Arnold Munter. Ein biografisches Geschichtsbuch

Biographies that make any history book seem pale in comparison exist. Arnold Munter’s life story is one of those. Born in 1912 during the last Imperial Era in Berlin, he virtually witnesses all the developments up close that embody the “German” century. Hereby he is not simply a spectator. Each political system that he is introduced to he either shapes or fights. He experiences each epoch very deliberately. His exceptional memory and vivid story-telling make him a fascinating witness with an exemplary life for twentieth century Germany.

Ruth Damwerth: Arnold Munter. A biographical history book.
ISBN: 978-3-937772-35-6; paperback 268 pages, 18,90 Euro

“The first controlled detonation took place on September 6th and was implemented in the front section. I was keen to be quite close and had arranged with the demolition master, that I would hide behind the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Monument that was still there, observing the blast from the cover of the massive bronze klutz. The People’s Police had largely blocked off the boulevard Unter den Linden, because the operation required massive amounts of dynamite, as the foundations of the City Palace were up to five meters thick. The first detonation shook the ground severely. Once the dust and expelled masses of stone had settled I moved closer to the detonation site. All of a sudden a car arrived and two Soviet officers alarmed by the explosion jumped out, protesting as they approached me: “Why you blow up castle? We also not blow up Kreml after Revolution.”

With her book Damwerth has set Munter a monument. Rightly so – despite not always sharing his opinions and relating to his every step. It is the individual stories like that of Arnold Munter that make history tangible and emotionally accessible.

Der Nordberliner, 11.17.1994, on “Arnold Munter. Jahrhundertzeuge“

Much to her credit the author Ruth Damwerth gently and cautiously handles Munter’s story. At times he freely fills pages with his recount. In between personal anecdotes we find historical facts and background information interwoven. Thus the work moves beyond the subjective view of a protagonist and becomes a reflection on the 20th century.

Pankower Anzeiger, 11.25.1994, on “Arnold Munter. Jahrhunderzeuge“

26-year-old Ruth Damwerth from Münster has succeeded in what only an un-biased and a by developments in both German states unencumbered author could have achieved. With alert interest and empathetic intuition, she has chronicled the life journey of Arnold Munter, given him space to express his story and has through intelligent observation created a historical work that is also fascinating to read.

Neues Deutschland, 02.22.1995, on “Arnold Munter. Jahrhundertzeuge“

Exciting and exemplary highs and lows of a ruptured Germany during the 20th century – Damwerth has understood how to weave an individual’s chronology into a greater historic picture.

Westfälische Nachrichten, 03.07.1995, on “Arnold Munter. Jahrhundertzeuge“

Der Heringsbändiger

Whoever was born in 1927 was particularly close to doom: This was the first age group that grew up under the complete influence of the National Socialist education system implemented as early as school and “Jungvolk” and was also the last year to be called up to military duty and sent to the slaughter at the front as Hitler’s youngest recruits. Martin Schwabe belonged to this group. As a “quarter Jew” he had experienced the darker side of the Nazi regime and volunteered for military service as he was eager “to belong”. At the age of sixteen he was a soldier, at the age of twenty-one he returned home from a Russian prisoner of war camp to what had in the meantime become the GDR and after all the bitter experiences and swearing to himself to never eat with the wolves again, maybe not all is well that ends well…

Ruth Damwerth: Der Heringsbändiger. Martin Schwabe’s Tale of the 20. Century.
ISBN: 3-937772-05-7; paperback 220 pages, 15,90 Euro

“When I was young Mother occasionally worked as a sales promoter for Persil. While she was at work I was in the Lindenstrasse in the care of teacher Motsche’s wife. Mrs Motsche was the first person to dress me in a uniform of sorts, a brown shirt with necktie. I have no recollection of this myself, but I have been told that I looked very cute trying to imitate the marching SA storm troopers as a three- or four-year-old tiny tot…”

His past is ca 1,5 centimeters wide. He is holding it in his hand. It reads “Der Heringsbändiger.” A life – black on white. 215 pages hot off the press. Martin Schwabe has seen a lot during the past 78 years. The Weimar Republic, National Socialism, the Cold War, the Reunification. “My neighbors said I should write it all down”, Martin Schwabe smiles. In Ruth Damwerth he has found an author who has a strong sense of bringing the spoken word to the page. And Schwabe has a lot of words. Many experiences to recount. “It was definitely 40 hours of tape recordings”, the Munsterian author recalls.

Grevener Zeitung, 09.03.2005, on “Der Heringsbändiger“

Das Tagebuch der Caroline Bedall

The diary that Caroline Mehler, born Bedall, began writing in 1846 at the age of ten not only lends us a new insight into the day to day reality of the penultimate century, but also grants us a glance at a multitude of Bavarian towns and landscapes of the time. It is primarily a unique aesthetic pleasure, a synergy between her special gift of observation, delicate language and ornamental handwriting.

Caroline Bedall: The Diary of Caroline Bedall.
ISBN: 3-937772-02-2; 12,90 Euro

“On November 10th my sister-in-law Karoline took flight to Switzerland with children and instructor and on November 23rd upon court order, and to our great shame and anguish, was seized and imprisoned. In the evening of November 29th at 9pm she was by police inspector escorted from Lindau to Munich and at once taken to “Frohnveste,” the prison.”

Mein eiskaltes Leben (Hardcover, 184 S.)

In 1954 Gundi Busch was the first German to be crowned Figure Skating World Champion und subsequently she not only became a national idol, but an internationally celebrated star. In grey post-war Germany the success of “gudomliga Gundi”, deified Gundi as the Swedish press had termed her, grew into fairytale proportions. “Gundi Busch is currently being photographed more than any actress. Who could possibly resist her?”, newspapers were asking. Even today, fifty years later, her name is still a familiar one to most Germans. However, Gundi was not only an ice princess, the darling of the adoring public, a blonde star on blades, she was also an eighteen-year-old girl – and: she hated skates.

Gundi Busch/Ruth Damwerth: Mein eiskaltes Leben.
ISBN: 978-3-937772-13-4; hardcover, 19,90 Euro

“I was four and a half and it was a Sunday afternoon, when my father took me to the ice rink for the first time. I can still envision the pores in the wood of the ledge which was at eye level and that I was fearfully gripping…”

“Smiling was intrinsic”, says the 73-year-old today. However, in her biography “the fairytale image of a happy ice princess” will be “thoroughly dismantled.” Back then no one knew: The ever-smiling teen hated figure skating and she hated the woman who was tormenting her towards success – her mother. In “Mein eiskaltes Leben” Gundi Busch describes the fame she was forced into during the post-war era. Her son Peter Johansson persuaded her to chronicle her long way of suffering. Through the internet she came across Ruth Damwerth who wrote the book. It will also be published in the USA and in Russia.

Kölner Express, 04.19.2009, on “Mein eiskaltes Leben“

Ausreisezeit. Abschied von der DDR.

“I am never returning to the GDR!” Bewildered Inge Krausbeck receives her husband’s sudden announcement through the telephone that he will not be returning home from visiting his family in West Germany in February 1988 – she also has no immediate answer to his question: “Will you follow me?” Inge Krausbeck likes living in the GDR. As she files an application for departure she primarily wants to keep the family together. Three denied applications, twenty months and numerous harassments later the doctor is beginning to see her home country in a very different light and now only sees one solution: The West German Embassy in Prague. It is the summer of ’89… Inge Krausbeck’s memories, excerpts from her Stasi files and letters from family members have formed “Abschied von der DDR (Goodbye to the GDR)” vividly and full of suspense.

Inge Krausbeck: Ausreisezeit. Abschied von der DDR.
ISBN: 978-3-937772-15-8, paperback 172 pages, 14,90 Euro

“We tried squeezing through the huge crowd of people towards the issuing authority. All of a sudden nothing moved anymore. We were told that everything would be handled at a later point, now Genscher was up! The meaning of these words only found their gravity in hindsight. Right now I was thirsty and my feet were sore. It must have been 6.30pm by this time and dusk was setting in. A calm had swept across the crowd and all were waiting patiently. There was a microphone attached to the balcony of the embassy, spotlights had been set up and people were coming and going. After almost an hour it was finally time: Foreign Minister Genscher stepped out onto the balcony and an incredible rejoice rang out from the crowd. Then, his first words: “Dear fellow countrymen, I stand here before you today, in order to inform you that your departure…” It was not even possible to hear any more, all was drowned in cries of joy and elation. People were rejoicing and falling into each other’s arms, tears were flowing. It was one of the most moving moments in my life: Our departure had finally been granted!

Letters, almost forgotten, lay amongst the documents as Inge Krausbeck pulls her Stasi files from her letterbox in 2002 – the past has caught up with her. 348 pages of copies of letters, transcripts, protocols and communications. Publisher Ruth Damwerth from Münster was intrigued. “Abschied von der DDR” is a vivid and suspense-ridden combination of excerpts of Inge Krausbeck’s Stasi files, letters from family members and her own recount.

Altmarkzeitung, 10.28.2009, on “Inge Krausbeck: Ausreisezeit. Abschied von der DDR“