
My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me
A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $24.47
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Robin Miles
About this listen
The internationally best-selling memoir hailed as "authentically shocking" (Library Journal) and "an important document - proof that history never ends" (Profil).
When Jennifer Teege, a German-Nigerian woman, happens to pluck a library book from the shelf, she has no idea that her life will be irrevocably altered. Recognizing photos of her mother and grandmother in the book, she discovers a horrifying fact: Her grandfather was Amon Goeth, the vicious Nazi commandant chillingly depicted by Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List - a man known and reviled the world over.
Although raised in an orphanage and eventually adopted, Teege had some contact with her biological mother and grandmother as a child. Yet neither revealed that Teege's grandfather was the Nazi "butcher of Plaszów", executed for crimes against humanity in 1946. The more Teege reads about Amon Goeth, the more certain she becomes: If her grandfather met her - a black woman - he would have killed her.
Teege's discovery sends her, at age 38, into a severe depression - and on a quest to unearth and fully comprehend her family's haunted history. Her research takes her to Krakow - to the sites of the Jewish ghetto her grandfather "cleared" in 1943 and the Plaszów concentration camp he then commanded - and back to Israel, where she herself once attended college, learned fluent Hebrew, and formed lasting friendships. Teege struggles to reconnect with her estranged mother, Monika, and to accept that her beloved grandmother once lived in luxury as Amon Goeth's mistress at Plaszów.
Teege's story is cowritten by award-winning journalist Nikola Sellmair, who also contributes a second, interwoven narrative that draws on original interviews with Teege's family and friends and adds historical context. Ultimately Teege's resolute search for the truth leads her, step by step, to the possibility of her own liberation.
©2013, 2015 Rowohlt Verlag GmbH, Reinbek bei Hamburg. © 2013, 2015 by Jennifer Teege and Nikola Sellmair. Translation © 2015 by Carolin Sommer (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The It Girl
- By: Ruth Ware
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 17 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
April Clarke-Cliveden was the first person Hannah Jones met at Oxford. Vivacious, bright, occasionally vicious, and the ultimate It girl, she quickly pulled Hannah into her dazzling orbit. Together, they developed a group of devoted and inseparable friends—Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily—during their first term. By the end of the year, April was dead.
-
-
Way too long and way too whiney - needed editing
- By Lynn on 07-14-22
By: Ruth Ware
-
Enemies in Love
- A German POW, a Black Nurse, and an Unlikely Romance
- By: Alexis Clark
- Narrated by: Allyson Johnson
- Length: 5 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a love story like no other: Elinor Powell was an African-American nurse in the US military during World War II; Frederick Albert was a soldier in Hitler’s army, captured by the Allies and shipped to a prisoner-of-war camp in the Arizona desert. Like most other black nurses, Eleanor pulled a second-class assignment, in a dusty, sun-baked - and segregated - Western town. Brought together by unlikely circumstances and racist assumptions, Elinor and Frederick should have been bitter enemies; but instead, at the height of World War II, they fell in love.
-
-
A Unique Previously Untold Story
- By Avid listener LK on 09-17-18
By: Alexis Clark
-
The Samurai's Garden
- A Novel
- By: Gail Tsukiyama
- Narrated by: David Shih
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The daughter of a Chinese mother and a Japanese father, Gail Tsukiyama uses the Japanese invasion of China during the late 1930s as a somber backdrop for her unusual story about a 20-year-old Chinese painter named Stephen who is sent to his family's summer home in a Japanese coastal village to recover from a bout with tuberculosis. Here he is cared for by Matsu, a reticent housekeeper and a master gardener. Over the course of a remarkable year, Stephen learns Matsu's secret and gains not only physical strength, but also profound spiritual insight.
-
-
A Novel Painted with a Master's Brush
- By Bay Area Califa on 06-25-18
By: Gail Tsukiyama
-
The Rent Collector
- By: Camron Wright
- Narrated by: Diane Dabczynski
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Survival for Ki Lim and Sang Ly is a daily battle at Stung Mean Chey, the largest municipal waste dump in all of Cambodia. They make their living scavenging recyclables from the trash. Life would be hard enough without the worry for their chronically ill child, Nisay, and the added expense of medicines that are not working. Just when things seem worst, Sang Ly learns a secret about the ill-tempered rent collector who comes demanding money - a secret that sets in motion a tide that will change the life of everyone it sweeps past.
-
-
Good story but has some issues
- By BR on 02-23-16
By: Camron Wright
-
Always Remember Your Name
- A True Story of Family and Survival in Auschwitz
- By: Andra Bucci, Tatiana Bucci
- Narrated by: Gabrielle De Cuir
- Length: 4 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On March 28, 1944, six-year-old Tati and her four-year-old sister, Andra, were roused from their sleep and arrested. Along with their mother, Mira, their aunt, and cousin Sergio, they were deported to Auschwitz. Over 230,000 children were deported to the camp, where Josef Mengele, the Angel of Death, performed deadly experiments on them. Only a few dozen children survived, Tati and Andra among them.
-
-
Important read!
- By Holly Thomas on 02-24-22
By: Andra Bucci, and others
-
The Kite Runner
- By: Khaled Hosseini
- Narrated by: Khaled Hosseini
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why we think it’s a great listen: Never before has an author’s narration of his fiction been so important to fully grasping the book’s impact and global implications. Taking us from Afghanistan in the final days of its monarchy to the present, The Kite Runner is the unforgettable story of the friendship between two boys growing up in Kabul. Their intertwined lives, and their fates, reflect the eventual tragedy of the world around them.
-
-
A Worhty Read
- By P. C..S. on 08-17-03
By: Khaled Hosseini
-
The It Girl
- By: Ruth Ware
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 17 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
April Clarke-Cliveden was the first person Hannah Jones met at Oxford. Vivacious, bright, occasionally vicious, and the ultimate It girl, she quickly pulled Hannah into her dazzling orbit. Together, they developed a group of devoted and inseparable friends—Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily—during their first term. By the end of the year, April was dead.
-
-
Way too long and way too whiney - needed editing
- By Lynn on 07-14-22
By: Ruth Ware
-
Enemies in Love
- A German POW, a Black Nurse, and an Unlikely Romance
- By: Alexis Clark
- Narrated by: Allyson Johnson
- Length: 5 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a love story like no other: Elinor Powell was an African-American nurse in the US military during World War II; Frederick Albert was a soldier in Hitler’s army, captured by the Allies and shipped to a prisoner-of-war camp in the Arizona desert. Like most other black nurses, Eleanor pulled a second-class assignment, in a dusty, sun-baked - and segregated - Western town. Brought together by unlikely circumstances and racist assumptions, Elinor and Frederick should have been bitter enemies; but instead, at the height of World War II, they fell in love.
-
-
A Unique Previously Untold Story
- By Avid listener LK on 09-17-18
By: Alexis Clark
-
The Samurai's Garden
- A Novel
- By: Gail Tsukiyama
- Narrated by: David Shih
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The daughter of a Chinese mother and a Japanese father, Gail Tsukiyama uses the Japanese invasion of China during the late 1930s as a somber backdrop for her unusual story about a 20-year-old Chinese painter named Stephen who is sent to his family's summer home in a Japanese coastal village to recover from a bout with tuberculosis. Here he is cared for by Matsu, a reticent housekeeper and a master gardener. Over the course of a remarkable year, Stephen learns Matsu's secret and gains not only physical strength, but also profound spiritual insight.
-
-
A Novel Painted with a Master's Brush
- By Bay Area Califa on 06-25-18
By: Gail Tsukiyama
-
The Rent Collector
- By: Camron Wright
- Narrated by: Diane Dabczynski
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Survival for Ki Lim and Sang Ly is a daily battle at Stung Mean Chey, the largest municipal waste dump in all of Cambodia. They make their living scavenging recyclables from the trash. Life would be hard enough without the worry for their chronically ill child, Nisay, and the added expense of medicines that are not working. Just when things seem worst, Sang Ly learns a secret about the ill-tempered rent collector who comes demanding money - a secret that sets in motion a tide that will change the life of everyone it sweeps past.
-
-
Good story but has some issues
- By BR on 02-23-16
By: Camron Wright
-
Always Remember Your Name
- A True Story of Family and Survival in Auschwitz
- By: Andra Bucci, Tatiana Bucci
- Narrated by: Gabrielle De Cuir
- Length: 4 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On March 28, 1944, six-year-old Tati and her four-year-old sister, Andra, were roused from their sleep and arrested. Along with their mother, Mira, their aunt, and cousin Sergio, they were deported to Auschwitz. Over 230,000 children were deported to the camp, where Josef Mengele, the Angel of Death, performed deadly experiments on them. Only a few dozen children survived, Tati and Andra among them.
-
-
Important read!
- By Holly Thomas on 02-24-22
By: Andra Bucci, and others
-
The Kite Runner
- By: Khaled Hosseini
- Narrated by: Khaled Hosseini
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why we think it’s a great listen: Never before has an author’s narration of his fiction been so important to fully grasping the book’s impact and global implications. Taking us from Afghanistan in the final days of its monarchy to the present, The Kite Runner is the unforgettable story of the friendship between two boys growing up in Kabul. Their intertwined lives, and their fates, reflect the eventual tragedy of the world around them.
-
-
A Worhty Read
- By P. C..S. on 08-17-03
By: Khaled Hosseini
-
Walk Through Fire
- A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Triumph
- By: Sheila Johnson
- Narrated by: Sheila Johnson
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Filled with sharply drawn, emotionally powerful senses, Walk Through Fire traces the hardships Sheila faced in her marriage and her professional life. Despite her skills as a violinist and music teacher, as well as her obvious entrepreneurial talent, she had to fight to overcome self-doubt and fears of failure. Sheila vividly details her struggles, including battling institutional racism, losing a child, suffering emotional abuse in her thirty-three-year marriage, and plunging into a deep depression with her divorce. And yet, out of that pain came renewed purpose and meaning.
-
-
I am The Salamander
- By Dee Burton on 09-27-23
By: Sheila Johnson
-
Unmarriageable
- A Novel
- By: Soniah Kamal
- Narrated by: Soniah Kamal
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this one-of-a-kind retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in modern-day Pakistan, Alys Binat has sworn never to marry - until an encounter with one Mr. Darsee at a wedding makes her reconsider.
-
-
Could be entertaining if not for unlikable heroine
- By Web_mistress on 02-06-19
By: Soniah Kamal
-
Secret Daughter
- A Mixed-Race Daughter and the Mother Who Gave Her Away
- By: June Cross
- Narrated by: LaQuita James
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
June Cross was born in 1954 to Norma Booth, a glamorous, aspiring White actress, and James "Stump" Cross, a well-known Black comedian. Sent by her mother to be raised by Black friends when she was four years old and could no longer pass as White, June was plunged into the pain and confusion of a family divided by race. Secret Daughter tells her story of survival. It traces June's astonishing discoveries about her mother and about her own fierce determination to thrive.
-
-
So much wanted this . . .
- By JPALJ on 10-25-22
By: June Cross
-
East West Street
- On the Origins of "Genocide" and "Crimes Against Humanity"
- By: Philippe Sands
- Narrated by: David Rintoul, Philippe Sands
- Length: 14 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When human rights lawyer Philippe Sands received an invitation to deliver a lecture in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, he began to uncover a series of extraordinary historical coincidences. It set him on a quest that would take him halfway around the world in an exploration of the origins of international law and the pursuit of his own secret family history, beginning and ending with the last day of the Nuremberg Trials.
-
-
Outstanding!
- By lori on 05-07-18
By: Philippe Sands
-
Jerusalem
- The Biography
- By: Simon Sebag Montefiore
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 25 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jerusalem is the universal city, the capital of two peoples, the shrine of three faiths; it is the prize of empires, the site of Judgement Day and the battlefield of today’s clash of civilizations. From King David to Barack Obama, from the birth of Judaism, Christianity and Islam to the Israel-Palestine conflict, this is the epic history of three thousand years of faith, slaughter, fanaticism and coexistence. This is how Jerusalem became Jerusalem, and the only city that exists twice - in heaven and on earth.
-
-
In-depth and gripping history of 3,000 years
- By A reader on 12-16-11
-
The Book of Harlan
- By: Bernice McFadden
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Book of Harlan opens with the courtship of Harlan's parents and his 1917 birth in Macon, Georgia. After his prominent minister grandfather dies, Harlan and his parents move to Harlem, where he eventually becomes a professional musician. When Harlan and his best friend, trumpeter Lizard Robbins, are invited to perform at a popular cabaret in the Parisian enclave of Montmartre - affectionately referred to as "the Harlem of Paris" by black American musicians - Harlan jumps at the opportunity, convincing Lizard to join him.
-
-
An insightful account of an eventful period
- By Ezinwanyi on 07-26-16
By: Bernice McFadden
-
The Takeaway Men
- A Novel
- By: Meryl Ain
- Narrated by: Senn Annis
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With the cloud of the Holocaust still looming over them, twin sisters Bronka and Johanna Lubinski and their parents arrive in the US from a Displaced Persons Camp. In the years after World War II, they experience the difficulties of adjusting to American culture as well as the burgeoning fear of the Cold War. Years later, the discovery of a former Nazi hiding in their community brings the Holocaust out of the shadows. As the girls get older, they start to wonder about their parents’ pasts, and they begin to demand answers.
By: Meryl Ain
-
Educated
- A Memoir
- By: Tara Westover
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Her family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education, and no one to intervene when one of Tara’s older brothers became violent. When another brother got himself into college, Tara decided to try a new kind of life. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge University.
-
-
The Other Side of Idaho's Mountains
- By Darwin8u on 03-28-18
By: Tara Westover
-
People Love Dead Jews
- Reports from a Haunted Present
- By: Dara Horn
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Renowned and beloved as a prizewinning novelist, Dara Horn has also been publishing penetrating essays since she was a teenager. Often asked by major publications to write on subjects related to Jewish culture - and increasingly in response to a recent wave of deadly anti-Semitic attacks - Horn was troubled to realize what all of these assignments had in common: She was being asked to write about dead Jews, never about living ones.
-
-
Wrong Narrator for this Book
- By MYK on 01-04-22
By: Dara Horn
-
Jews in the Garden
- A Holocaust Survivor, the Fate of His Family, and the Secret History of Poland in World War II
- By: Judy Rakowsky
- Narrated by: Judy Rakowsky
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1944: Heavy footfalls thud on the road on a rainy May night. A band of gunmen scour a hilltop farm, acting on rumors that it harbors a Jewish family. For 18 months, the Rozeneks have been hiding safely, but their luck is about to run out. Only one from the family of six will live to see the sunrise. Sixteen-year-old Hena Rozenek shelters in the woods until morning . . . and then she runs.
-
-
AMAZING journey
- By Melissa Klipfel on 07-11-24
By: Judy Rakowsky
-
The Postcard
- By: Anne Berest, Tina Kover - translator
- Narrated by: Barrie Kealoha
- Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
January, 2003. Together with the usual holiday cards, an anonymous postcard is delivered to the Berest family home. On the front, a photo of the Opéra Garnier in Paris. On the back, the names of Anne Berest’s maternal great-grandparents, Ephraïm and Emma, and their children, Noémie and Jacques—all killed at Auschwitz. Fifteen years after the postcard is delivered, Anne, the heroine of this novel, is moved to discover who sent it and why.
-
-
The author’s words deserve a better narrator
- By TK on 05-22-23
By: Anne Berest, and others
-
Go Set a Watchman
- A Novel
- By: Harper Lee
- Narrated by: Reese Witherspoon
- Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An historic literary event: the publication of a newly discovered novel, the earliest known work from Harper Lee, the beloved, best-selling author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning classic To Kill a Mockingbird. Originally written in the mid-1950s, Go Set a Watchman was the novel Harper Lee first submitted to her publishers before To Kill a Mockingbird. Assumed to have been lost, the manuscript was discovered in late 2014.
-
-
To Kill A Mockingbird vs Go Set A Watchman
- By Sara on 07-15-15
By: Harper Lee
What listeners say about My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- DPDutch
- 05-07-22
A very moving personal story with historical value
Being a white, of Polish background, and father of 2 adopted multiracial children, the author's story definitely hit home. My family and I also had the opportunity to visit Auschwitz as my father had supposedly spent time there as a Polish prisoner. The author does a great job of trying to convey the feelings that go with the discovery of her biological heritage.
The performance was not quite up to par, as the narrator was clearly struggling very much with the pronouncing of any kind of foreign names and words, which really did not go over well. Secondly, the transitions from the narration of the author to the narration of others were not very clear.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Janice Swanson
- 03-26-24
Raw From the Heart
I appreciated the views she shared from all those she loved, as well as the raw emotion she showed.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- VictoriaSuzette
- 07-04-15
Very moving
Very moving, thought-provoking story ... the person reading the book is somewhat distracting from the story, however.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- gerry
- 10-09-20
Listen to the end
In the beginning it was hard to listen to, as I wondered why She would take on so much guilt, after all She is not her grandfather. It seemed that the sins of the father had been laid at the feet of the granddaughter.
I am glad I listened all the way through.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 11-06-20
Past
My interest in this was peaked by having relatives who had dead in the camps and also that I had met a former German POW who was interned in England
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 05-17-20
Amazing life story! Worth the listen.
I enjoyed this book and wished I had found it earlier when it was first released. Definitely worth the listen I'll be watching Schindler's list again.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- e. lopez
- 07-18-20
A moving story from a different type of victim.
I truly enjoyed the story overall. It was difficult at first since it hit home on many aspects of not knowing who you really are or where you truly come from. I too just found out who my father is, but unable to piece together all my questions since he is not around to help me through it. There's this odd feeling of being glad to have some information, but at the same time disjointed because you're still living a half truth. The book though was gently written with much warmth and respect.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- all our stories
- 11-23-20
A powerful story
My thanks for this book that opened my understanding to a different awareness of the history and scars left by the Holocaust. The authors included generational affects, both physical, spiritual and psychological of victims on both sides, both direct and indirect. I found the information to be well researched and included more in-depth explanations of the affects. I appreciated this book so much that I sent a copy to a friend and have been encouraging others to read it. My thanks to Jennifer Teege and her co-authors for your courage in sharing you experiences and your strength.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Diane
- 05-15-23
Remarkable!
GREAT. FASCINATING. . Led me to do a little research and learned more about the holocaust.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Emmanuel
- 10-26-15
Enlightening
Grateful to read such a heartfelt and compelling story. My heart aches for all who suffered and continue to endure. Shalom.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful