English Girl, German Boy: World War II from Both Sides

Bonnie J. White is a Ph.D. candidate in History Department at McMaster
University.

Through personal narration and family letters, Tessa and Martin Bцrner
offer a first-hand account of the impact of World War II on the civilian
populations of Britain and Germany. The first part of the book is
dedicated to the story of a British Girl, which refers to both Tessa and
her mother, Peggy. Using Peggy’s private letters, Tessa maps the story
of her mother’s life from childhood in Wales in the early 1900s to her
own birth in 1934. She then intermixes her own story with her mother’s
to provide a linear narrative that takes the reader through the war and
up to her mother’s death in 1996. Section 1 investigates the
complexities and deep-rooted nature of British patriotism during the war
and the unremitting social pressure to support the war effort.

In Section 2, Martin offers a compelling story of his family’s life
including his father’s service in World War I and his own involvement
in the Hitler Youth. Martin draws specific attention to the limited
information that was accessible to the German population due to the
suffocating nature of the German propaganda machine in the 1930s and
1940s, which is clearly evident in his erroneous description of
Germany’s actions throughout 1938–39.

Both accounts seek to provide a more nuanced understanding of societies
at war and the lingering effect on successive generations. The authors
are heartbreakingly real in their descriptions and effectively convey
the realities of wartime life. The German section also seeks to show the
inherent disconnect between governments and civilians in an attempt to
rectify the collective guilt complex endured by generations of Germans
since the end of the war.

While the Bцrners succeed in offering an interesting narrative of
their wartime experiences, they provide little contextual analysis. The
letters are from a private collection and are not clearly documented or
accessible to the public, and there are no sources offered for such
things as casualty numbers and quotes.