Humanity has lost its mind
Mankind has lost its mind ( Swedish Krigsdagböcker ) is an autobiographical work by Astrid Lindgren . It covers the diary entries that Lindgren kept during the Second World War . It was published in German in 2015 with the subtitle Diaries 1939–1945 .
content
Lindgren's diary begins on September 1, 1939 with the words “Oh! Today the war started. Nobody wanted to believe it. ”Then she documents the events of the war with the help of newspaper articles and letters. In doing so, however, she does not only address the threat from Hitler , but also that of Stalin , when the latter attacked Finland, for example . While Lindgren initially fears Stalin's machinations and a Russian invasion far more than Hitler does, her image of Germany gradually changes for the worse. She gets very angry with the Germans, who manage to turn all of humanity against them during two world wars within twenty years. At the same time, Lindgren also showed sympathy for the Germans when the bombs were dropped on Berlin .
background
From September 1, 1939 to December 31, 1945 Astrid Lindgren kept a diary in which she reproduced her impression of the war, but also collected newspaper articles and letters about the events. When Lindgren started writing the diary, Lindgren was 32 years old and lived in Stockholm with her husband Sture Lindgren and their two children. At that time she was working as a secretary in the Royal Automobile Club . Except for a few short stories in newspapers, Lindgren hadn't published anything. In 1940 she got a new job reading German letters on behalf of the Swedish intelligence service. Through this job she got even deeper insights into the war events, which she also reproduced in her diary. Although it was not actually allowed, Lindgren copied a few letters and reported them in her diary. Astrid Lindgren's main focus in the diary was on the war and its impact on her and her family. Little can be learned from other personal experiences in the book. Lindgren's marriage was in a crisis, her husband was hardly at home, fell in love with another woman and became increasingly addicted to alcohol. However, this was only mentioned in passing in the diaries.
Lindgren's family knew the war diaries. Her husband Sture and her two children Lasse and Karin Lindgren themselves contributed information or listened to Lindgren as she read them to them.
Lindgren wrote her diaries on a total of 17 notebooks. Astrid Lindgren never thought of publishing her diary during her lifetime. These were published in 2015 by Lindgren's community of heirs, Saltkråkan AB. Lindgren's grandson Nils Nyman later said that while reading the diaries he had the feeling that Lindgren had wanted a publication. So the family decided to bring out the diaries. Critics share this view, many write of an imaginary readership to which Lindgren is addressing.
Lindgren's granddaughter Annika Lindgren explained that they hardly made any editorial changes to her grandmother's diary. Some newspaper clippings were not included in the book. However, all newspaper clippings on which Astrid Lindgren commented are in the book. Otherwise only trivialities were left out.
In Sweden, the war diaries started a debate about what was known in the country then about the Nazi atrocities.
While Lindgren was writing her war diaries, she wrote the stories about Pippi Longstocking . This is also mentioned in the war diaries.
Audio book
The diaries were also published as audio books. In 2015 it was published by Audiobook Hamburg Verlag . It was read by Eva Mattes , who is also known as the dubbing voice of Pippi Longstocking .
Together with the conductor and author Irmgard Schleier , Mattes developed a reading with musical accompaniment from the audio book , which will be presented on theater stages. Eva Mattes sings many of the songs that are presented between the individual diary entries herself. She is accompanied by Jakob Neubauer or Dariusz Swinoga on the accordion and Irmgard Schleier on the piano. The musical reading had its premiere on June 10, 2017 in the Regensburg Theater . Later the reading was also held in other theaters such as the Konstanz Theater , the Ernst-Deutsch-Theater , the Kleist-Theater Frankfurt or the Stadttheater Bocholt.
- Mankind has lost its mind: Diaries 1939–1945 , read by Eva Mattes. 5 CDs. Oetinger Audio. Reading. ISBN 9783869092171
reception
- Awards
- 2015 LovelyBooks reader award in the non-fiction and guidebook category
- Reviews of the book
“As in all of her later works, Lindgren withdrew herself in her diaries and put the narrative in the foreground. In doing so, she created a valuable piece of contemporary history that opens up a perspective on the Second World War that is unusual for Central Europe. At the same time it allows us to catch a glimpse of the roots of one of the most important writers of our time. "
"Seldom are diaries as poignant as this one - with all the writer's initial naivety and her growing striving to understand a little more of this world, which has gone out of joint."
“Astrid Lindgren captures everyday things, a Swedish family in times of war. In the entries, which depict the horrors of the war, there are always hopeful, even happy moments when she reports on the work on the 'Pippi'. "
- Reviews of the audio book
“The actress Eva Mattes speaks the audio book. ... here Eva Mattes congenially stages Astrid Lindgren's disaffected gaze, who nevertheless always insists on the impossible: May there finally be peace in the world. "
Individual evidence
- ↑ Astrid Lindgren: Humanity has lost its mind. .
- ↑ a b Astrid Lindgren's war diary: "God save us from the Russians" .
- ↑ Astrid Lindgren's Longing for Peace .
- ↑ 13 years after her death: Astrid Lindgren's war diaries are published .
- ^ Astrid Lindgren's completely different side .
- ↑ Astrid Lindgren - "It's a shame nobody shoots Hitler" .
- ^ Astrid Lindgren's completely different side .
- ^ Between Adolf Hitler and Pippi Longstocking .
- ↑ The horrified witness .
- ↑ The political mother of Pippi .
- ↑ Granddaughter Annika talks about her everyday life with Astrid Lindgren .
- ↑ "What kind of hatred will arise". Current book: Astrid Lindgren's war diaries shed new light on her work .
- ↑ Pippi Longstocking is a child of war .
- ↑ Things like Attitude: Learning from Lindgren .
- ↑ Astrid Lindgren - Humanity has lost its mind .
- ↑ Audio book tip of the month: Astrid Lindgren - Mankind has lost its mind .
- ↑ Ravensburg. "Mankind has lost its mind" .
- ^ Astrid Lindgren's war diaries: From barbarism to cheeky Pippi .
- ↑ Reading: "Mankind has lost its mind" .
- ^ Astrid Lindgren Review. Eva Mattes reads from Lindgren's war diaries. .
- ↑ “It's a shame that nobody shoots Hitler” .
- ↑ Regensburg: Sat. June 10, 2017, 7.30 p.m.: Eva Mattes "Humanity has lost its mind" Reading from Astrid Lindgren's diaries. .
- ↑ “Mankind has lost its mind” - Eva Mattes reads Astrid Lindgren in the Konstanz Theater .
- ^ Astrid Lindgren - My free ticket .
- ↑ Kleist Festival. Pippi's dark side. .
- ↑ "Mankind has lost its mind" .
- ↑ About the cute little Hitler and Stalin, the wretch. "Mankind has lost its mind" by Astrid Lindgren .
- ↑ Astrid Lindgren on Hitler: "the beast" .
- ↑ Astrid Lindgren's War Diaries .
- ↑ Astrid Lindgren's diaries as audio book: "The ground below me has been shaken to the ground" .