, gibt dem Ganzen eine besonders berührende Note- vor allem am Ende des Buches. Das ist ein wirklich interessantes Buch- sehr lesenswert.

I found this a very interesting story. What a thing to find out about your grandfather and how do you deal with it. I remember Ralph Fiennes portrayal of Amon Goeth in Schindler's List. He was an evil man. Interesting to hear another story from World War II that I have never heard before. Well worth the time to listen to the audiobook.

This was a very short book. The author, as an adult, learns that her grandfather was a murderous, infamous Nazi commandant (portrayed by Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List). It seems to hit on the right notes: her coping with that fact, her relationship with others, her youth and estrangement from her birth family. In the end it doesn't feel as fulfilling as I'd expect.

This book really brings to light the denial, guilt, pain and suffering that the perpetrators children and grandchildren have gone through. An eye opening book that also brings to mind the connections that the research into these families can bring to other kinds of perpetrators and victims. Jennifer and Nikola do an excellent job of sharing her discovery and acceptance of her horrific family history.

Kudos to poor Jennifer Teege for taking on this unimaginably difficult task: confronting her unintended past by the discovery as if by synchronicity of a book written about her grandmother, whom she had had no clue had been married to a brutal Nazi thug. Herself adopted out, Teege undergoes a traumatic transformation in confronting the past by reconnecting with her biological mother, with her memories of her grandmother, and by visiting the death camps themselves, as well as the camp where her grandfather had his cruel sway. Well written, the text intersperses Teege's thoughts and experiences with those of the other author, which are in a different font, and offer a more 3rd-person take on events and situations. Sparsely illustrated with photographs. I didn't finish the book because I got the gist and felt it was enough to go halfway.½

This is a book I never normally would have read and only did so because it was selected by my local book club. I found the style of writing overly simplistic, though that may be attributed to the translation from German, and I found the back and forth from Teege to Sommer very disjointed and awkward. I appreciated the historical notes and perspective, just thought it could have been added in a less intrusive way. I loved how on one of the first pages she described the library as having "concentrated silence" which almost seemed to set the tone for the novel about concentration camps and how Amon Goeth seemed to exhibit concentrated evil. Teege's reaction and subsequent journey at learning her Nazi heritage was no doubt difficult, but I found her pre-existing mental health conditions made it seem all the more worse--and a better story--than an average person's reaction to the news. It brought to mind the guilt that descendants of slave owners in the United States go through. One other observation I made was her hurt and anger at her mother not including her in her book or telling her about their past, yet she made no mention of telling her children about it either. Perhaps she did and chose not to write about it, or perhaps she felt they were too young, etc. I just couldn't help but notice how she did the exact same thing her mother did that had previously made her so angry. Is this going to be a generational cycle?

rony. It’s a thing

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family’s Nazi Past by Jennifer Teege and Nikola Sellmair; translated by Caroline Sommer (The Experiment/Workman, $24.99).

There are some stories that are simply so weird they can’t possibly be fiction, and the story of how Jennifer Teege, a 38-year-old black German woman, came to discover who her grandfather was fits that bill.

While browsing books about German history in the library, she came across one that referenced Amon Goeth, the notorious Nazi officer and camp commandant, made famous as a brutal psychopath in the book and film Schindler’s List.

The last name was quite familiar to her–it was her birth mother’s maiden name. The daughter of a white German woman and a Nigerian exchanged student, she had scant memories of her birth mother, spent time in an orphanage, and was eventually adopted by a white German family.

But in the book’s photos, she found proof: Her birth mother was the daughter of Amon Goeth.

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me, a best-seller in Europe, is the story of how her life changed once she knew her family history, and how it altered her perceptions of her own place as a native-born German of color. This fascinating memoir serves to tell the story of a remarkable woman–one who would have never been born, had her own grandfather succeeded.

It’s also a fairly quick read, but the issues raised–how history hovers over all of us and we are not necessarily protected by ignorance of it; life as a bi-racial person in a majority white monoculture; the discomfort we have with looking closely at the past (and the German discomfort with their Nazi history is no more uncomfortable than what happens when the U.S.’s 500-year history of slavery and white supremacy is brought up)–will stay with you long after the book is finished.

Put My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me in the category of “I finished this in one sitting.”

Reviewed on Lit/Rant: www.litrant.tumblr.com½

Each of us has a story to tell, a story so rich with detail and coincidence that, at moments, feels like fiction. Teege, a Nigerian-German adopted by a German family, married with two children, feels her world turn upside-down when she serendipitously discovers a book about her birth mother in her local bookstore. The next day, again by coincidence, there is a television documentary featuring her birth mother. These events, in and of themselves, would be odd and perhaps eerie. But what Teege discovers permanently shakes her to her very foundation: Teege's birth grandfather was the Amon Goeth, the sadistic Kommandant played by Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List who supervised the camp that hired out workers to Schindler's factory. How does she reconcile her maternal grandmother's love with that same woman's ability to live with "the butcher"? How does history change when it becomes so personal? How Teege reconciles the evils of the past with her present and ultimately uses her newfound knowledge to impact new generations is an inspiration. Highly recommended. (225)