My Grandfather’s Knife: And Other Stories of War and Belongings

A book of everyday objects which unlock the secrets of the past. A knife adorned with a swastika and an eagle’s head… As a young boy, Joseph Pearson was terrified of the weapon hanging from a hook in his grandfather’s basement, a trophy seized from the enemy in battle. When he later inherited the weapon, he unlocked a story far more unsettling than he could ever have imagined. By then a writer and cultural historian living in Berlin, Joseph found himself drawn to other objects from the Nazi era: a pocket diary, a recipe book, a double bass and a cotton pouch. Although the past remains a painful subject in Germany, Joseph embarked on a journey to illuminate their stories before they disappeared from living memory. A historical detective story and an enthralling account of one historian’s search for answers, My Grandfather’s Knife is at once a poignant meditation on memory and a unique addition to our understanding of Nazi Germany. AUTHOR: Dr Joseph Pearson was born in Canada and studied at Middlebury College in Vermont and at the University of Cambridge. He taught at Columbia University and currently lectures at the Barenboim-Said Academy. He is the author of Berlin (Reaktion Press), a portrait of the city in which he now lives and works. 126 illustrations