Tearing the Silence: Being German in America - Hardcover

9780684829968: Tearing the Silence: Being German in America
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 
Ursula Hegi uses the art of the interview to see deeply into the personal histories of fifteen women and men as they confront at last the terrible and pervasive silence that made any mention of the Holocaust taboo in their homes and schools while they were growing up. For many of them this is the first time they've spoken of these memories and feelings. They share their pain with us, their guilt, their anger, and their compassion as they take us into the world of their parents and try to sort out the impact of the war on their own lives. The more specific these life stories are, the more universal they become.
Included in Tearing the Silence is Hegi's personal journey of leaving in Germany as an eighteen-year-old. She approaches the interviews as a novelist - not a historian - searching for the connecting themes within each story, and then lifting these themes to the surface by selecting significant material, much in the way she would write a story or novel. A huge difference, though, is that the words are entirely those of the women and men, who tell her about their lives with such amazing openness.
A skillful interviewer, Ursula Hegi focuses on understanding the character and story of the individuals in all their complexity. While some genuinely attempt to understand their cultural heritage and feel a deep responsibility to be aware of the Holocaust and pass that awareness on to future generations, others have stayed within the familiar silence that manifests itself in denial, evasion, justification, and an inability to mourn - not all that different from the response of their parents' generation.
Tearing the Silence contributes to a more complex picture of a time period we are still struggling to understand. It is a powerful and provocative account of post-Holocaust German immigrants in America, an important document of what it is like to grow up within the numbing silence of postwar Germany, a moving story of what it means to live between two cultures.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:
Ursula Hegi grew up in Germany and moved to the United States at age 18. As she grew older and raised a family, questions about her roots and her native land haunted her until, at last, she felt compelled to write about them. Tearing the Silence brings together her interviews with dozens of German-born Americans, and their confrontations with the taboo of the Holocaust.
About the Author:
Ursula Hegi is the author of The Worst Thing I've Done, Sacred Time, Hotel of the Saints, The Vision of Emma Blau, Tearing the Silence, Salt Dancers, Stones from the River, Floating in My Mother's Palm, Unearned Pleasures and Other Stories, Intrusions, and Trudi & Pia. She teaches writing at Stonybrook's Southhampton Campus and she is the recipient of more than thirty grants and awards.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

  • PublisherSimon & Schuster
  • Publication date1997
  • ISBN 10 0684829967
  • ISBN 13 9780684829968
  • BindingHardcover
  • Edition number1
  • Number of pages304
  • Rating

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780684846118: Tearing the Silence: On Being German in America

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9780684846118
Publisher: Touchstone, 1998
Softcover

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

Hegi, Ursula
Published by Simon & Schuster (1997)
ISBN 10: 0684829967 ISBN 13: 9780684829968
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldenWavesOfBooks
(Fayetteville, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0684829967

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 23.31
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.00
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Hegi, Ursula
Published by Simon & Schuster (1997)
ISBN 10: 0684829967 ISBN 13: 9780684829968
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Wizard Books
(Long Beach, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard0684829967

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 27.31
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.50
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Hegi, Ursula
Published by Simon & Schuster (1997)
ISBN 10: 0684829967 ISBN 13: 9780684829968
New Hardcover Quantity: 2
Seller:
Save With Sam
(North Miami, FL, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Brand New!. Seller Inventory # VIB0684829967

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 31.34
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Hegi, Ursula
Published by Simon & Schuster (1997)
ISBN 10: 0684829967 ISBN 13: 9780684829968
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldBooks
(Austin, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think0684829967

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 27.66
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.25
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Hegi, Ursula
Published by Simon amp; Schuster (1997)
ISBN 10: 0684829967 ISBN 13: 9780684829968
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Front Cover Books
(Denver, CO, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # FrontCover0684829967

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 29.89
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.30
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Hegi, Ursula
Published by S and S 1997 (1997)
ISBN 10: 0684829967 ISBN 13: 9780684829968
New Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
EKER BOOKS
(Bryantown, MD, U.S.A.)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # mon0000059205

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 29.99
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.99
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Hegi, Ursula
Published by Simon & Schuster (1997)
ISBN 10: 0684829967 ISBN 13: 9780684829968
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
The Book Spot
(Sioux Falls, SD, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # Abebooks192455

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 59.00
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Hegi, Ursula
Published by Simon & Schuster (1997)
ISBN 10: 0684829967 ISBN 13: 9780684829968
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
BennettBooksLtd
(LOS ANGELES, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title! 1.25. Seller Inventory # Q-0684829967

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 58.00
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 5.06
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds