The Nazi Officer’s Wife: how one Jewish woman survived the holocaust
The Nazi Officer’s Wife which was written by Edith H. Beer and Susan Dworkin is a matter of fact a true-life story of Edith Hahn Beer who was a Young Jewish Woman in Vienna in the 1930s. Her biography is seen as a fascinating part of history because of the life she had to live to survive during WWII. Edith was a brilliant student who came from a well off family who even managed to put her through school till she got into law school something very rare in Austria where she lived. Her father had instilled in her the zeal of aiming to be better because their country was considered not good enough. In the book Edith says that the expectations her father had from her were so high, “My father’s insistence that we Jews must be better was based on our country’s firm belief that we were not as good” (Beer 23) However she was unable to sit for her final exam when Nazi’s invaded their country, the life she had lived and gotten used to was now a thing of the past.
They were being hunted down by the Jews and forced to wear yellow cloth patches sown outside of their clothes. Soon enough it was not just public humiliation but fear of incarceration. As things got worse she lost contact with all her family and thus had to survive. She was able to get a chance to get a new identity and save herself, “because of random luck and the interventions of a few decent people” (Beer 299) An Aryan woman helped her get documents and change her name to Christina Maria Margarethe Denner which was shortened to Grete Denner.
As Grete Denner she had to live as an ordinary Aryan housewife and denounce her Jewish identity, “I murdered the personality I was born with and transformed myself from a butterfly back into a caterpillar” (Beer 157). As Grete, she was able to get a job as a nurse where she met Werner Vetter, who worked as a painter at Arado aeroplane factory and also a member registered in the Nazi party. She was able to get married to him and their marriage was not a facade because she disclosed her identity to her husband who swore to use his title to protect her. Edith while living as Grete lived a life full of fear of being disguised. She was forced to live a life of a typical Aryan woman and exploit the benefits that came with it “I began to live a lie as an ordinary Hausfrau. It was as good a lie as any that a woman could live in Nazi Germany because the regime celebrated female domesticity and made itself extremely generous to housewives”(Beer 187) Her life was not easy though, on various incidents she had to endure pain and try as much as she can to not let her identity be discovered.
We get to share her fear during her whole marriage to Werner. Werner knew she was a well-educated woman but still she was expected to be his Aryan wife. She was challenged mentally since she had to position herself to suit and do things she was not accustomed to. It was not her position to remind Werner who he was out of fear that she might annoy him and make him tell on her. Werner was a very powerful man and she feared daily that he would get her reported to the authorities and once she was discovered then that would have been the end of her life. She had to find a way to cement her life with Werner and thus decided to be completely Aryan and bear him a child despite the risks. Edith says “In a matter of little more than a year, I had gone from being the most despised creature in Third Reich—to being one of its most valued citizens, a breeding Aryan housewife” (Beer 220). She had always wanted to be a mother but not in such circumstances she still went ahead with the pregnancy
The other noticeable incident she experiences great fear was during the birth of her daughter. She was afraid of revealing her identity during her labour pains if she was given painkillers and sedatives, so she decided to go through with the birth without any medication. In the book, she expresses her fears when she says “I could not take anything for the pain because if I did, I too might mention names Christl, Frau Doktor, or god forbid Jew…after that, for the only time during the war I wanted to die” (226). Even with all the pain that came with childbirth she still managed to give birth to her daughter Angelika Maria Vetter and keep her identity hidden thus surviving incarceration.
Edith was a very charming woman whose character would go unnoticed in any room. It was this characteristic that enabled her to get the attention of Werner while working as a nurse in the camps and get married to him. She was also very smart because she was a lawyer, she was able to narrate over and over again to the officials her family lineage regardless of the number of times they asked. She was able to use her skills to take advantage of the allied forces and reveal her identity, she was even able to become a judge and presided over Werner’s case that led to his release.to gain This cannot be said for Greta’s character. Edith had seen the way an Aryan woman was supposed to act, serve and not say anything so she had to do the same. In the diary where the book emanated details from says that Grete Denner was “quiet, shy, very young and inexperienced, with no ambitions, no opinions, no plans. She did not seek to meet people but was always ready to be polite and helpful” (Beer 164) This probably one of the reasons Werner married her aside from her charm. When Edith returned to her farmer identity her husband refused to accept the new Edith and said he wanted his wife Greta back. “My wife Grete was obedient, she cooked! She cleaned! She ironed! She sewed! She treated me like a king! And I want her back!” (Beer 286). This was however not who Edith was thus they ended up divorcing and Edith moved to Europe with her daughter. She finally gets to be herself and not be disguised as someone else to survive.
Works Cited.
Hahn-Beer, Edith, and Susan Dworkin. The Nazi officer’s wife: how one Jewish woman survived the Holocaust. Rob Weisbach Books/William Morrow, 1999.
Beer, Edith H. The Nazi Officer’s Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust. Harper Collins, 2000.