German Women Recall the Third Reich

This illustrated talk will focus on what a wide variety of women who lived during the Third Reich — from righteous Gentiles to Nazi party members, from countesses to Hausfrauen, from farm women to anti-aircraft gunners — disclosed about their personal experiences in recollections offered decades later. Their reactions — both during the Third Reich and later — raise a number of vexing questions. Why did they behave in such varied ways? How truthful were they when giving oral testimony about their pasts? Do their responses have any relevance to the way in which we react to injustice today?
Alison Owings is the author of FRAUEN: German Women Recall the Third Reich, a New York Times “Notable Book of the Year.” This poignant collection of interviews was described by the Los Angeles Times Book Review as “a remarkable work of history that stands out from the vast library of World War II studies for its sheer intimacy and its sometimes startling perspectives. . . .”

at the Bronfman Family Jewish Community Center
524 Chapala St., Santa Barbara