(Reviewed by JD Jung)
Our protagonist had to navigate between truth and lies, reality and denial for her entire childhood. Now as an adult and a historian, she must face these truths and the role her mother played in Fance during the German occupation.
Growing up in the 1960’s, she remembers her mother Lucie gossiping with family members and other women, but also speaking in soft voices about the past. What she later discovers is that her mother was nicknamed “The Propagandist”, for designing Nazi pamphlets and posters and demonstrating solid dedication to the cause.
Our historian tries to learn why her mother became antisemitic and embraced Nazi ideology. She remembers her fondly reminiscing about her earlier life and Friedrich, her first husband. As we read further, we discover that he studied genetic biology and was fascinated with racial science. He maintained “Jews, no better than laboratory mice.”
This autobiographical novel will keep readers glued to each page. We learn the family dynamics, such as how some family members promoted the Nazi cause, but would have been the first to be exterminated, and how our protagonist’s father Charles showed no resentment of his wife’s continual love for Friedrich.
Our protagonist tries to remain objective as her role as historian, but we see glimpses of this cracking. From her account, I saw her mother as evil, but I don’t know if that was her intent. Still, how does a daughter reconcile how her mother betrayed her Jewish neighbors and felt no remorse decades later, even at the point of stealing their property?
Author Cécile Desprairies is a historian specializing in the Nazi occupation of France. Readers of WWII history will find The Propogandist fascinating; however, the personal views of these conspirators and how it impacted the lives of those close to them will be of even greater interest.
