Destined to Witness: Growing Up Black in Nazi Germany

Hans is the son of a German mother and a Liberian father, who survives the war relatively unscathed by the pervading political spirit of discrimination and persecution of "the other", largely thanks to the willingness of his own community to downplay his differences. Having avoided the fate of many other black Germans, particularly in the Rhineland, Hans finds himself caught up in the firebombing of Hamburg towards the end of the war.

Relatively speaking, there aren't many books about the black experience of Nazi Germany out there. I don't wish to offend anyone, but the market of first-hand Holocaust accounts is largely dominated with the Jewish story, and quite rightly so, in that the Jews were the largest single victim group. However, show more I'm intrigued by the experience of other minority groups and I would fully recommend this one as a great place to start for anyone sharing that interest. Gripping, profound and utterly memorable. show less

I am interested in both Germany/ Nazis during WW II and in black history, so this was a natural for me to read. Quite a life he lived and it's a condemnation of racism in both Germany during the big war and in America about the same time. Also it has insights into colonialism in Africa. It's hard to believe the author and his white German mother survived Hamburg during the war and then later lived full lives in America. (His father was an African from Liberia with off and on high political status.) Kind of a long account but rewarding to read.

The fates seemed to be against Hans Massaquoi from the beginning, as he entered the world to an unwed, white, German mother and black Liberian father nearing the dawn of Nazi Germany. Despite the many trials, tribulations and emotions Massaquoi experienced, he survived. While the majority of the book is based in Nazi Germany, this recollection also follows Massaquoi to Liberia in search of life with his father and the United States in search of education and freedom. Escape from racism may be an impossible task.

One of the most impressive autobiographies I ever read. A gripping, honest account of the years leading up to World War II and surviving them in Hamburg, Germany.

5671. Destined to Witness Growing Up Black in Nazi Germany, by Hans J. Massaquoi (read 21 Jan 2020) This book was published in 1999, Its author was born in Hamburg, Germany, on 19 Jan 1926, to a German who was a girlfriend of a a son of a Liberian consular official in Hamburg. He had minimal contact with his black fat5her as he grew up in Hamburg, and went to German schools and was often the victim of racist discrimination. The book tells the story of his growing up in interesting detail. He wanted to be a soldier but fortunately the Nazis would not permit that. After the war he went to Liberia where he was with his father for a bit, but they did not get along. Eventually the author arrived in the United States on a student visa, but show more was quickly drafted and was in the U.S. Army while the Korean War was going on, but never served except in the U.S. I found the account consistently interesting and good reading, and wished he had told more of his life afterwards, when he became an editor of Ebony magazine and met Joe Louis, Jimmy Carter, and other prominent folk. He also married and had two sons but never tells of his wife and very little of his sons. His mother eventually came to the U.S. as well. This book interested me much and I am lucky to have found it.. Wikipedia has article on him. He died in 2013. show less

Of all the books I have listed here so far I value this one the most. How someone, who could not hide from the Nazi regime due to skin color, survive, is an extremely remarkable story. I recommend this book to black and white alike as a must read.

Dies ist eine Geschichte des Unerwarteten. In "Destined to Witness" hat Hans Massaquoi eine wunderschön wiedergegebene Memoiren geschrieben - eine erstaunlich wahre Geschichte darüber, wie er als schwarzes Kind in Nazideutschland erwachsen wurde. Als Sohn einer prominenten afrikanischen und einer deutschen Krankenschwester blieb Hans Massaquoi bei seiner Mutter zurück, als Hitler an die Macht kam, nachdem sein Vater nach Liberia zurückgekehrt war, weil er um seine zerbrechliche Gesundheit besorgt war. Wie andere deutsche Jungen ging Hans zur Schule; wie andere deutsche Jungen geriet er schnell in den Bann des Führers. So war er niedergeschmettert, als er erfuhr, dass er als schwarzes Kind nicht für die Hitlerjugend in Frage kam. show more Sein Weg zu einer weiterführenden Schule und einem späteren Beruf war blockiert. Er lebte nun in der Angst, dass er jeden Augenblick hören könnte, wie die Gestapo an die Tür klopfte oder alliierte Bomben auf sein Haus fielen.
Ironisch, bewegend und zutiefst menschlich - Massaquois Bericht über diesen einsamen Kampf ums Überleben ist voller Mut und Intelligenz. show less