Flying a Flag for Hitler

Born in 1934, Elsbeth Emmerich manages to recapture her own child’s view of growing up in Nazi Germany. One of a large and loving family, she describes everyday things that could happen at any time, such as her first days at school, as well as the specific dramas of the era, such as her father going off to fight. Mostly, she remembers the sense of getting on as well as possible in unusual and difficult circumstances, which is what all wartime is like for ordinary people: there are problems of shortages, the need for careful reusing of materials as in unravelling jerseys to re-knit into something new. Specific to its time and place, she also examines her growing political understanding and her changing feelings about Hitler and the situation in Germany. As might be expected, such a personal story reads aloud very well. The use of Emmerich herself to set the scene in the introduction is especially effective but Jane Collingwood is easy to listen to as well.