My Mother was a Nazi: Chronicles of a Multicultural Upbringing

By Carine Mansilla

The idea of writing this book occurred to me when, one day, it suddenly dawned on me: “wait a minute, my mother was a Nazi!” I had to write!

This is the story of an unlikely marriage. Unlikely because little, at that time in history, could have facilitated the union of a Black French soldier and a young woman who was a former member of the Hitler Youth. This is the story of an incredible journey in time and space. This journey took my mother from Nazi Germany all the way to Africa in the middle of the twentieth century. It is the story of a man, my father, who left his native Africa, went on war for the colonist, then married a woman from the country his army had fought and vanquished, and who then returned to live in Africa with her. It is a story of resilience, of love, and of many compromises.

It was already unimaginable for a former Hitler Youth member to fall in love with a Black soldier in times of war. It was even more unlikely for her to leave her country and family to become a wife and mother in Africa. It was as improbable for my father, a former French soldier, to marry a German woman and stay married to her for the rest of his life. Because the turn of my parents’ lives was so improbable, at least at such a time, their story must be told.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: May 4, 2022
• ISBN: 9781435797604