Geoff Wisner

Berlin Diaries, 1940-1945

by Marie Vassiltchikov. Alfred A. Knopf. 324 pages, $19.95.

The diaries of great writers are interesting because their minds are interesting, and because a great writer can make mundane events seem extraordinary. But diaries may also be interesting because the author has lived through a strange or significant period of history. In this kind of diary, literary embellishments are unnecessary and may even be unwanted. A plain, intelligent account will provide all the excitement the reader needs.

Marie Vassiltchikov, a young woman from a family of White Russian aristocrats, went to Berlin early in World War II because it was one of the few places in Europe where a foreigner could find work. As an educated outsider -- not a German and not a Jew -- she was in an excellent position to observe Berlin through the war years. As if anticipating this, Missie (as she was known) began writing as soon as she arrived. Very soon her entries took up the two themes that run throughout the book: the destruction of the city by Allied bombers, and the origins and aftermath of the failed attempt on July 20, 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler.

Public and private life mingle strangely in some of Missie's entries. Her entry for 12 April 1941 consists of two sentences: "I went riding again with Gottfried Bismarck and later we went deer stalking. Belgrade was taken today and Croatia has declared itself independent." Sometimes the personal and the public cannot be disentangled: The entry for 23 November 1943 begins, "Last night the greater part of central Berlin was destroyed."

One of the lessons taught by the horrific destruction of cities in World War II -- though it was forgotten by the US in Vietnam -- was that civilians, if not killed outright, can withstand almost any amount of bombing. Just as she dealt with rationed food and even rationed baths, Missie, like other Berliners, adjusted with grim humor to hiking for hours to work each day, avoiding certain streets because of the stench of bodies in bombed-out buildings. She was amused to see the usually dapper Herbert von Karajan "barefoot in a trenchcoat, his hair standing on end" during an air raid. She learned that one bombing had released the crocodiles from the zoo, and that they were caught and shot just as they were about to jump into the river Spree. In an account full of miraculous escapes from death, perhaps the most miraculous described here came when Dr. Fabian von Schlabrendorff, one of the 20th of July plotters, was about to face the notorious Judge Freisler. Freisler was crushed to death in a sudden air raid, the defendant's file still clutched in his hand. Von Schlabrendorff was sent to a concentration camp, but he survived the war.

Before the 20th of July, Missie's diaries provide only hints of the plot against Hitler and of those involved in it, and a few serious or half-serious schemes. Heinrich Wittgenstein, who had shot down 83 Allied planes at the time of his death, tells Missie how surprised he was at being allowed to wear his handgun in Hitler's presence, as he was being awarded the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross. He mentions that it might have been possible to "bump him off," and Missie suggests they go elsewhere to talk. As late as July 3, the serious plotting is still mixed with wishful thinking.

After dinner we had a long discussion with a famous zoologist about the best way to get rid of Adolf. He said that in India natives use tigers' whiskers chopped very fine and mixed with food. The victim dies a few days later and nobody can detect the cause. But where do we find a tiger's whiskers?

As it turned out, the plot failed through a combination of bad luck and bad planning. Missie began keeping her diary in a private shorthand as she described the arrests of the plotters, many of them her friends; her attempts to help them; and what she learned of the gruesome executions of most of them. In keeping with the Nazi tradition of casting a wide net, well over 11,000 people were eventually executed for involvement in the assassination plot.

So much has been written about Nazi Germany, and interpretations have been piled so high, that it is a relief to read firsthand impressions of the time. The diaries are supplemented by the fact-filled, sometimes angry historical notes of Missie's brother, George Vassiltchikov. The book itself is attractively designed, and provided with helpful maps and photos of many of the people mentioned in the text.

Published in the Harvard Post, December 11, 1987.



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Geoff Wisner Berlin Diaries, 1940-1945 by Marie Vassiltchikov. Alfred A. Knopf. 324 pages, $19.95. The diaries of great writers are interesting because their minds are interesting, and because a great writer can make mundane events seem extraordinary. But diaries may also be interesting because the author has lived through a strange or significant period of history. In this kind of diary, literary embellishments are unnecessary and may even be unwanted. A plain, intelligent account will provide all the excitement the reader needs. Marie Vassiltchikov, a young woman from a family of White Russian aristocrats, went to Berlin early in World War II because it was one of the few places in Europe where a foreigner could find work. As an educated outsider -- not a German and not a Jew -- she was in an excellent position to observe Berlin through the war years. As if anticipating this, Missie (as she was known) began writing as soon as she arrived. Very soon her entries took up the two themes that run throughout the book: the destruction of the city by Allied bombers, and the origins and aftermath of the failed attempt on July 20, 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Public and private life mingle strangely in some of Missie's entries. Her entry for 12 April 1941 consists of two sentences: "I went riding again with Gottfried Bismarck and later we went deer stalking. Belgrade was taken today and Croatia has declared itself independent." Sometimes the personal and the public cannot be disentangled: The entry for 23 November 1943 begins, "Last night the greater part of central Berlin was destroyed." One of the lessons taught by the horrific destruction of cities in World War II -- though it was forgotten by the US in Vietnam -- was that civilians, if not killed outright, can withstand almost any amount of bombing. Just as she dealt with rationed food and even rationed baths, Missie, like other Berliners, adjusted with grim humor to hiking for hours to work each day, avoiding certain streets because of the stench of bodies in bombed-out buildings. She was amused to see the usually dapper Herbert von Karajan "barefoot in a trenchcoat, his hair standing on end" during an air raid. She learned that one bombing had released the crocodiles from the zoo, and that they were caught and shot just as they were about to jump into the river Spree. In an account full of miraculous escapes from death, perhaps the most miraculous described here came when Dr. Fabian von Schlabrendorff, one of the 20th of July plotters, was about to face the notorious Judge Freisler. Freisler was crushed to death in a sudden air raid, the defendant's file still clutched in his hand. Von Schlabrendorff was sent to a concentration camp, but he survived the war. Before the 20th of July, Missie's diaries provide only hints of the plot against Hitler and of those involved in it, and a few serious or half-serious schemes. Heinrich Wittgenstein, who had shot down 83 Allied planes at the time of his death, tells Missie how surprised he was at being allowed to wear his handgun in Hitler's presence, as he was being awarded the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross. He mentions that it might have been possible to "bump him off," and Missie suggests they go elsewhere to talk. As late as July 3, the serious plotting is still mixed with wishful thinking. After dinner we had a long discussion with a famous zoologist about the best way to get rid of Adolf. He said that in India natives use tigers' whiskers chopped very fine and mixed with food. The victim dies a few days later and nobody can detect the cause. But where do we find a tiger's whiskers? As it turned out, the plot failed through a combination of bad luck and bad planning. Missie began keeping her diary in a private shorthand as she described the arrests of the plotters, many of them her friends; her attempts to help them; and what she learned of the gruesome executions of most of them. In keeping with the Nazi tradition of casting a wide net, well over 11,000 people were eventually executed for involvement in the assassination plot. So much has been written about Nazi Germany, and interpretations have been piled so high, that it is a relief to read firsthand impressions of the time. The diaries are supplemented by the fact-filled, sometimes angry historical notes of Missie's brother, George Vassiltchikov. The book itself is attractively designed, and provided with helpful maps and photos of many of the people mentioned in the text. Published in the Harvard Post, December 11, 1987.