Work I Did A Memoir of the Secretary to Goebbels

I know no one ever believes us nowadays - everyone thinks we knew everything. We knew nothing. It was all a well-kept secret. We believed it. We swallowed it. It seemed entirely plausible. 'Whatever Pomsel's degree of guilt, her choice of words and actions raise important questions about coercion and complicity ... Reading this book we must hope that we can learn from history in a way that she could not' DAILY TELEGRAPH Brunhilde Pomsel described herself as an 'apolitical girl' and a 'figure on the margins'. How are we to reconcile this description with her chosen profession? Employed as a typist during the Second World War, she worked closely with one of the worst criminals in world history: Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. She was one of the oldest surviving eyewitnesses to the internal workings of the Nazi power apparatus until her death in 2017. Her life, mirroring all the major breaks and continuities of the twentieth century, illustrates how far-right politics, authoritarian regimes and dictatorships can rise, and how political apathy can erode democracy. Compelling and unnerving, The Work I Did gives us intimate insight into political complexity at society's highest levels - at one of history's darkest moments.

Product details

• Authors: Brunhilde Pomsel, Thore D. Hansen, Brunhilde Hansen Pomsel, Brunhild Pomsel, Thore D Hansen
• Assisted by: Shaun Whiteside (Translation), Whiteside Shaun (Translation)
• Publisher: Bloomsbury
• Content: Book
• Product form: Paperback / Softback
• Publication date: 31.01.2019
• Subject: Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Biographies, autobiographies; Humanities, art, music > History > 20th century (up to 1945); Non-fiction book > History > Biographies, autobiographies
• EAN: 9781408894453
• ISBN: 978-1-4088-9445-3
• Pages: 240
• Dimensions (packing): 19.6 x 12.8 x 1.6 cm
• Subjects: Europe, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Historical, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Military, Germany, Memoirs, Autobiography: historical, political & military, Fascism & Nazism, Second World War, The Holocaust, Far-right political ideologies and movements, Autobiography: historical, political and military, Modern warfare, c 1940 to c 1949, c 1939 to c 1945 (including WW2), Biography: historical, political and military, HISTORY / Wars & Conflicts / World War II / General, Nazism Naziism national socialist party, Politics far right government, Josef Gobbels Auschwitz Bergen Belsen, Last living eyewitness, Rightist populism, Threat fascism, Importance of remembering, Second World War two II 2nd, Memory wake up and listen, Moral morality tale chilling evil, Lest we forget the Holocaust, Guilt coercion complicity, Historical histories, Survivor apathy apathetic, Nazi propaganda minister, Learning from past times, History of Nazi Germany, Danger of being apolitical