Jennifer Teege

Nikola Sellmair

The New York Times bestselling memoir hailed as “haunting and unflinching” (Washington Post), “unforgettable” (Publishers Weekly), and “stunning” (Booklist). When Jennifer Teege, a German-Nigerian woman, happened to pluck a library book from the shelf, she had no idea that her life would be irrevocably altered. Recognizing photos of her mother and grandmother in the book, she discovers a horrifying fact: Her grandfather was Amon Goeth, the vicious Nazi commandant chillingly depicted by Ralph Fiennes in Schindler’s List—a man known and reviled the world over. Although raised in an orphanage and eventually adopted, Teege had some contact with her biological mother and grandmother as a child. Yet neither revealed that Teege’s grandfather was the Nazi “butcher of Plaszów,” executed for crimes against humanity in 1946. The more Teege reads about Amon Goeth, the more certain she becomes: If her grandfather had met her—a black woman—he would have killed her. Teege’s discovery sends her, at age 38, into a severe depression—and on a quest to unearth and fully comprehend her family’s haunted history. Her research takes her to Krakow—to the sites of the Jewish ghetto her grandfather “cleared” in 1943 and the Plaszów concentration camp he then commanded—and back to Israel, where she herself once attended college, learned fluent Hebrew, and formed lasting friendships. Teege struggles to reconnect with her estranged mother Monika, and to accept that her beloved grandmother once lived in luxury as Amon Goeth’s mistress at Plaszów. Teege’s story is cowritten by award-winning journalist Nikola Sellmair, who also contributes a second, interwoven narrative that draws on original interviews with Teege’s family and friends and adds historical context. Ultimately, Teege’s resolute search for the truth leads her, step by step, to the possibility of her own liberation.

A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me

mein Grossvater hätte mich erschossen

Amon

'A powerful account of Teege's struggle for resolution and redemption.' Independent An international bestseller, this is the extraordinary and moving memoir of a woman who learns that her grandfather was Amon Goeth, the brutal Nazi commandant depicted in Schindler's List. When Jennifer Teege, a German-Nigerian woman, happened to pluck a library book from the shelf, she had no idea that her life would be irrevocably altered. Recognising photos of her mother and grandmother in the book, she discovers a horrifying fact: Her grandfather was Amon Goeth, the vicious Nazi commandant chillingly depicted by Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List - a man known and reviled the world over. Although raised in an orphanage and eventually adopted, Teege had some contact with her biological mother and grandmother as a child. Yet neither revealed that Teege's grandfather was the Nazi "butcher of Plaszów," executed for crimes against humanity in 1946. The more Teege reads about Amon Goeth, the more certain she becomes: If her grandfather had met her-a black woman-he would have killed her. Teege's discovery sends her, at age 38, into a severe depression-and on a quest to unearth and fully comprehend her family's haunted history. Her research takes her to Krakow - to the sites of the Jewish ghetto her grandfather 'cleared' in 1943 and the Plaszów concentration camp he then commanded - and back to Israel, where she herself once attended college, learned fluent Hebrew, and formed lasting friendships. Teege struggles to reconnect with her estranged mother Monika, and to accept that her beloved grandmother once lived in luxury as Amon Goeth's mistress at Plaszów. Teege's story is co-written by award-winning journalist Nikola Sellmair, who also contributes a second, interwoven narrative that draws on original interviews with Teege's family and friends and adds historical context. Ultimately, Teege's resolute search for the truth leads her, step by step, to the possibility of her own liberation.

A Black Woman Discovers Her Family’s Nazi Past

Hendes hud er mørk, og hun har studeret i Israel. Tyske Jennifer Teege vokser op på børnehjem og hos en adoptivfamilie i 1970'erne, så hun opdager først i en alder af 38 ved et tilfælde sin familiehemmelighed: Hun er barnebarn af kz-kommandanten Amon Göth, der kendes fra Steven Spielbergs film SCHINDLERS LISTE. "Min morfar var psykopat, sadist. Han personificerede alt, som jeg tager afstand fra. Hvad er det for en slags menneske, som får noget ud af at slå andre mennesker ihjel? Jeg må finde forklaringen på, hvorfor han endte sådan. Som barn virkede han normal," siger Jennifer Teege. I denne bog fortæller Jennifer Teege sin og sin families knudrede historie. En bevægende rejse tilbage til en ikke så fjern fortid, som har sat sine umiskendelige spor hos slægtens efterkommere i anden og tredje generation.

Jennifer Teege

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