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The Resource The house by the lake : a story of Germany, Thomas Harding

The house by the lake : a story of Germany, Thomas Harding

Creator
Author
Summary
In the summer of 1993, Thomas Harding travelled to Germany with his grandmother to visit a small house by a lake on the outskirts of Berlin. It had been her 'soul place' as a child, she said - a holiday home for her and her family, but much more - a sanctuary, a refuge. In the 1930s, she had been forced to leave the house, fleeing to England as the Nazis swept to power. The trip, she said, was a chance to see it one last time, to remember it as it was. But the house had changed. Nearly twenty years later Thomas returned to the house. It was government property now, derelict, and soon to be demolished. It was his legacy, one that had been loved, abandoned, fought over - a house his grandmother had desired until her death. Could it be saved? And should it be saved? He began to make tentative enquiries - speaking to neighbours and villagers, visiting archives, unearthing secrets that had lain hidden for decades. Slowly he began to piece together the lives of the five families who had lived there - a wealthy landowner, a prosperous Jewish family, a renowned composer, a widower and her children, a Stasi informant. All had made the house their home, and all - bar one - had been forced out. The house had been the site of domestic bliss and of contentment, but also of terrible grief and tragedy. It had weathered storms, fires and abandonment, witnessed violence, betrayals and murders, had withstood the trauma of a world war, and the dividing of a nation. As the story of the house began to take shape, Thomas realized that there was a chance to save it - but in doing so, he would have to resolve his own family's feelings towards their former homeland - and a hatred handed down through the generations. The House by the Lake is a groundbreaking and revelatory new history of Germany over a tumultuous century, told through the story of a small wooden house. Breathtaking in scope, intimate in its detail, it is the long-awaited new history from the author of the bestselling Hanns and Rudolf
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
xxi, 442 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates
Isbn
9780434023233
Instance
Label
The house by the lake : a story of Germany
Title
The house by the lake
Title remainder
a story of Germany
Statement of responsibility
Thomas Harding
Creator
Author
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
In the summer of 1993, Thomas Harding travelled to Germany with his grandmother to visit a small house by a lake on the outskirts of Berlin. It had been her 'soul place' as a child, she said - a holiday home for her and her family, but much more - a sanctuary, a refuge. In the 1930s, she had been forced to leave the house, fleeing to England as the Nazis swept to power. The trip, she said, was a chance to see it one last time, to remember it as it was. But the house had changed. Nearly twenty years later Thomas returned to the house. It was government property now, derelict, and soon to be demolished. It was his legacy, one that had been loved, abandoned, fought over - a house his grandmother had desired until her death. Could it be saved? And should it be saved? He began to make tentative enquiries - speaking to neighbours and villagers, visiting archives, unearthing secrets that had lain hidden for decades. Slowly he began to piece together the lives of the five families who had lived there - a wealthy landowner, a prosperous Jewish family, a renowned composer, a widower and her children, a Stasi informant. All had made the house their home, and all - bar one - had been forced out. The house had been the site of domestic bliss and of contentment, but also of terrible grief and tragedy. It had weathered storms, fires and abandonment, witnessed violence, betrayals and murders, had withstood the trauma of a world war, and the dividing of a nation. As the story of the house began to take shape, Thomas realized that there was a chance to save it - but in doing so, he would have to resolve his own family's feelings towards their former homeland - and a hatred handed down through the generations. The House by the Lake is a groundbreaking and revelatory new history of Germany over a tumultuous century, told through the story of a small wooden house. Breathtaking in scope, intimate in its detail, it is the long-awaited new history from the author of the bestselling Hanns and Rudolf
Cataloging source
VHEI
http://library.link/vocab/creatorDate
1968-
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Harding, Thomas
Dewey number
943.084
Illustrations
  • illustrations
  • genealogical tables
  • maps
  • plates
Index
index present
Literary form
non fiction
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Alexander family
  • Meisel family
  • Wollank family
  • Fuhrmann family
  • Kühne family
  • Harding, Thomas
  • Furman family
  • Harding, Thomas
  • Harding, Thomas
  • Dwellings
  • Families
  • Homeowners
  • Dwellings
  • Vacation homes
  • Dwellings
  • Germany
  • Germany
  • Germany
  • Germany
  • Germany
  • Germany
  • Germany
  • Berlin (Germany)
  • Berlin (Germany)
Label
The house by the lake : a story of Germany, Thomas Harding
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Carrier category
volume
Content category
  • text
  • still image
  • cartographic image
Content type code
txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Control code
000055274385
Dimensions
24 cm.
Extent
xxi, 442 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates
Isbn
9780434023233
Isbn Type
(paperback)
Other physical details
illustrations, genealogical tables, maps, portraits
System control number
(OCoLC)920465694
Label
The house by the lake : a story of Germany, Thomas Harding
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Carrier category
volume
Content category
  • text
  • still image
  • cartographic image
Content type code
txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Control code
000055274385
Dimensions
24 cm.
Extent
xxi, 442 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates
Isbn
9780434023233
Isbn Type
(paperback)
Other physical details
illustrations, genealogical tables, maps, portraits
System control number
(OCoLC)920465694

Subject

Genre

Library Locations

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      Level 1, Royal Randwick Shopping Centre , Randwick, NSW, 2031, AU
      -33.9151421 151.2408898

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