My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past

NikkiCureton

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

#audiobook

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S3V3N

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

so-so

Interesting story, but a tad repetitive. This was longer than necessary.

17 likes

Djspens

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

My daughter bought this book when we visited the Holocaust Museum in D.C. a couple of years ago. I rewatched Schindler‘s List a couple weeks ago and now reading the tagged book. Such an unbelievably sad time in history.

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Cinfhen

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

pick

Having just completed my own emotional journey this book touched on so many personal experiences. Reading the unbelievable shocking discovery that author Jennifer Teege underwent was a roller coaster of emotions. It was fascinating to read the POV from a perpetrator of Nazi crimes & understand the anguish descendants must contend with. The historical information was well explained. An interesting perspective often not dealt with.👇🏼

Cinfhen The empty chairs in Jewish Ghetto Square is another memorial monument for the Polish Jews of Kraków who were first forced into a sealed off ghetto and later deported to concentration camps and extermination camps. Approximately 68,000 Jews were forced to relinquish all their possessions and ultimately their lives. Following the Nazi regime, only 5,000 remained. Empty chairs come then to define an empty city and all that was lost. 5y

Cinfhen Photos are from Oskar Schindler‘s factory, where a plaque hangs on the site acknowledging the bravery he showed, along with a wall of photos of the Jewish workers he saved; nearly 1,100 in total were saved. 5y

LeahBergen Oh, my goodness. What an emotional journey for you, indeed. 💔💔 5y

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Butterfinger 😢 There simply no words. 5y

Cinfhen The numbers are soooooo staggering and overwhelming but being in these places reinforces everything~ making it more “personal” @LeahBergen @Butterfinger although it might be time for me to take a small break from my Holocaust studies. (edited) 5y

JennyM Heartbreaking 💔 Fascinating book 5y

TrishB How sad 💔 look after yourself x 5y

Cinfhen Thanks @JennyM @TrishB xx I‘m fine 😘but I do think I‘m taking a short break from Holocaust testimonies 😉 5y

Megabooks Thank you for the reminder to continue to fight Semitism ad racism everyday. It is so important, especially now, to #neverforget the evil that can be perpetrated on innocent people. 💕💕 5y

Megabooks And sending love, my dear, as always. 💙💙 Read something silly soon!! 5y

Suet624 That title! Holy cow. 5y

Cinfhen It‘s such a shocking story @Suet624 !!!! Thanks my dear, @Megabooks ❣️❣️❣️ 5y

Moray_Reads What a beautiful of remembering those lost. I don't remember seeing the empty chairs when I was there in 2005 and I can't seem to find when they were installed. Do you know? 5y

Cinfhen “in 2005 Krakow City Council decided to intervene on the square in order to explain its sinister past. Instead of installing a singular monument, the intervention set out to use the square itself as a channel for passing on the memory. And so it was deliberately conceived as a poetic container which transformed the place into a sign of the past.” From the website @Moray_Reads
5y

Cinfhen The square was once used as the actual spot where the Jews were brought for “selection” @Moray_Reads those deemed old, too young, or too weak were sent right to the Extermination Camps. 5y

Moray_Reads @Cinfhen Thanks so much. I was there in February, so I probably just missed it. 5y

Cinfhen It was a pretty stirring site @Moray_Reads I‘m sorry you missed seeing it 5y

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Cinfhen

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

So I‘m back to reading my “heavier” books - started this last week but it was making me very sad. Ready to continue. The writing is very simple but the actual emotional impact is INTENSE. The author is literally describing the places I‘ve just been and her recall for sights, smells, feelings are powerful. Learning who her grandfather was is beyond shocking. Above is the monument that stands where the Plaszow Concentration Camp was built👇🏽

Cinfhen It is believed between 8,000 - 12,000 Jews were murdered at Plaszow & 150,000 were sent from there to their death at Auschwitz. 💔 The author‘s grandfather was the Nazi commandant who ran the camp. 5y

squirrelbrain That sounds very heavy, especially as you‘ve just been there. Look after yourself whilst reading it 😘 5y

Kalalalatja 💔💔 5y

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TrishB 💔💔 sounds very sad. 5y

Cinfhen I can‘t even imagine having that type of lineage to contend with @squirrelbrain @Kalalalatja @TrishB there‘s complacency and then there‘s outright documented murderer of tens of thousands of people. It‘s too much for a person to bare. I admire the author for her bravery and openness. 5y

Butterfinger I think it is very brave to open up about her grandfather's part. She is being honest to set herself free. She feels guilt. In a similar vein, I remember being devastated when I found out my great-great grandparents were slave owners. I was wracked with guilt. 5y

Cinfhen The author mentions the shared trauma of others like her, example descendants of plantation owners who have to confront the past. It‘s very brave and commendable to share these truths and admit the pain (shame)you feel, even when you‘ve done nothing wrong. I‘m in awe @Butterfinger 5y

Crazeedi @Cinfhen must be so hard to read this after you were just there, I saw a room at museum in DC that was photos of a town that existed since forever that was completely wiped out by nazis 5y

Crazeedi @Cinfhen ( ⬆️ posted before done). It had pictures of the people who lived there, the homes etc, I cant remember the name of the town. It was 💔 5y

Connster @Crazeedi Could it be Lidice? Such a sad story, but what was done to rebuild it was awesome. 5y

Connster This sounds so interesting, I need to read it. I‘ve been to Plaszow and also to Auschwitz several times and I still can‘t grasp it all. 5y

Crazeedi @Connster it may have been I really dont remember the name, I just remember to room that had the photos of this town and it's people who were destroyed and completely obliterated, my heart was broken 5y

Butterfinger @Cinfhen do you know I am dedicated to try my best to eliminate today's slavery? When I travel, I place flyers on rest area bathroom stalls with a phone number to call. There is still shame, so I want to be a modern abolitionist and eliminate human trafficking. We can't do anything about the past except to #neverforget . 5y

CoffeeK8 This book was so amazing but really hard 5y

Cinfhen Oh wow @Crazeedi @Connster that sounds like a powerful exhibit 😭I‘m not familiar with that village in Poland but I‘m interested in learning more. So many terrible stories. I need to visit the DC Holocaust Museum. 5y

Cinfhen Reading your blurb made me tear up @Butterfinger human trafficking is one of the scariest modern day travesties. Bravo for being a warrior 🙌🏻 5y

Cinfhen This book left me emotionally exhausted @CoffeeK8 it‘s one of those stories that seem so outrageous to actually be true. I felt so bad for the author- the whole question of your DNA and what is inherited was really fascinating. Interesting that other children of known Nazi war criminals choose sterilization 😭😭😭 5y

Crazeedi @Cinfhen the DC museum is powerful. There are recordings of people who survived, so many other things that will stay with me. 5y

Crazeedi @Butterfinger you should check out Operation Underground Railroad , Tim Ballard , they are rescuing sex slaves and assisting arrests of human traffickers all over the world. Also The Nazarene Fund 5y

Butterfinger @Crazeedi thank you. I certainly will. 5y

CoffeeK8 @Cinfhen yes I know, what a brave decision! I could not imagine how hard it would be to find out about that in your ancestry. 5y

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Cinfhen

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

My friend just dropped this book off. She thought I might find the topic fascinating, which of course I do!

BookishMe You're a book magnet! 😉😁 5y

Cinfhen Hehehe 😂 thanks @BookishMe can‘t imagine anything better than that 😃 5y

Kalalalatja This book sounds so fascinating! I think I heard about it on some podcast a few years ago, and I was interested immediately 👌 5y

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TrishB I think I have one that sounds very like this somewhere in the piles! 5y

JennyM This book is fascinating and I really enjoyed it. I hope you do too. X (edited) 5y

Kaila-ann I enjoyed this one, definitely an interesting story. 5y

Cinfhen Let me know if you dig it up @TrishB I‘m excited to see so many positive comments @Kaila-ann @JennyM @Kalalalatja the ratings on Litsy is only so-so but the premise sounds super interesting to me. 5y

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Kaila-ann

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

#nonfiction2019 #somethingfromanotherpointofview

Only 6 more prompts to go

20 likes

Kaila-ann

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

pick

I found this topic fascinating and also incredibly hard to imagine. Jennifer is browsing her local library when she finds a book, written about her mother, that will change her life. Adopted at an early age and with sporadic contact with her biological family, it isn‘t until the age of 38 and by random coincidence that she uncovers the fact that she is the granddaughter of Amon Goeth, Nazi commandant of the Plaszow concentration camp in Poland. ⬇️

Kaila-ann Overall I give this book a pick but the formatting was a little weird at first. The story would start in first person with Jennifer talking and then suddenly switch to a third person narration for the more factual elements. It ultimately wasn‘t terribly distracting but it did catch me off guard at first. I finished it on 10/31 so not counting it for non-fiction November. (edited) 5y

16 likes1 comment

Amiable

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

so-so

A memoir by a German-Nigerian woman who was adopted as a child and learns at the age of 38 that her biological grandfather was Amon Goeth, the brutal Nazi commandant depicted in Schindler's List. The book details her attempts to research her family history and come to terms with it. Interesting, but repetitive in parts. 3 stars.

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JennyM

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

19 #SeptemberDanes

I had a #Fascination with this book a few years ago. Teege discovers by random accident that her grandfather is the notorious Austrian Nazi concentration camp commander and war criminal Amon Göth.

Cinfhen, Kalalalatja

Kalalalatja I had forgotten about this, but it sounds so interesting! 6y

Cinfhen I‘ve been meaning to read this one!! I went through a Holocaust #fascination too 💔 6y

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SW-T

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

pick

One minute, it‘s first person, then other narrators pop up. However, it was an interesting account of finding out about her heritage and wondering how others who knew their family heritage felt, especially a heritage like hers. I can‘t imagine discovering you‘re the black grandchild of a notorious Nazi on a random trip to the library. Heartfelt memoir.

2 likes

SW-T

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

Managed to get in a total of 5 hours for #EclecticReadathon today.

2 likes

KennedyBooks

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

pick

I got through this so quickly! I know a lot of people took issue with the writing style and the switching between memoir and factual but I really enjoyed it and having a neutral narrator as well as Jennifer I think actually added dimensions to the story. The story itself is extraordinary- you just have to read it to believe it. It raises questions over nature vs nurture and a look at truly unique family dynamic.

23 likes

OrangeMooseReads

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

pick

Incredibly interesting. At 38 Jennifer Teege discovered a book in her local library that changed her life and what she thought she knew about her family. Longer review at OrangeMooseReads.wordpress.com

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TelevisionNeighbor

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

#anditsaugust

6 likes

Lauren_reading

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

pick

This book was so interesting. The author finds out later in life that her grandfather was in charge of a concentration camp. This book deals with her reaction to that knowledge, her own adoption and her depression. At times it seemed a little disjointed between the first person writing and the historical info, but it made me think about how someone deals with that family history. #litsyreadingchallenge #translated #nonfiction

CoffeeK8 This book was so powerful! Really great read. 7y

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ColleenV

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

"The second generation had a lot of trouble dealing with the Holocaust, my generation, we are different. We know the difference between responsibility and guilt."

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bookdrunkard78

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

pick

What a fascinating, horrifying, wonderful book. In this memoir, Teege finds out her maternal grandfather was Amon Goeth, a commander in the Nazi regime, known for shooting Jewish people in concentration camps from his balcony. She must come to terms with this and along the way she searches for answers and ultimately hope.

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Kathrin

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

pan

This is just such a bizarre family story and it should have been a four star rating for that. But when it comes down to readability and and having a solid structure, this book was just frustrating. On top of it, despite the emotional topic it left me very disconnected for the most part.

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bookdrunkard78

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

Up next, this book I'm using for the #personofcolormemoir for the #litsyreadingchallenge #bingo ! Should be interesting!

mcipher That's terrifying. I can't even imagine how that would feel to find out! 8y

bookdrunkard78 @mcipher What's worse, her grandfather was Amon Goeth, one of the worst. The story of how she found out is fascinating. For context, if you've seen Schindler's List, he's the one played by Ralph Fiennes. 8y

mcipher I haven't seen it, I suck at movies!! I'm thinking I might read this - out of my comfort zone but definitely sounds worth it. 8y

bookdrunkard78 I suck at movies too! I think I saw this for extra credit back in high school. Anyway, so far the story is really interesting. 8y

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Matilda

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

🔔📚🔔 ebook is $2.99 amazon/ b&n today! (Add audible narration for $3.99)

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princess_dennie_pants

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

pick

Read as part of my #readharder challenge as "a book about war"

This isn't the best written of books but it is very interesting. It deals a lot with mental illness and adoption as well as being related to war criminals, and the guilt the author feels on behalf of the a her grandfather commited. Teege's biological family certainly suffered a great deal with the reality of what happened.

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Zelma

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

so-so

Interesting memoir that fell just short of a pick. The topic is fascinating and treated with a lot of respect. It alternates between Teege's emotional reflections and Sellmair's factual storytelling. I liked the format at first but then it started to feel disjointed. The early chapters were also much stronger; Teege loses some focus and gets repetitive when she moves from her discovery to her life story and complex emotions on her adoption.

brendanmleonard Excellent review! 8y

Zelma @brendanmleonard thanks! I actually would recommend it due to the really intense and fascinating topic. And it's short. Great bibliography too. 8y

29 likes2 comments

bookwormans

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

so-so

The subject matter was interesting. As an amateur genealogist I have always been interested in how our family history affects our own stories and how that changes from generation to generation. My biggest issue was the style of the book...the back and forth writing of Teege and Sellmair was rather distracting and felt more like it should be a tv documentary rather than a memoir.

1 like

TheNextBook

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

pick

Well, I thought this book shed a lot of light on the burden family sometimes carries even though they didnt commit the crime. I didnt care so much for the style in which it was written with the alternating narratives of Teegee and Sellmair, but what an insightful memoir.

21 likes

TheNextBook

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

This is her grandfather. Amon Goeth. You may remember watching Schindler's List and seeing Ralph Fiennes shooting people out of the window for fun. Yeah, that guy.

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TheNextBook

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

The next book on my list is...

Marla This was a very fascinating book. 8y

Twocougs Interesting and heartbreaking read. She's a remarkably strong woman 8y

TheNextBook I just started and this is already so good! Crazy. 8y

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jessberk13

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

This one has been on my TBR all year!

BooksForYears Thanks for sharing- it's been on my TBR too! 8y

Pamtherunner Thanks for sharing! I'm going to have to find this! 8y

jessberk13 @BooksForYears @Pamtherunner this is from Amazon so it's a Kindle deal. I'm not sure how long the price is good for though! 8y

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KrisConstantReader

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

Another ebook deal--this is $1.99 today and it does look like a great book.

Twocougs Excellent read, very interesting but heartbreaking too 8y

KrisConstantReader @Twocougs I think I'm going to get it. 8y

Twocougs @KrisConstantReader you should😀 8y

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TheNextBook Thank you! Just bought it. I heard about this book forever ago and completely forgot about it. 8y

KrisConstantReader @Twocougs thanks for the recommendation, it's good to hear from someone who's already read it. @TheNextBook you're very welcome! I just love Litsy for this very reason: getting great book recommendations and also sharing them. 8y

bookwrm526 I read it a few months ago, and it was fascinating. Some parts seemed a little repetitive and it was a painful read, but worth it. 8y

KrisConstantReader @bookwrm526 now I'm definitely looking forward to reading it! 8y

BarbaraTheBibliophage Just decided I'm in on this one too. I've been on a WWII run lately, and this would be a different perspective. 8y

KrisConstantReader @BarbaraTheBibliophage it looks like a great book and has some very good reviews. 8y

Kathrin I was on the fence about this one, but based on everyone else's option I'll have another look.... I really don't need any more books! 😱 8y

Dragon Had to buy it. I listened to an interesting discussion on the radio about this book. So for a $1.99 how could I not 8y

KrisConstantReader @Dragon my feelings exactly. 8y

KrisConstantReader @Kathrin I know exactly how you feel--so, so many books already on my tbr list. 8y

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Matilda

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

🔔 high on my TBR list and it's $1.99 Amazon/B&N ebook!

BookishMarginalia Thanks! Just got it! 8y

Cinfhen I've been trying to stay away from WWII books , but this one seems too good to pass. Thanks for the heads up 👍🏻 8y

JennyM Awesome read! Couldn't put it down. 8y

mrldg I heard this author speak and read, and when I read the book I heard her voice, saw her face, felt the emotion she had expressed the entire evening. What a story. For anyone interested in childhood trauma, in war histories,in family secrets, etc, this is a must. 8y

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HollyB3

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

Recently saw Schindler's List for the first time. It was intense but so good. I'm looking forward to reading this. I've heard great things.

rebeccaschinsky I listened to this a few years ago. Totally unforgettable. 9y

HollyB3 @rebeccaschinsky nice! I remember you talking about it on one of the bookriot podcasts. 9y

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BookishTrish

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past | Jennifer Teege, Nikola Sellmair

pick

The perfect follow up to the four months I spent engrossed in Rosemary Sullivan's Stalin's Daughter. Both were fascinating portraits about women grappling with the unthinkable violence of their families' histories