Marta Hillers (1911–2001)
Author of A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City: A Diary
About the Author
Image credit: Marta Hillers (1935)
Works by Marta Hillers
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Hillers, Marta
- Legal name
- Hillers, Marta
- Other names
- Anonyma
- Birthdate
- 1911-05-26 (Krefeld, Germany)
- Date of death
- 2001-06-16 (Basel, Switzerland)
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- Germany
- Country (for map)
- Germany
- Birthplace
- Krefeld, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
- Place of death
- Basel, Switzerland
- Places of residence
- Berlin, Germany
Geneva, Switzerland
Paris, France - Education
- Sorbonne, Paris
- Occupations
- diarist
journalist - Relationships
- Marek, Hannelore (Amie, Exécuteur testamentaire)
Marek, Kurt W. (Ami)
Löbel, Bruni (Amie)
Hillers, Hans Wolfgang (Cousin)
Dietschy, Karl (Epoux, 19 55 | 19 70) - Organizations
- Ins neue Leben, Magazine de jeunesse, Minerva-Verlag (Rédactrice, 19 45, Editeur en chef, 19 48 | 19 50)
Hilf mit, Magazine jeunesse national-socialiste (Rédacteur en chef, 19 41 | 19 45)
Freude und Arbeit, Journal (Secrétaire de rédaction, 19 40 | 19 41)
Soyusphoto = Союзфото, Agence de photo soviétique, Moscou (Assistante germanophone, 19 31 | 19 33)
DEROP, société de négoce allemande de produits pétroliers russes, Düsseldorf (Institutrice, 19 31)
Société Regis, Krefeld (Secrétaire, 19 30 | 19 31) - Short biography
- Eine Frau in Berlin (English translation: A Woman in Berlin) was first published anonymously in 1954. An English-language version of the book, re-issued in 2005, listed Hannelore Marek, executor of Hillers' literary estate, as the copyright holder. Marta Hillers' identity as the author was revealed (against her wish) after her death by Jens Bisky, literary editor of the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Hillers was a magazine and newspaper journalist living in Berlin when the Soviets captured the city at the end of World War II. She kept a detailed diary, on which the book is based. She married in the 1950s and moved to Switzerland, giving up journalism. A Woman in Berlin was her only book. A film based on it was released in Germany and Poland in 2008.
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Reviews
Like I've said before, I don't really like reviewing historical books like this as you can't really be that critical, especially this type (war diary) as it directly applies to an actual person.
This is the war diary of an anonymous lady, trapped in Berlin as the Russians are getting closer & finally occupy the city.
There is some pretty awful stuff as you would expect in this kind of publication. It's books like this that make me glad I'm able to read with a sense of detachment sometimes because actually living in this book (although it's not hard to picture) would be absolutely horriffic.… (more)
This is the war diary of an anonymous lady, trapped in Berlin as the Russians are getting closer & finally occupy the city.
There is some pretty awful stuff as you would expect in this kind of publication. It's books like this that make me glad I'm able to read with a sense of detachment sometimes because actually living in this book (although it's not hard to picture) would be absolutely horriffic.… (more)
Because of the nature of this book, it took me a long time to read. Longer than I usually take to read a book of this length.
The anonymous writer writes openly, and with great detail, of the brutal Russian occupation of Berlin in the late spring of 1945. Her first person account of the repeated rapes by the Russians and the choices that a woman needed to make in the chaos of war in order to live is chilling, and these were the parts that, after reading I had to put the book down and move into something lighter for a while before resuming. The building ruins, the hunger, the lack of sanitation of a ruined capital are all here. This is a very powerful book and will make the reader wonder how far they would go to survive if they were in a similar situation.… (more)
The anonymous writer writes openly, and with great detail, of the brutal Russian occupation of Berlin in the late spring of 1945. Her first person account of the repeated rapes by the Russians and the choices that a woman needed to make in the chaos of war in order to live is chilling, and these were the parts that, after reading I had to put the book down and move into something lighter for a while before resuming. The building ruins, the hunger, the lack of sanitation of a ruined capital are all here. This is a very powerful book and will make the reader wonder how far they would go to survive if they were in a similar situation.… (more)
Devastating. This is a nasty story in many ways. Drunken soldiers, mass rape of women and children. Cruelty. Pettiness. The author several times quotes about man being a wolf to other men- sort of a comment on "humanity" that is inhumanity really, in much the same way Christians aren't very Christian (or humane) when they preach hate. Nonetheless, it is a fascinating look at the real cost of war- the ones politicians and generals don't think about. On the other hand, it is also a tribute to the resourcefulness and resilience of women, who bore more than their fair share of the costs of war.… (more)
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- Also by
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- Members
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- Popularity
- #13,847
- Rating
- 4.2
- Reviews
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- ISBNs
- 43
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No one can claim to feel or even understand her experience but one thing is sure, women of Berlin paid the bill of the war