Customer Reviews

Invisible Woman: Growing Up Black in Germany

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I read this book in the original German edition and thus don't know how well the English edition conveys this example of a very 'German' post-war destiny. Ika was a "Besatzungskind" - a very negative and subjective term for a child born to a German mother and a (most commonly) G.I. father from the "occupation forces". Her story is just one of a whole babyboomer generation of both white,and mixed-race children, and what a sad story it is, particulary of those little "Black Germans"! Ika's coerced removal from her mother and placement into a Christian institution was a common occurance for 'illegitimate' children of any description. The mothers of Black children were seen as nothing more than whores who were not fit to raise the children they should not have had in the first place. The racially motivated mental and physical abuse that Ika endured makes for painful reading - particularly since the abuse was carried out (as it often is)in the name of Christ and for her salvation. That Ika managed to grow up into the strong, beautiful person she is today is a testimony to her strength of character and indomitable spirit. I was so happy for her that she did manage to find her father and come to terms with her struggle over identity. With the growth in recent years of Afro-German organisations I hope that many more stories like Ika's will be published. They will give voice to that previously invisible 'Stolen Generation' who now, in middle-age are finally given a change to come to terms with their unique history and identity.
Postscript: As a white contemporary of Ika's I had many class/playmates who were black, with family backgrounds similar to hers. Certainly the Catholic institution (Jugenddorf Klinge in Seckach/Baden) were I spent some years, was not guilty of evil such as experienced by Ika. For a long time now I have wondered about the subsequent fates of my special friend Monika and the other girls I knew.

I read this book in the original German edition and thus don't know how well the English edition conveys this example of a very "German" post-war destiny. Ika was a 'Besatzungskind' a very negative and subjective term for a child born to a German mother and (most commonly) a G.I. father of the "occupation forces". Her story is just one of a whole babyboomer generation of both white, and mixed-race children - and what a sad story it is, particulary of those little "Black Germans"! Ika's coerced removal from her mother and placement into a Christian institution was a common occurance for 'illegitimate' children of any description. The mothers of Black children were seen as nothing more than whores who were not fit to raise the children they should not have had in the first place. The racially motivated mental and physical abuse that Ika endured makes for painful reading - particularly since the abuse was carried out (as it often was) in the name of Christ and for her salvation. That Ika grew strong, beautiful she is today is a testimony to her strength of character and indomitable spirit. I was so happy for her that she did manage to find her father and come to terms with her struggle over identity. With the growth in recent years of Afro-German associations I hope that many more stories like Ika's will be published. They will give voice to that previously invisible 'Stolen Generation' who now, in middle-age are finally given a change to come to terms with their unique identity.

Soon after I began reading Ms Marshall's book I experienced a thrill of recognition. In the brutally honest account of her child and early adulthood in Germany, her stories of recognizing and overcoming her internalized racial self-hatred, I remembered and re-lived some of my own similar experiences growing up as a light-skinned, adopted black child in the black community in Baltimore Maryland.

Ms. Marshall's harsh treatment at the hands of the staff at the home she was sent to as a child sheds light on the brutal and uncaring treatment many children, especially children of color, still experience today. Her writing is both personal and informative (she quotes several government documents of her childhood that "institutionalized" the racist treatment of Afro-Germans) and draws the reader into her story so that one cannot help but become caught up with her as she tells it. I found it difficult to put it down.

That she survived such a childhood and has become both a strong woman and outspoken opponent of racism in Germany, is a testement to her inner power and strength, as well as to the love she received from her mother before she was taken from her at the age of six years old.

Ms. Marshall is still fighting the demons of racism in a country that carries its nationalism in it's breast pocket, as it were. It's not that bad in the US of A...yet.

I read this book in the original German edition and thus don't know how well the English edition conveys this example of a very 'German'post-war destiny. Ika was a 'Besatzungskind' a very subjective term describing an "occupation forces' child". Her story is just one of a whole babyboomer generation of both white,and mixed-race children of (mainly)U.S. soldiers - and what a sad story it is, particulary for those little 'Black Germans'. Ika's coerced removal from her mother and placement into a Christian (Lutheran)institution was a common occurance for 'illegitimate' children of any description. The mothers of Black children were seen as nothing more than whores who were not fit to raise the children they should have had in the first place. The racially motivated mental and physical abuse that Ika endured makes for painful reading - particularly since the abuse was carried out (as it often is) in the name of Christ and for her salvation. That Ika managed to grow up into the strong, well-balanced person she is today is a testimony to her strength of character and indomitable spirit. I was so happy for her that she did manage to find her father and come to grips with her struggle over identity. With the growth in recent years of Afro-German associations I hope that many more stories like Ika's will be published. They will give voice to that previously invisible 'Stolen Generation' who now, in middle-age are finally given a change to come to terms with their unique identity.
The book ideally should be read along with Hans Massaquoi's "Born to Witness: growing up Black in Nazi Germany".
The detailed social/historic context of his story paints a vivid backdrop to the arrival of the next generation of Black Germans like Ika.
Postscript: As a white contemporary of Ika's I had many class/playmates who were black, with family backgrounds similar to hers. Certainly the Catholic institution (Jugenddorf Klinge in Seckach/Baden) were I spent some years, was not guilty of evil such as experienced by Ika. For a long time now I have wondered about the subsequent fate of my special friend Monika and the other girls I knew.

Having read "Destined to Wintess" and finding it one of the best books I have ever read on a subject I was especially interested in considering that being from Europe myself (the UK) We are still know practically nothing about about the history of black German people even though we know so much about the history of Black British, French, Portuguese etc.

I bought this book because unlike Hans Ika was born post World War 2 and grew up in post war Germany, a child who was born from a Black American father and German mother.

Unfortuantly, this book is seriously lacking. The story begins by Ika stating (P14) that she was sterilised (something that only took place during Nazi Germany she was born post war and makes no further mention of this actually being done) That Germany permits Blacks to be "Hunted and struck down" (P15) Harsh words indeed considering we are talking about again, post war Germany.

The book begins with young Ika growing up amongst her mothers family in a small German town, how her mother married a German man and gave birth to a second child Ika younger sister, the book continues to her being sent to a bording school for 'problem children' where she was certainly abused and mistreated to her graduating, finding work and eventually finding her place in society and even her own father.

The problem with the book is there appear to be too many gaps and contradicions to it. She suffers horribly by the nuns at the bording school there is no doubt about that and she is racially abused on numerous occasions but at no point does she mention any friends that she made over the years.

She mentions that she achieved an overwealming majority vote to be elected head of the student body in intermediate school (how could this happen if as Ika would have us believe "All whites are racist, yet do not wish to admit to their own racism" How could she have been put forward? Who were all these people who voted for her? We had been told for almost half the book that every white German she had met (and it was not until she was in her late 30s she met a Black German) was a racist who either did not wish her to exist or did not wish her recognise her existance as a person. This just makes no sense for these self same people to give such an overwealming vote of confidence to her.

She marries a white German yet seem to make no mention during the relationsip the tension she must have surely felt (considering her complete lack of trust of white people and the level of contempt she believed that they had for her)at the begining of the relationship. Rather, she believes it started to gradually fall through later on due to her husband becoming increasingly ashamed of his Black partner. Again the contradition of Ikas childhood to 'falling in love' and marrying this man just dont add up.

Ika goes on to finally meet fellow Afro Germans but again, while being happy to share her experiences with them seems distant and at times condencending towards them. Again she met these same people through white friends but still, she seems steadfast in her near contempt and hatered for white people regarding all without question as racist (now suely an educated woman in her late 30s would have come to a more sensible conclusion that that!)

While the meeting with her father is emotional much of the book rather than alowing the reader to feel sympathy or even share a common bond with her the reader becomes tired of her generalisations, her lack of understanding of others, her refusal to recognise that not everyone shares her history and that she is in fact using the same awful generalisations on others that bigots have used on her.

There are some interesting books out there written by people who have shared some of the emotional trials that Ika has suffered but have come through them a lot more positive than Ika.

I would recomend Cass by Cass Pennant and Destined to Witness. I would not however, recomend this book. Unfortunate as there is so little on Afro German history. I can only hope that more research is done on the subject and something of better quality and value is produced.

This was my second time reading this book. The first time i read it, I simply thought, " another tragic mullatto",. There are so many stories about biracial children with identity problems, and frankly, I can't realate to their perceived tragic lives. Now,as an adult who has lived in Boston and traveled throughout Europe, this story is definitely enlightening. Sometimes, AA think that being black in America is so hard and perceived racism is in every slight or insensitive remark. However, her story is truly a story of real, not imagined racism, nothing most AA, even during that time could possibly know. We know racism, but to experience the kind of instituional racism from family members like the author did, is incomprehensible, and to do it alone is unbelievable. We have always had entire communities of people who we can share stories of racism and triumphs with, she had absolutely no one, not even her mother was strong enough to protect her from the cruelty of her environment. She is defintely a hero, to have survived and not feel hatred toward an entire country. What a courageous, strong forgiving person. This should be required reading for every student.

This is the only book that ever made me shed a tear. All I can say is "READ IT!" It's a truly inspiring story.

This book was terrible. All the author does is whine. After the first few chapters it gets tiring to keep reading about how everything that goes wrong in her life is because of white people. There were times in the book where people tried to give her constructive advice, but the author dismisses it as "racism." I'll bet she was a pain in the rear to deal with and that has nothing to do with her skin color. I'd also bet that there were other children in that boarding school that were white and illegitimate and suffered just as much as she did. A white guy married her, so how bad could it have been? I was never so glad to end a book and am tossing it into the trash.