She hates to stay at home and cook for her husband, and she has no interest in contributing to the Nazi Women’s League. She instead asks what the regime can do for HER. It is interesting to view how in a way Irmina does not fully follow the National Socialism concepts that demand individual sacrifices for the good of the society.

She even turns against her friend Gerda, saying to her “I will need to report you”. Irmina herself is being changed in front of our eyes, as she becomes more and more hateful towards the Jews, and refrains from speaking her mind. Irmina marries an enthusiastic architect, who dreams to build grand constructions under the false promises of Hitler’s leadership but ends up fighting as a Nazi soldier. She believes she has lost Howard forever, when letters she had mailed him come back, with a Wrong Address note. She, however, is not able to even eat well with the minimum pay she receives from the Nazi government and is forced to stay in Germany. She misses Howard very much, and cannot tolerate her job and the political atmosphere. Irmina goes back to Germany, in the hope to return to London after saving some money. When asked about the political events in Germany, Irmina defends her country in the face of Londoners and is offended by the critic. Most of the time, however, Irmina, in spite of her determination to become independent, was not able to objectively see Germany for what this country really was. Was she brave? This was one of the few occasions in the book, in which we spot a sparkle in Irmina. One day, at the movies, when people refuse to sit next to Howard, Irmina stands out to help him and preaches to the audience about Racism. The young man, an excellent student who studies law on a scholarship, is standing out like a sore thumb in the all-white crowd of London.

In London, she meets a black guy from Barbados, named Howard Green, and the two fall in love. Far from being rich, she cannot afford to admit to the university, so she studies to become a foreign language secretary. Irmina travels from Germany to London, with a dream in her heart- to become a financially independent woman. The illustrations of Yelin are strong and authentic and add a realistic dimension to the plot. Reading dozens and dozens of books about the Holocaust, I have never had the opportunity to read a book written from the point of view of an ordinary German citizen. IRMINA, by Barbara Yelin, is a graphic novel about the life of one German woman during the Nazi era.

Irmina by Barbara Yelin