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Api’s Berlin Diaries
When Gabrielle Robinson found her grandfather’s Berlin diaries, she made a shocking discovery—her beloved Api had been a Nazi.
The diaries record Api’s daily struggle in a Berlin that was 90% destroyed while he was trying to help the wounded in nightmarish medical cellars without water or light. The dead were stacked in the rubble outside.
Searching to understand why Api had joined the Nazi party, Gabrielle reflects on German guilt, political responsibility, and confronting the past. Throughout she also remembers Api who had given her a loving home in those cold and hungry post-war years.
For all rights enquiries contact:
Laurie Blum Guest
Re-Naissance Agency
laurieblumguest@re-naissanceagency.com
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“Robinson’s honesty, courage, and intelligence are crucial in coming to grips with questions of political responsibility and collective guilt.” — Helen Fremont, author of The Escape Artist
“As a record of post-war tribulation, Api’s Berlin Diaries is a poignant social history; as a search for an elusive, multifaceted grandfather, it’s a fascinating labyrinth.”
— Foreword Reviews 5 stars“This is a must-read for anyone interested in the German experience during WWII.”
— Ariana Neumann, author of When Time Stopped“This is not a book I will forget any time soon. The story and the questions stay with me.”
— Story Circle Book Reviews 5 stars“Robinson's critical examination of her grandfather's diaries and the historical literature on the time period make for a fascinating exploration of one of the most examined timelines in history….Api's Berlin Diaries will subvert readers’ judgement of German civilian inaction under the Third Reich, and show that though suffering may pale in the shadow of greater suffering, it needn’t and shouldn’t, be erased.”
— BookLife Prize Entry Critic’s Report“Robinson’s account of the war years, and the horrors of living in bombed-out ruins, are riveting…. Her book adds to our slowly accumulating knowledge of what the war looked like from ‘the other side,’ and takes its place beside books like W.G. Sebald’s On the Natural History of Destruction and Antony Beevor’s The Fall of Berlin 1945.” Notre Dame Review
“A grand-daughter stumbles across a hidden diary written by her grandfather in 1945 in Berlin, and thus begins the author's quest to uncover details about his past. It sounds like something from a movie trailer or the perfect plot for a historical fiction thriller...but in this case, it's not a premise, but rather the real-life experience of author Gabrielle Robinson.”
— Jennifer Borse“This was a memoir unlike anything I’ve ever read. I also had to read this in parts, sit down, digest it and then pick it up again…. I loved the history of this book and the love the author has for her grandfather. If you’re looking for a memoir that has history and pulls at your heart definitely read this!”
—jayme_reads“I want more books like this that examine the complex moral realities of the time.”
— booksandbackroadsSouth Bend Author seeks Answers to Grandpa’s Nazi Past, sees a Link to Present
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INTERVIEWS
Diane Dewey “Dropping In:” Api’s Berlin Diaries: Gabrielle Robinson on Confronting the Past. 10.29.21
Interview with Lee Artz, The Roundtable Perspective, Purdue University Northwest, 2020
ESSAYS AND BOOK TALKS
On Writing Api's Berlin Diaries
I Never Wanted to Write this Memoir
The Only Second Chance You Get in Life
Video: Intro to Api's Berlin Diaries. My Quest to Understand my Grandfather's Nazi Past
Buchanan District Public Library Talk 9.24.2020
Book Talk St. Joseph Public Library 1.12.21
Monroe County History Center Book Club 8.28.21
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2024 Nr 1 BookLife Indie Spotlight “World War 2 and Military History”
2021 Nautilus Silver in Memoir and Personal Journey
2021 Eric Hoffer Finalist in Memoir
2021 Montaigne Medal Finalist, for “the most thought-provoking books”
2021 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in Memoir
2020 Nonfiction Authors Assoc. Bronze in Memoir
Trailer for Api's Diary
Reichstag 1945
Api making house calls with Gabrielle in back, Suderburg 1946
Pages from Api's diary
Berlin 1945
Api and Gabrielle, 1949