All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days: The True Story of the American Woman at the Heart of the German Resistance to Hitler
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- Create Date：2021-08-02 10:51:09
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Rebecca Donner
- ISBN：031656169X
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Summary
The “highly evocative， deeply moving” true account of the extraordinary life and brutal death of Mildred Harnack， the American leader of one of the largest underground resistance groups in Germany during WWII—“a stunning literary achievement” （Kai Bird， author of The Outlier and co-author of Pulitzer Prize-winning American Prometheus）
Born and raised in Milwaukee， Mildred Harnack was twenty-six when she enrolled in a PhD program in Germany and witnessed the meteoric rise of the Nazi party。 In 1932， she began holding secret meetings in her apartment—a small band of political activists that by 1940 had grown into the largest underground resistance group in Berlin。 She recruited working-class Germans into the resistance， helped Jews escape， plotted acts of sabotage， and collaborated in writing leaflets that denounced Hitler and called for revolution。 Her coconspirators circulated through Berlin under the cover of night， slipping the leaflets into mailboxes， public restrooms， phone booths。 When the first shots of the Second World War were fired， she became a spy， couriering top-secret intelligence to the Allies。 On the eve of her escape to Sweden， she was ambushed by the Gestapo。 At a Nazi military court， a panel of five judges sentenced her to six years at a prison camp， but Hitler overruled the decision and ordered her execution。 On February 16， 1943， she was strapped to a guillotine and beheaded。
Historians identify Mildred Harnack as the only American in the leadership of the German resistance， yet her remarkable story has remained almost unknown until now。
Harnack’s great-great-niece Rebecca Donner draws on her extensive archival research in Germany， Russia， England， and the U。S。 as well as newly uncovered documents in her family archive to produce this astonishing work of narrative nonfiction。 Fusing elements of biography， real-life political thriller， and scholarly detective story， Donner brilliantly interweaves letters， diary entries， notes smuggled out of a Berlin prison， survivors’ testimony， and a trove of declassified intelligence documents into a powerful， epic story， reconstructing the moral courage of an enigmatic woman nearly erased by history。
Born and raised in Milwaukee， Mildred Harnack was twenty-six when she enrolled in a PhD program in Germany and witnessed the meteoric rise of the Nazi party。 In 1932， she began holding secret meetings in her apartment—a small band of political activists that by 1940 had grown into the largest underground resistance group in Berlin。 She recruited working-class Germans into the resistance， helped Jews escape， plotted acts of sabotage， and collaborated in writing leaflets that denounced Hitler and called for revolution。 Her coconspirators circulated through Berlin under the cover of night， slipping the leaflets into mailboxes， public restrooms， phone booths。 When the first shots of the Second World War were fired， she became a spy， couriering top-secret intelligence to the Allies。 On the eve of her escape to Sweden， she was ambushed by the Gestapo。 At a Nazi military court， a panel of five judges sentenced her to six years at a prison camp， but Hitler overruled the decision and ordered her execution。 On February 16， 1943， she was strapped to a guillotine and beheaded。
Historians identify Mildred Harnack as the only American in the leadership of the German resistance， yet her remarkable story has remained almost unknown until now。
Harnack’s great-great-niece Rebecca Donner draws on her extensive archival research in Germany， Russia， England， and the U。S。 as well as newly uncovered documents in her family archive to produce this astonishing work of narrative nonfiction。 Fusing elements of biography， real-life political thriller， and scholarly detective story， Donner brilliantly interweaves letters， diary entries， notes smuggled out of a Berlin prison， survivors’ testimony， and a trove of declassified intelligence documents into a powerful， epic story， reconstructing the moral courage of an enigmatic woman nearly erased by history。
Reviews
Nancy
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I am devastated。 I am enlightened。 I am in awe。Rebecca Donner has taken a buried life and resurrected it in a narrative nonfiction that grabbed my attention and didn’t let go。 DoDonner is the great-great niece of her subject， Mildred Harnack， an American who traveled to Berlin to study and teach。 At University of Wisconsin she fell in love with a fellow student， the German Arvid。 They moved to Berlin during a time of great freedom。 Mildred runs the English club where the talk is all political。“L I am devastated。 I am enlightened。 I am in awe。Rebecca Donner has taken a buried life and resurrected it in a narrative nonfiction that grabbed my attention and didn’t let go。 DoDonner is the great-great niece of her subject， Mildred Harnack， an American who traveled to Berlin to study and teach。 At University of Wisconsin she fell in love with a fellow student， the German Arvid。 They moved to Berlin during a time of great freedom。 Mildred runs the English club where the talk is all political。“Life is good，” Mildred writes。 But it is January， 1933 and Hitler’s rise to power is just beginning。Mildred’s passion was for equality and justice for the common man。 The American Literature she taught to German Students books that shared her values。 As the Nazis rose to power， Mildred and Arvid became a part of the Resistance。 Arvid masqueraded as a loyal Nazi government worker， slipping confidential information into the Soviet Union。 Mildred’s club became a salon for the resistance。They were outed by an inexperienced pianist who used their real names instead of code names。 The entire Circle was arrested， tortured， imprisoned， and after a kangaroo court trial， beheaded。 Because they had been in communication with the Soviets， the United States had little interest in Mildred’s fate， and what information was made public was slanted and incorrect。Mildred was an amazing woman， strong in her convictions， even when starving， even in solitary confinement and battling TB， up to her last moments which were spend translating Goethe into English with a pencil stub while shackled in a cold cell。Donner sets Mildred’s story against the rise of Hitler。 Those in power thought he was a fool， a crackpot who could be controlled。 But Hitler systematically dismantled every check and balance in government， told grand lies to rally the people， affirming his desire for peace while planning for war。 It is a terrifying look at history and a warning of how easily one person can topple a government。I knew that Neville Chamberlain was fooled by Hitler。 I had not known that Stalin was also duped， signing a non-aggression pact with Germany while Hitler built up his war machine to attack the Soviet Union。Famous people appear in the story。 There is Arvid’s cousin Dietrich Bonhoeffer， the Lutheran pastor famous for his involvement in the plot to kill Hitler。 He was arrested because of his relationship to Arvid。 Mildred was friends with the American Ambassador to Berlin’s daughter， Martha Dodd。 Martha fell in love with men easily， even Nazis and Soviet spies。 She had a relationship with Thomas Wolfe when he returned to Germany to spend the profits from his books that had sold so well there。 The Nazi forbade money to leave the country！ And， Mildred was a big fan。 Later， Wolfe wrote “I Have a Thing To Tell You，” speaking of the changes he had seen in Germany， writing， “What George began to see was a picture of a great people who had been psychically wounded and were now desperately ill with some dread malady of the soul。 Here was an entire nation， he now realized， that was infested with the contagion of an ever-present fear。”Donner’s book is a stand-out not just for Mildred’s powerful story， but also for the scholarship and research that supports it， and for being a mesmerizing tale that is as emotionally impactful as a novel while making history understandable and relevant。I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley。 My review is fair and unbiased。 。。。more
Audrey
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Thanks to Edelweiss and the Publisher for a digital ARC of this book。 The author brings to life the families involved in the Antifascist cells of Nazi Germany。 The only difficulty with this book is the constantly shifting verb tenses at what felt like random times。 However， I still think it is a highly readable and very informative look at a time in history。 The Western powers don't come off as complete "heroes" and the German-Russian espionage activities are described more completely than in an Thanks to Edelweiss and the Publisher for a digital ARC of this book。 The author brings to life the families involved in the Antifascist cells of Nazi Germany。 The only difficulty with this book is the constantly shifting verb tenses at what felt like random times。 However， I still think it is a highly readable and very informative look at a time in history。 The Western powers don't come off as complete "heroes" and the German-Russian espionage activities are described more completely than in any other book I've read on this topic。 。。。more
M。 Abrash
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I read an advance copy of Rebecca Donner's riveting new book， All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days， and I predict that it is going to be wildly popular for its accessibility， its drama， and its compelling heroine。 （Heads up， Hollywood！） That said， the impressive Index attests to its historical accuracy， and I believe that All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days should be required reading for any student of WWII History， the German Resistance movement， or Holocaust Studies。Grounding the reader in I read an advance copy of Rebecca Donner's riveting new book， All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days， and I predict that it is going to be wildly popular for its accessibility， its drama， and its compelling heroine。 （Heads up， Hollywood！） That said， the impressive Index attests to its historical accuracy， and I believe that All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days should be required reading for any student of WWII History， the German Resistance movement， or Holocaust Studies。Grounding the reader in those tumultous decades， the author reconstucts the adult years of Mildred Harnack， an American activist in the German Resistance and a figure whom I'd never heard of （but who is， I take it， well-known in Germany）。 Donner based her work not only on eyewitness accounts and historical records， but also on Harnack's personal correspondence and documents exclusive to the author， who is Harnack's grand-niece。 Donner's fluid storytelling style was familiar to me （-I loved her earlier work， Sunset Terrace-）， and ATFTOD doesn't disappoint and may even surpass， if only for the magnitude of its scope and subject。 Donner moved me seamlessly between years and continents， among nations， families， and resistance cells。 Amazingly， the author uses their words， their speeches， their whispered worries to bring these "characters" -- PEOPLE -- to life。 I was gobsmacked by how much drama and suspense Donner created using documented data and facts。 I hope that everyone will read Rebecca Donner's astounding book and that Mildred Harnack will receive the worldwide recognition she deserves。 。。。more
Adrian
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Highly recommended to both sides of the pond and beyond。 I am a Brit who grew up in the epicenter of the British Chain Home defense and played in their ruins。 I thought I knew everything about the resistance to the Nazis， but Donner opened my eyes to a cluster of Berliners who risked their lives to fight Hitler。 The depth， the research and detail went as deep as Hastings or Beevor but was colored with profoundly personal human details。 Donner renders moments so intimate， so moving and tightly fr Highly recommended to both sides of the pond and beyond。 I am a Brit who grew up in the epicenter of the British Chain Home defense and played in their ruins。 I thought I knew everything about the resistance to the Nazis， but Donner opened my eyes to a cluster of Berliners who risked their lives to fight Hitler。 The depth， the research and detail went as deep as Hastings or Beevor but was colored with profoundly personal human details。 Donner renders moments so intimate， so moving and tightly framed， and so pivotal in the wide-screen history of shifting tectonic ideologies of Europe as power swung west to east and back。 A hearty salute to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing me with a digital ARC。 。。。more
Cami Anderson
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I read an advanced copy of this book -- and it blew me away。 ORDER IT NOW！！！ I am a non-fiction， history， social justice enthusiast and this book has elements of all of those genres plus reads like a literary novel meets a spy thriller。 It is painstakingly researched and puts you on the streets where brave leaders， like Mildred， went to extraordinary lengths and risked everything resisting Hitler。 Not only does this book shed new light on such a notable moment in history， it has direct implicati I read an advanced copy of this book -- and it blew me away。 ORDER IT NOW！！！ I am a non-fiction， history， social justice enthusiast and this book has elements of all of those genres plus reads like a literary novel meets a spy thriller。 It is painstakingly researched and puts you on the streets where brave leaders， like Mildred， went to extraordinary lengths and risked everything resisting Hitler。 Not only does this book shed new light on such a notable moment in history， it has direct implications for rejecting the dangerous demagoguery we are experiencing right now。 Thanks to Donner for writing such a beautiful， painful， topical， and inspiring page-turner。 。。。more
Shay Connelly
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