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WORK TITLE: Love in a Time of Hate
WORK NOTES: trans by John D. Roth
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE:
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NATIONALITY: German
http://store.mennomedia.org/cw_contributorinfo.aspx?ContribID=36495&Name=Hanna+Schott
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born 1959, in Augsburg, Germany; children: two.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Lecturer, translator, editor, journalist, and writer. Worked previously as a bookseller.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Hanna Schott has spent her professional life mainly as a writer. In her home country of Germany, she is primarily known for her contributions to journalism as well as the numerous books she has written in her native German.
One of her books, Love in a Time of Hate: The Story of Magda and André Trocmé and the Village That Said No to the Nazis, was translated into English in 2017. It is a historical biography that centers on André and Magda, a married couple who lived during the Nazi regime and devoted this period of their lives to sheltering and protecting multitudes of Jewish people. Love in a Time of Hate starts at the beginning of André and Magda’s lives. Schott describes the couple’s early years, before they met each other, and progresses to their adult lives.
Magda and André first meet while in the United States, and they come to settle in the remote Le Chambon-sur-Lignon. One of the strongest foundations of André and Magda’s relationship and lives were their Christian faith, which, incidentally, led them to Le Chambon. Magda began working as a teacher in the village’s school, which she and André created. André found work in the village as a pastor. However, the chaos of World War II fell swiftly toward the family’s doorstep, when countless Jewish people began traveling to Le Chambon for safety. This influx of people was the result of German forces taking over Paris, in turn threatening the immediate safety of France’s Jewish residents and forcing them out. Le Chambon happened to be part of the country’s “Free Zone,” where French Jewish people would be the safest.
However, the situation would soon take a turn for the worse. The German officials in charge of overseeing France began pursuing Jewish residents and demanding that they be turned in immediately by anyone who knew them. Influenced by their strong faith, André and Magda could not stand to let this pass, and they chose to disobey this command. Both of them believed in peace and could not stand to participate in what was assured to be senseless bloodshed. With the help of the rest of Le Chambon’s residents, Magda and André began housing Jewish escapees within their home and village. The couple not only helped any Jewish escapees that came to their doorstep to flee to safety, but they also tried to give them an intermediate home in the meantime. Their children were able to learn in Magda’s school, and Magda and André were both fully committed to protecting each guest with their lives. Peppered throughout Love in a Time of Hate are letters penned by André and Magda during various points in their lives, as well as photographs of them and their family.
A Publishers Weekly contributor remarked: “The book’s account of European lives in the early 20th century will appeal to readers.” On the Book Reviews from an Avid Reader blog, Joan Nienhuis commented: “I recommend this book to those who appreciate stories of sacrifice and heroism.” A Nook of Books blogger wrote: “The inspiring story of Magda and André Trocmé is a story many might be unfamiliar with. It’s one that needs to be heard because their story makes a statement without needing to point out it was a statement.” Yonatan ben Rubin, a writer on the Medium website, stated: “This book is for those who enjoy learning about history, especially history during WWII.” He also said: “The author uses a narrative that keeps the reader intrigued and interested as the story unfolds.” On the Robin’s Nest blog, Robin Prater wrote: “The Trocmés are a family that is a living legacy.” Prater added: “It was interesting to learn about their lives before they met and married.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly, April 10, 2017, review of Love in a Time of Hate: The Story of Magda and André Trocmé and the Village That Said No to the Nazis, p. 70.
ONLINE
Book Reviews from an Avid Reader, http://bookwomanjoan.blogspot.com/ (July 11, 2017), Joan Nienhuis, review of Love in a Time of Hate.
Goethe Institute Website, http://www.goethe.de/ (January 17, 2018), author profile.
Hanna Schott Website, http://www.hanna-schott.de (January 17, 2018).
Nook of Books, https://anookofbooks.blogspot.com/ (July 11, 2017), review of Love in a Time of Hate.
Medium, https://medium.com/ (July 17, 2017), Yonatan ben Rubin, review of Love in a Time of Hate.
Robin’s Nest, http://robinsnest66.blogspot.com/ (July 14, 2017), Robin Prater, review of Love in a Time of Hate.
Hanna Schott is a German journalist, writer, and editor who has studied literature, theology, musicology, and language.
In German
HANNA SCHOTT
Born in 1959 in Augsburg
Studies in French-speaking Switzerland, specializing in Greek and Hebrew
Training as bookseller in Wuppertal; concurrently, concludes studies in ancient languages at the Church College Wuppertal
Studies in Marburg, Freiburg and Heidelberg (inter alia Literature, Theology, Music Science and Languages)
Master’s degree in Music Science
Works as lecturer: first as a freelancer in Haan, close to Düsseldorf and then appointed at Neukirchen-Vluyn
since 2004 Independent author, editor, and translator
2010 The children’s book “Tuso” is included in the recommended reading list of the Evangelical Book Prize
Lives in Haan/Rheinland
Last update: 06/2011
RELATED LINKS
Hanna Schott: offizielle Webseite der Autorin deutsch
dtv-Verlag: Hanna Schott deutsch
Love in a Time of Hate: The Story of Magda and Andre Trocme and the Village That Said No to the Nazis
264.15 (Apr. 10, 2017): p70.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Love in a Time of Hate: The Story of Magda and Andre Trocme and the Village That Said No to the Nazis
Hanna Schott, trans. from the German by John D. Roth. Herald, $16.99 trade paper (270p)
ISBN 978-1-5138-0125-4
Schott, a German journalist, covers the story of Le Chambon, a French village that harbored Jews during World War II, through a biography of village pastor Andre Trocme and teacher and social worker Magda Trocme. The story of Le Chambon is inspiring, but this work is uneven in its treatment of the subjects' lives: more than half the book is dedicated to their childhoods and early marriage years, often providing great detail and psychological insights, while the years of World War II and their actions in sheltering refugee Jews are treated hastily and with vague generalities rather than insight into their specific motivations. Additionally, Magda, a fascinating personality, is allowed to fade into the background as a generic wifely figure rather than being treated as an active hero in her own right. However, the book's account of European lives in the early 20th century will appeal to readers, as will the additional details of the Trocmes' religious faith and the haven they helped build at Le Chambon, which deserves to be widely recognized. (June)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Love in a Time of Hate: The Story of Magda and Andre Trocme and the Village That Said No to the Nazis." Publishers Weekly, 10 Apr. 2017, p. 70. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A490319325/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=b66a5a09. Accessed 9 Dec. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A490319325
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Love in a Time of Hate by Hanna Schott
Would we allow our lives to be interrupted and used by God, regardless of the personal cost? Would we protect others from an evil government planning their elimination?
That is the story of the Trocmes. Schott has done a good job of taking readers through the childhoods of Magda and Andre, their meeting, their marriage, and their service to others in the midst of danger.
The greatest impact of the story is when the Trocmes are in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, a mountain village in the south-central region of France. Andre was a pacifist. It had been hard for him to find a pastoral position. In June 1940, German troops marched into Paris and an armistice signed. Le Chambon was more than one hundred miles south of Vichy and in the Free Zone. Refugees began pouring into the village. But then the order came. Beginning in October, all Jews were to be handed over to German officials. Andre and the villagers put their own lives in danger to protect Jews.
The story of Magda and Andre is inspiring. They are a good example of valuing the lives of others above their own as well as remaining true to the command of Christ to love our neighbor. Theirs is also a thought provoking story. What would we do, given the same kinds of circumstances?
I recommend this book to those who appreciate stories of sacrifice and heroism. You'll learn some about the Christian practice of the people of the area. Some were descendants of the Huguenots while others were followers of John Nelson Darby. You will be inspired and be challenged to think about the millions of refugees in the world today. Would we open our doors to strangers who asked for our protection as the Trocmes did?
My rating: 4/5 stars.
Hanna Schott is a German journalist, writer and editor who has studied literature, theology, musicology, and language.
Herald Press, 270 pages.
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Book Review: Hanna Schott's Love in a Time of Hate
The inspiring story of Magda and Andre Trocme is a story many might be unfamiliar with. It's one that needs to be heard because their story makes a statement without needing to point out it was a statement. The Trocme's did have personal accounts they had written about their lives, and Magda would later submit those unfinished memoirs to Swarthmore College in Philadephia. German Journalist Hanna Schott draws from those written accounts, other written historical work about Le Chambon during WWII, and firsthand accounts of survivors still living in Le Chambon to write about the couple who hid Jewish refugees in their village during WWII. Because it is a story adapted by Schott there are added questions, feelings, and focuses making it more so what she personally took from their story than told through their eyes.
Summary: Love in a Time of Hate tells the gripping tale of Magda and AndrE TrocmE, the couple that transformed a small town in the mountains of southern France into a place of safety during the Holocaust. At great risk to their own lives, the TrocmEs led efforts in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon to hide more than three thousand Jewish children and adults who were fleeing the Nazis. In this astonishing story of courage, romance, and resistance, learn what prompted AndrE and Magda to risk everything for the sake of strangers who showed up at their door. Building on the story told in Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed, German journalist Hanna Schott portrays a vivid story of resisting evil and sheltering refugees with striking resonance for today.
I assume since it is stated in the summary the story provides "striking resonance for today" means the message to take away is how similar we're treating current refugees in 2017 to how the Jewish were treated during WWII. We see the example of Magda and Andre who despite the risk of their safety was determined to act on what they thought was their religious duties and provide shelter and safety to those who had nowhere else to go. They didn't compromise their own religious convictions in the wake of many challenges despite the tough questions they had to ask including, "when is deception okay?" The task of weaving the story in with a message to continue in a modern day context is mostly in the introduction of the book.
Vicki Reddy, founder of We Welcome Refugees and executive producer of The JUSTICE Conference, writes of how she connected to Love In a Time of Hate to the current refugee crisis, "I keep asking: Where is the church right now? Where are the followers of Jesus? What are doing in response to the greatest humantarian crisis of our time?"
There are obvious accounts of what happened to directly show all the dynamics to stir the audience in what they see today too in the book. While I find it compelling, inspiring, and a scary tale of what we see occurring in society today, I also hesitate to ever use someone else's story to make a point they can't directly speak on now. We can assume with almost 100% certainty Andrea and Magda would have responded the same to the refugee crisis of now, but we don't need to make that statement because we can see it in their actions.
As easily as we can interpret Magda and Andre's story of one about love and peace found through their belief in Christ, someone can just as easily argue their positions for war and nationalism drawing from the Bible. I would know since I've had the arguments defending refugees against those citing the Bible as reasons we shouldn't. How do you respond to people of the same religion who oppose how you identify with Christ when they are spending hours in churches trying to understand and sympathize with the atrocities of King David, a man even described as being after God's own heart, in the Old Testament as a powerful military leader who made some "mistakes" in war? I've even had people cite Jesus himself as a reason you bear arms by taking just taking a chunk of the context in Luke 22. Then Exodus 22 reads a lot like the "Stand Your Ground" laws in states like Florida or Oklahoma. It wasn't for lack of reasons based in the Bible that people scoffed at Andre choosing to be a pacifist in the reformed church during his era, though I find it an admirable quality about Andre.
The story of Andre and Magda themselves is inspiring as it is, and I would have loved had the book dedicated more time to the Trocme's time in Le Chambon. Almost 150 pages discuss Andre and Magda's childhood, their meeting in the U.S., and they eventual landing in Le Chambon, but only a little over 100 pages discuss their life hiding Jewish refugees in the village. I never could get the whole grasp of their sacrifice because it was all so brief, especially the part where Daniel Trocme was taken by Nazis with the children he housed to a concentration camp, where he eventually died. Plus, Andre and Magda weren't only inspired and in the company of Christians, which showed a unity far beyond what could be captured in the book. Daniel was nonreligious and made that sacrifice, the Trocme's still let children at the school they founded practice their Jewish rituals, and the Trocme's were admirers of Gandhi. They had even planned a honeymoon trip they couldn't make to see Gandhi in India. I would have loved to have seen more of the letters from Andre and Magda to read more of their philosophy and what drew in particular to the Gospels?
Andre and Magda do have a timeless, heroic story. Even if we eventually mature as people regarding the current refugee crisis, and rise up to the do the right thing we will be using this story again and again because war will inevitably continue to cast citizens to the side. Stories like Andre and Magda's don't need my added commentary to know what the right thing would have been to do then and now. They already show it through their actions. We hopefully will always find it in ourselves to do the right thing when helping others and put our own fears aside to do so, especially when we've never known fear like people pushed out of their homes and across the sea only knowing that floating into the unknown is better than the home you've always known.
This book was provided by Herald Press in exchange for a review.
Yonatan ben Rubin יוֹנָתFollow
ב״ה Author of the Scripted Genius Network. Husband, father, theologian, and a bearded geeky guy.
Jul 17
“Love in a Time of Hate” by Hanna Schott
Love in a Time of Hate: The Story of Magda and Andre Trocme and the Village That Said No to the Nazis by Hanna Schott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
For this book, I sought my wife’s thoughts on the book, to best review the emotional connection this tale can tell. This is her review.
This book features a story filled with the real depiction of the two kinds of people there are in this world. There are people who live according to hate, which in this story are the Nazis, and there are people who live according to love, which are the two main characters of this story: Andre and Magda Trocme.
The true story of the Trocme’s is inspiring and depicts the best parts of humanity. This beauty of this story is found in the lives of Andre and Magda Trocme who were ordinary people who believed in justice and love. Against all odds, they choice to stand for justice even if it cost them their lives and the lives of those whom they held the dearest. This truly is a story of triumphing despite the odds and amidst great tragedy. Holding to their beliefs and not yielding to the views of society, Andre and Magda risk everything to do the right thing and by doing so help thousands of Jews hide from the Nazis. This is a powerful story of great courage and even greater love.
This book is for those who enjoy learning about history, especially history during WWII. The author uses a narrative that keeps the reader intrigued and interested as the story unfolds. The author writes in a way that is easy to read and easy to follow the story along its journey. This story is told in such a way, using imagery and detail, that makes the story come to live. As a bonus, there are pictures throughout the book of Andre and Magda’s live that help paint a better picture of what they were like as people. Their story is nothing short of remarkable and there is much to be learned from the life they lived.
Disclosure: I have received a reviewer copy and/or payment in exchange for an honest review of the product mentioned in this post. This product is reviewed based on content and quality in consideration of the intended audience. Review or recommendation of this product does not solicit endorsement from Reviews by J or the reviewer.
JULY 14, 2017
Love in a Time of Hate (The Story of Magda and Andre Trocme and the Village That Said No to the Nazis) by Hanna Schott
I absorbed this biography within a few days. The first portion of the book is about the younger lives of Magda and Andre, their families and how life was for them. The Trocme's are a family that is a living legacy. It was interesting to learn about their lives before they met and married.
The second portion of the biography was most interesting to me. It just seemed to get better as I turned the pages. I enjoyed learning of these wondrous people of faith who were willing to go beyond self and serve their God in the way of His leadership. They didn't follow what others were doing. They weren't so much political. But what they lived was a transparent life not separate from their faith. Their faith was a the very foundation of every choice they made. They reached into the hearts of so many just by loving them. But what I love is that they loved until it hurt. That's something that isn't easy to do. We love with our mouths, but when we truly put love into action it becomes something with possibility and hope that is far beyond our own strength and power. This is what I can take away from the Trocme family.
I would have enjoyed reading more of their own actual words. Those are the parts of this biography that truly stick with me. The author asks questions of her own and we see much of her own thoughts to what those answers would/could be. Also, here's where it gets a bit sticky for me. Vickie Reddy, Founder of We Welcome Refugees, wrote the forward. It was a lovely piece, but it was very personal of her own ideals. I related her words to what the Trocme's would have done with the refugees of today. That isn't something she could possibly answer. How the Trocme family lived was in the leadership of God for them at the moment. Today's issues like in the U.S. with the incoming of refugees or building a wall is something very different and an issue that is unlike what the Trocme family faced. I could have possibly taken her words differently than she intended, but the wording she uses is well, pretty forward. (No pun intended).
I too enjoyed the photos of this family. They are rich in how they give way to the love of these people. They lived their lives not according to how a world reacted or what a world expected. They lived in a way that touching just one life was worth it all. They opened their lives to those hiding from death.
I loved turning to the last pages and seeing their legacy alive in our world today. Many organizations started by them are still in progress today. That is just amazing!! The author also shares what happened to those in this biography, like family and friends. Their children went on to live in other areas, some in the U.S. today. Each of them continue to live a legacy started so long ago that blossomed in the hearts of those willing to not just speak about mercy, but chose to live it out as they reached into the heart of man.
This book was a gift from Herald Press for sharing my review with you.
Hanna Schott is a journalist, writer, and editor living in Haan, Germany. She studied French, Italian, music, and theology at universities in Marburg, Freiburg, and Heidelberg. Schott has worked as a bookseller and is the author of many books. She is a member of Evangelishe Kirchengemeinde St. Reinoldi Rupelrath.