She Writes Press, 2020 978-1-64742-003-1 pbk 978-1-64742-004-8 ebk
Robinson’s award winning memoir tells the story of how Gabrielle Robinson found diaries her grandfather had kept while serving as doctor in Berlin 1945—only to discover that her beloved Api had been a Nazi. Moving and provocative, Api’s Berlin Diaries offers a first hand and personal perspective on the far reaching aftershocks of the Third Reich and the author’s own inconvenient past.
"...a must-read for anyone interested in the German experience during WWII and the legacy of collective guilt." Ariana Neumann, author of When Time Stopped
“a riveting account of the journey of discovery she made in order to come to terms with a much-loved grandfather whom she discovered long after his death to have been a card-carrying member of the Nazi Party.” Giles MacDonogh, British historian, author of After the Reich
“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
Nautilus Silver in Memoir
Eric Hoffer Finalist in Memoir
Montaigne Medal Finalist
Bio
Peter Ringenberg Photography 2019
Robinson’s interest in the historical context of our lives is rooted in her own experience. Born in Berlin in 1942, her family fled the city in 1945, the beginning of a string of migrations. After a PhD from the University of London, Robinson taught at universities in the US and abroad until her retirement. She has published eight books and dozens of articles on literature, history, and popular culture. Contact her at https://www.gabriellerobinson.com/contact.
RECENT BOOKS
Api’s Berlin Diaries. My Quest to understand My Grandfather’s Nazi Past. She Writes Press, 2020.
Better Homes of South Bend : An American Story of Courage. History Press, Charleston, SC 2015.
TV, RADIO, Podcasts, Presentations
Presentation at Southwest Michigan Writers’ Conference 2020
40 min episode on WNYC United States of Anxiety:
Better Homes chosen for One Bar/One Book by the St. Joseph County Bar Foundation
Golden State MC Book Review Podcast with Sarah Meckler, 4.17, 2021
Robinson has won a number of awards for her writing and community engagement, including Sagamore of the Wabash (Indiana’s highest honor), South Bend Community Hall of Fame, Keys to the City of South Bend, Honorary Citizen, Arzberg, Germany
Robinson has given readings across the Midwest and Canada in libraries, bookstores, universities, galleries, synagogues, civic organizations, and book clubs.
Gabrielle Robinson https://www.gabriellerobinson.com/