Gitta Sereny

[altariel]

Diana Athill remembers Gitta Sereny, who died earlier this week aged 91.

Norm Geras writes about Into That Darkness, Sereny's biography of Franz Stangl, former commandant of Treblinka.

Her biography of Albert Speer, Albert Speer: His Battle With Truth was also a masterpiece. She was a brilliant, unflinching, lucid and meticulous writer. We have been lucky to have her.

Comments

[shezan.livejournal.com]

Oh my god, she died? I'd completely missed it. Remember her well, covering the Faurisson trial in Paris - my mother was one of the prosecuting barristers. Her Speer book was brilliant. I'm happy your post reminded me of her.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I only found out via Twitter. Did you meet her personally? What impression did she give?

[shezan.livejournal.com]

Imperious, quick, knowledgeable, rather impressive. She was at the time on the Sunday Times, where I was a very little fish. The Paris bureau chief, the marvellous Antony Terry, who'd been caught during the raid on St Nazaire & spent time in an Offlag before becoming an interrogator at Nuremberg, called her a "grand old girl", but he also had some reservations; they are well-expressed in the review of her book of essays by Gabriel Scoenfeld for the NYT linked in one of the Guardian. (No access to a link, typing this on my phone.)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

That's a very fair review of what is probably her weakest book (if that's the one published as The German Trauma in the UK). And the fairest analysis of her work and the risks inherent in her approach that I've seen. She did as good a job as anyone can in this imperfect world; the reviewer gives her credit for that too. Thanks for directing me to that.

[gair.livejournal.com]

The fact that I can't remember whether I've read Into That Darkness rather suggests that I haven't, doesn't it, given that on at least two occasions gerald had to take the Speer book off me because I had gone white and peculiar but couldn't stop reading...

[altariel.livejournal.com]

It's a terrifying book. I'm pretty sure you'd remember.