Through the Pages of History: World War II in Literature

"Kinder, Küche, Kirche”, the popular three K’s meaning “Children, Kitchen, Church” were part of Hitler’s ideal philosophy in which he believed every woman residing in Germany should have. However, what about those who loathed this saying, and opposed it with every fibre in their being? What about those who were not in Germany at all, but still felt the ripples of the war in their country? The truth is, many stories were not fortunate enough to be shared, and many perspectives are being overlooked today. To combat this, I vigorously recommend the books All the Frequent Troubles of our Days by Rebecca Donner and Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. I am confident that these remarkable works will not only spark your love for reading, but will entertain you with so much knowledge that you’ll desperately seek for more books that mirror their essence.

I feel pity for those who have yet to read Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, as the entire novel will have you aghast and stirred into contemplation. The exquisite writing style creates the sensation of transporting into a foreign timeline. Personally, this novel deserves 5 stars with the way it beautifully tells the story of an orphaned geisha before, during, and after WWII. While this book does not focus solely on the topic of the Second World War, the devastating effects of the war are evident throughout.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbour, The United States along with the Allied Powers, officially declared war with Japan. As a result of this, women all over Japan were being conscripted to combat the shortage of men. This included those who were currently working as geisha, and the cities that once prospered economically and socially began to face a great decline. Women who previously worked as geisha were forced into manual labour in factories with grueling working conditions. While manufacturing munitions, vehicles, aircraft, pharmaceuticals, and electrical goods for the war effort, many became partly or completely deaf, blind, injured; some workers died due to starvation, disease, or exhaustion. To make matters worse, fear of suddenly being blown up always loomed in the minds of the working women. Although factories were situated in more rural parts of Japan, they were constantly being bombed, and it wasn’t uncommon to meet this fate. The upside to this tragedy was that it provided women the opportunity to work in fields that were not traditional. Sadly, as a consequence of the war, the geisha districts could not thrive as they used to, and the rich culture of geisha gradually started to diminish.

In complete honesty, Rebecca Donner’s All the Frequent Troubles of our Days struck immense fear into my heart upon first picking up the book. It can be quite hard to find motivation to read 500 pages.  However, after absorbing the beautiful storytelling combined with the visual components in this autobiography, I immediately understood why this book has a 4.5 rating on Goodreads. The story follows a courageous female figure, Mildred Harnack, and tells of the many tragedies that occur under Hitler’s reign. It is a 5-star story I think about daily, and the level of depth the book goes into is truly astonishing.

Imagine a reality where you, your husband, and only a hundred other associates had to oppose a formidable dictator and his colossal army. This was the exact circumstance of Mildred and Arvid Harnack, who courageously stood up to Hitler and his Nazis, albeit in secrecy. Mildred, an American woman who lived in Germany, led an anti-Nazi organization named “The Circle”, and she spread her message through leaflets and word of mouth. It was an extremely challenging feat, as searching for trustworthy people was difficult in a society where Hitler reigned supreme. The group was founded in 1932 and faced many successes until 1942, when 119 members of its party, including Mildred, were arrested and later executed. Mildred’s husband involved the Soviet Union at one point and sent confidential information to Moscow. Both Mildred and Arvid, as well as a couple other affiliated members of The Circle, took part in this espionage in hope to collapse Hitler’s government from the inside. Mildred’s efforts to defeat Hitler will never be forgotten in history; even as the heroic and brilliant woman she is, it is an inconceivable endeavour that many in Germany did not dare to think of.

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Palek, Stephanie. “Operation Valkyrie 1944 | Cambridge University Library.” Cam.ac.uk, University of Cambridge, 27 Apr. 2015, www.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/departments/germanic-collections/about-collections/spotlight-archive/operation-valkyrie.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Geisha | Female Entertainer.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 2019, www.britannica.com/art/geisha.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Resistance inside Germany.” Ushmm.org, 2019, encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/resistance-inside-germany.