The Pendulum, Julie Lindahl
The Pendulum, Julie Lindahl
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The Pendulum
A Granddaughter’s Search for Her Family’s Forbidden Nazi Past

Author: Julie Lindahl

Narrator: Gabra Zackman

Unabridged: 9 hr

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/15/2018

Synopsis

This powerful memoir traces Brazilian-born American Julie Lindahl’s journey to uncover her grandparents’ role in the Third Reich as she is driven to understand how and why they became members of Hitler’s elite, the SS. Out of the unbearable heart of the story—the unclaimed guilt that devours a family through the generations—emerges an unflinching will to learn the truth. In a remarkable six-year journey through Germany, Poland, Paraguay, and Brazil, Julie uncovers, among many other discoveries, that her grandfather had been a fanatic member of the SS since 1934. During World War II, he was responsible for enslavement and torture, and complicit in murder of the local population on the large estates that he oversaw in occupied Poland, before fleeing to South America to evade a new wave of war-crimes trials. The pendulum used by Julie’s grandmother to divine good from bad and true from false becomes a symbol for the elusiveness of truth and morality, but also for the false securities we cling to when we become unmoored from them. As Julie delves deeper into the abyss of her family’s secret, discovering history anew, one precarious step at a time, the compassion of strangers is a growing force that transforms her world and the way that she sees her family—and herself.

About Julie Lindahl

Julie Lindahl is an author and educator living in Sweden. She writes and speaks widely about her experiences, is a contributor to WBUR Cognoscenti, and has been featured on National Public Radio. Julie holds a BA from Wellesley College, an MPhil in International Relations from Oxford University and was a Fulbright Scholar in Frankfurt, Germany. Raised in ten countries on three continents, she has worked globally as a consultant in the developing world. She is the founder of Stories for Society, a nonprofit organization for renewing the art of story-making among youth for social transformation. WBUR 9.0 won the 2018 Edward R. Murrow award for excellence in innovation and the Associated Press Media Editor’s Award for excellence and innovation in storytelling based on a program series featuring her story.

About Gabra Zackman

Gabra Zackman is an actress, author, and narrator who has won several AudioFile Earphones Awards. She was educated at Northwestern University. A classically trained actress, she has appeared in theaters all over the country as well as on film and television.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jean on January 14, 2019

This is a fascinating story about a historian’s search for the truth about her family history. I highly recommend this book. If you have ever done any genealogy research on your family, you will be enthralled with this book. Lindahl was born in Brazil where her grandparents had emigrated after World......more

Goodreads review by Annie on August 04, 2018

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader. The Pendulum is a personally recounted story of a historian's search for the truth about her family's history during and after WWII. She was born in Brazil where her grandparents had emigrated after the war. The family history was forbidden or glos......more

Goodreads review by Keeloca on October 20, 2019

While the subject is engaging enough, and while it's easy to understand its importance to author, this book leaves me feeling rather 'meh'. It reads more like endless introspection than anything else. Which might well be the point - but it's not for me.......more

Goodreads review by Jessica on September 06, 2020

Det är både intressant och skrämmande att läsa (lyssna) om Julie Lindahls 6-åriga sökande efter sin familjs förflutna. Att hennes morfar - Opa - var en hård och bitvis brutal man kom inte som någon överraskning för henne, men hon mådde väldigt dåligt när hon träffade människor som utsatts för hans m......more

Goodreads review by Deirdre on January 07, 2020

I enjoyed this read. It gives the audience another perspective on the lineage of SS soldiers and how one such family looked for it. Wanting to know more about what their family had done in the past. Understand maybe why they searched for the answers that their family members attempted to keep buried......more

Quotes

“Indispensable for anyone who wants to see the extent and complexity of the lasting influence of war, not only in its own time but also for future generations.” Eskil Franck, Uppsala University

“A book of immense courage, written with elegance and great power.” Philippe Sands, author of East West Street

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