Dörte von Westernhagen
Encyclopedia
Dörte von Westernhagen (born 5 August 1943) is a German
writer
.
Von Westernhagen was born in Perleberg, now in Prignitz
, in 1943. She is descended from a Prussian Junker
family. She studied in Berlin, and earned a doctorate of law. She worked in the administration of Baden-Württemberg
, until she decided to write her own story. Her book "Kinder der Täter" (The Perpetrators' Children) made quite a round in Germany
when it was published in 1987. The book was immediately recognized as one of the first attempts to get the NS-children out of their parents' shadow.
Westernhagen starts her narrative with her own childhood. Then her father takes over. Her father was a colonel in the Leibstandarte. He was shot through his head in Hungary
in her first year. The book is about his daughter's sorrow. In the small-typed appendix she returns to her own childhood memories and those of other German NS-children. The importance of Westernhagen's work lies in the fact that she was the first European NS-child to discuss her father both as a personally brave man and a war criminal.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
.
Von Westernhagen was born in Perleberg, now in Prignitz
Prignitz
Prignitz is a Kreis in the northwestern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring are the district Ludwigslust-Parchim in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the district Ostprignitz-Ruppin in Brandenburg, the district Stendal in Saxony-Anhalt and the district Lüchow-Dannenberg in Lower...
, in 1943. She is descended from a Prussian Junker
Junker
A Junker was a member of the landed nobility of Prussia and eastern Germany. These families were mostly part of the German Uradel and carried on the colonization and Christianization of the northeastern European territories during the medieval Ostsiedlung. The abbreviation of Junker is Jkr...
family. She studied in Berlin, and earned a doctorate of law. She worked in the administration of Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
, until she decided to write her own story. Her book "Kinder der Täter" (The Perpetrators' Children) made quite a round in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
when it was published in 1987. The book was immediately recognized as one of the first attempts to get the NS-children out of their parents' shadow.
Westernhagen starts her narrative with her own childhood. Then her father takes over. Her father was a colonel in the Leibstandarte. He was shot through his head in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
in her first year. The book is about his daughter's sorrow. In the small-typed appendix she returns to her own childhood memories and those of other German NS-children. The importance of Westernhagen's work lies in the fact that she was the first European NS-child to discuss her father both as a personally brave man and a war criminal.