Dear Oprah and staff,
Wow – THE READER really hit a cord with me and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for introducing me to this incredible book.
I can’t get the book out of my mind for so many reasons, but I would like to share my thoughts about why it will affect me for a long time to come. I am a first-generation American; 28 years old with German parents from Berlin. My parents immigrated to America in 1966. My parents were born in war torn Berlin in 1940 and 1944; (the author was born in 1944 also). My parents suffered the consequences of war, both losing parents, friends, relatives and property. I grew up with parents with very strong German accents and the questions about our families past was always questioned by new friends and acquaintances. People for some reason wanted to know about our past in Germany. I grew up having many emotions and feelings about being German. My parents have many recollections of the war; of hiding Jewish friends in Berlin and the Berlin Airlift… My father’s idols are the American men and women who flew the care packages into Berlin… he is deeply indebted to Gail Halverson, the Candy Bomber. My father and mother first tasted chocolate at five and nine, because of the allied troops. To this day, they have a secret stash of chocolate at all times, usually American brands only!
I was sometimes embarrassed for the acts of Germans in WW2 and took on some guilt, for reasons I don’t know. After reading the book, THE READER, it gave me perspective about the life and times of those days, and guidance on how you manage to live life differently because of the sins of the past. I live a little extra for the people in my family that didn’t come home from the war and for the Jewish and German children that didn’t have an opportunity to change the dynamics of the world back then, they merely survived the horrors of the war.
I was raise to have respect and compassion for all… never did I have the right to be above another.
I was raised without an identifiable religion, celebrating Indian cuisine with my father’s coworkers to Hanukkah with Jewish family friends. I have always had an eclectic group of friends.
Last year I married the man of my dreams; a wonderful, handsome, intelligent young man. We were married in civil ceremony in respect to all the religions in attendance and in respect to our ancestors – German and Jewish. I became a Cohen on that day… an honored name in the Jewish community. My name now is Christine H. Cohen. Hildegard was the grandmother I never knew; she was killed waiting in a bread line on the very last day of the war in Berlin, while her daughter, my mother, waited in the arms of her grandmother. I have great respect for my heritage and for the Jewish faith, I hope to name my children after their ancestors, German and Jewish.
The Reader brought out many emotions in me – it was the point of view of a German, close in age to my parents. My parents have experienced loss in so many ways, as the character in the book has. To reconcile ones self is the most important metamorphosis you can make – alone. I enjoyed the author’s voice; he truly painted a picture in my mind.
I am proud to respond to this book and hope you receive many valuable comments to indicate to you and your staff that what you are offering through fabulous literature is so very healing and helpful to people. Being a schoolteacher, I also have the ability to introduce valuable books to my 5th and 6th graders, like the Diary of Ann Frank, and Grace in Wilderness (about a young polish Jew in WW2) and hope to touch and educate my students in the same way you have.
Shalom, Gesundheit, and Thanks,
Christine Hildegard Cohen
SOOOO, I hear back FROM Oprah’s producers almost immediately…I was shocked! They would like to have me on the show….OMG!!! I initially was planning my outfit, but then I was hit by the reality of this choice. I would have to dredge up stuff that really wasn’t my history, but that of my entire family before me. After a loving conversation with my mother, I decided against it. I was, and STILL AM, honored that the show reached out to me and were intrigued by my story. Many people over the years have said that. Maybe one day I will document it all. But for now, it’s my story still maturing and developing. I DID name my children after both German and Jewish grandmothers from both sides – it feels amazing to have followed thru with that.
Tell me something about what has crafted you as a person….what’s your story?
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