Those Who Save Us
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Anna & the Obersturmfuhrer: A character study.
Deb
Jun 21, 2011 09:20AM
Anna believed that she did what she felt she had to do to survive in those horrible times. The Obersturmfuhrer was a murderer, a rapist, a sick, abusive, disturbed man. Somehow in his mayhem he thought he was loving Anna and that he saved her and her daughter. He had to be in control of that. The most out of control people, crave control. He gave food, presents often threatening their lives with him as the giver or her savior. He seemed to need this to justify himself. What an abusive relationship. He said that she was his savior but his external display and his actions gave evidence of his internal conflict of right and wrong. These seemed to show up in his abusive actions. Almost as if he was fighting himself. Who he was expected to be and who he really was. Deep down, he was ashamed. Poor Anna, don’t must abused women have a confused love of their abusers? It was she knew. It was to date the longest relationship of her young life. She had become brainwashed by the maniacal reality of her surroundings. Anna is completely ashamed of who she has become but feels helpless to change. Anna becomes forever warped by this abusive relationship. She wears it like a blemish and carries it into every relationship she ever has, the pain turned to uncontrollable numbness towards her daughter, her future American husband and herself.
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The Obersturmfuehrer was Anna's key for survival. She has a child and no other option, but to sacrified herself. I do not think, that she ever loved him. She depent on him at this dark hours of our history. It is so unfortunate, that her relationship with her only child was disconnected. The only child she saved from harm.....
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In order to survive the years of abuse Anna had to lie to her abuser and lie to herself. She had to pretend that they were in some ways a "family". Even though she hated him and what he did to her, in some ways she was so entrenched in the lie that she start to believe it. Then she was ashamed of it. She was also ashamed that her body at times responded to him. Rape victims can be ashamed of what they had to do to survive.
All of the shame stayed with her. Then people were unkind to her and rejected her. The one time she attempted to tell her husband he rejected her.
All of the shame stayed with her. Then people were unkind to her and rejected her. The one time she attempted to tell her husband he rejected her.
Jennifer Mcgown
You are right - he did reject her. Such a lonely start to a marriage. He was a good father even if was not the best of husbands.
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I think that Anna tried to protect her daughter from knowledge that may have destroyed her, and also, I think that Anna was trying to continue to survive emotionally herself.
Amazing story! Portrays effectively with emotional truth the psychology of memory and the power of trauma that is passed through generations.
Amazing story! Portrays effectively with emotional truth the psychology of memory and the power of trauma that is passed through generations.
This book was about survival and a mother's quest to keep her daughter safe. But unfortunately the anti-semitism and Anna being pregnant by Jewish doctor created even more problems and long lasting scars which transferred to her daughter Trudy. Anna's dependence on Obersturmfuehrer and her loneliness is clearly described and later that affected her relationship with Trudy.
This was a wonderful story. From Anna's love affair w/ the Jewish doctor, her crazy father & her life in general & the relationship w/ her daughter Trudy. The baker, who without her, Anna would not have survived. You also get insight to the local towns people in Germany & how tough the war & everything that went w/ it, was on them, as well. Anna's relationship w/ the Nazi is not easy to describe, but I believe she grew to love him & at 1 point in the story, there is some explanation in correlation to the title. This was a well written wonderful book.
I agree, Anna had no choice but to let the Obersyurmfuhrer take care of her. In his own way, he loved her and in some ways considered them a family. I didn't understand why Anna did not explain things to her American husband. Maybe she was still so traumatized by the war, and the relationship was so new she couldn't quite trust him, but you think he would have understood. After all the whole town knew she had a child out of wedlock ( but not who the father was), and then she is the Obersturmfuhrer's girlfriend. How much worse was the truth? He knew he wasn't marrying a virgin.
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