Beyond Berlin

Stories —big and small— that start in Berlin and look eastward, where Europe´s heart beats and its future unfolds. A blog, a podcast and a journey connecting past and present of our continent, as seen from Berlin and looking beyond, toward the East. Subscribe on beyondberlin.substack.com

Today's episode:

Sofi Oksanen's "Same River, Twice" and Victoria Amelina's "Looking at Women Looking at War." Two books, one message, three words: woman, war, justice.

What does justice look like in the middle of a war? And what does it mean to be a woman facing that war—documenting it, resisting it, surviving it?

In this episode, we follow the voices of two writers—Finnish writer and activist Sofi Oksanen and Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina, killed by Russians in 2023—who were also PEN friends, and whose books speak to one another across borders.

From Soviet-occupied Estonia to Putin's Ukraine, from raped ancestors to defiant librarians, from family trauma to battlefield diaries—this is a journey through a war that doesn't only happen on the frontline, but inside homes, language, and memory.

We talk about sexual violence, imperial lies, and the myth of the Great Patriotic War. We talk about the silence of one woman, and the thousands who found their voices and took action. And we talk about justice—not only as a deserved verdict in international courtrooms, which we might wait a long time to see, but as an act of storytelling. Which is happening now.

Women. War. Justice.

📖 Books references

Same River, Twice: Putin's War on Women by Sofi Oksanen. Published in Finland in 2023. Translated into several languages between 2024 and 2025.

Looking at Women Looking at War: A War and Justice Diary by Victoria Amelina, published worldwide in 2025.

🎧 This episode and others are available on Substack at beyondberlin.substack.com, where Valentina Giannella shares stories in English, German, and Italian about Europe's past and present. Writing from Berlin, she turns her gaze eastward to where Europe's heart beats and its future takes shape.

📌 Subscribe for free at beyondberlin.substack.com to get all upcoming episodes and explore our other content—compelling stories from past and present, stunning photographs, plus diverse voices and book recommendations.

Music Credits

🎶 Intro/Outro music & podcast theme: “Happy Klezmer” by zec53

🎶 Musical Theme: 230 Days of Winter by Ukrainian musician Serge Pavkin (buy me a coffee)

Beyond Berlin

Stories —big and small— that start in Berlin and look eastward, where Europe´s heart beats and its future unfolds. A blog, a podcast and a journey connecting past and present of our continent, as seen from Berlin and looking beyond, toward the East.

Subscribe on beyondberlin.substack.com

Today's episode:

📖 "Berlin Underground" (”Der Schattenmann”) by Ruth Andreas-Friedrich: Uncle Emil's Silent Resistance in Nazi Berlin

In the heart of Nazi Berlin, a group of courageous citizens led by journalist Ruth Andreas-Friedrich said "NO" to the regime, risking everything to save lives and preserve human dignity. Through Ruth's diary, we discover the story of the "Uncle Emil" group, an underground network that helped Jews, forged documents, and organized acts of sabotage, while the world around them descended into horror. This episode traces their deeds, from chalk marks on walls to the liberation of the city, and reflects on the legacy of those who chose to resist when silence would have been easier.

📖 The book has been published in various languages. In late 2024, it was republished in German as “Der Schattenmann” (link here) and in English as “Berlin Underground” it has been republished several times, though not recently.

🎧 This episode, the complete text with notes and illustrations are published on Substack in the blog beyondberlin.substack.com, where Valentina Giannella chronicles – in English, German, and Italian – Europe of yesterday and today from Berlin, looking eastward, where Europe's heart beats and its future is being defined.

📌 Subscribe for free at beyondberlin.substack.com to receive upcoming episodes and read other posts: stories of yesterday and today, photographs from Berlin and beyond, voices and books.

Music Credits

🎶 Intro/Outro music & theme: “Happy Klezmer” by zec53

🎶 Main theme: "Hevenu shalom aleichem" Royalty-Free

🎶 Altri segments: DELOSound

🎶 SFX from Freesound Community

Beyond Berlin

Stories —big and small— that start in Berlin and look eastward, where Europe´s heart beats and its future unfolds. A blog, a podcast and a journey connecting past and present of our continent, as seen from Berlin and looking beyond, toward the East. Subscribe on beyondberlin.substack.com

Today's episode:

Two on a Jeep: Éric Schwab and Meyer Levin's Journey into the Heart of Darkness

In April-May 1945, photographer Éric Schwab and writer Meyer Levin embarked on a harrowing journey from Paris to Prague through the remnants of Nazi-occupied Europe. Their mission was both professional and deeply personal: Levin aimed to document what remained of Jewish life in Europe, while Schwab searched for his mother, Elsbeth, who had been deported in 1943. Their journey took them into the heart of Nazi Germany's evil, from Ohrdruf to Buchenwald, Dachau, and Theresienstadt.

- From Paris to the Front: Where Éric Schwab and Meyer Levin Join Forces

- What Did People Really Know About the Concentration Camps?

- The Discovery of Ohrdruf: April 4, 1945

- April 11, 1945: Buchenwald: "Comrades, We Are Free!"

- On the Road to the Elbe: Where American and Soviet Troops Met

- From Dachau to Austria: Among the Masses Fleeing East

- Terezín, Theresienstadt: Mission Accomplished

- Epilogue: The Jeep and the Torah

- The Legacy of Éric Schwab and Meyer Levin

Books references

📖 The story of Éric Schwab and Meyer Levin is scattered across books, articles, and memories. The most detailed first-hand account comes from Meyer Levin’s autobiographical book In Search (1950), where he recounts in vivid detail his and Éric Schwab’s journey from Paris to Prague in 1945. For many years, Levin was largely forgotten in Europe.

📖 In 1995, Levin’s son, Mikael Levin, retraced the path his father and Schwab had taken through postwar Europe. He photographed the same locations and created a powerful project titled “War Story”, which brought together images and text in both an exhibition and a book.

📖 More recently, in 2015, French historian Annette Wieviorka used the journey of Levin and Schwab as a narrative thread to recount how Allied troops discovered the Nazi concentration camps. Her book, originally published in French as “1945: La Découverte”, is both thoroughly researched and emotionally engaging. In 2021, it was translated into German under the title “1945: Als die Amerikaner die Lager entdecken”.

This last book has served as the primary source for the podcast and is my highest recommendation.

🎧 This episode and others are available on Substack at beyondberlin.substack.com, where Valentina Giannella shares stories in English, German, and Italian about Europe's past and present. Writing from Berlin, she turns her gaze eastward to where Europe's heart beats and its future takes shape..

📌 Subscribe for free at beyondberlin.substack.com to get all upcoming episodes and explore our other content—compelling stories from past and present, stunning photographs, plus diverse voices and book recommendations.

Music Credits

🎶 Intro/Outro music & theme: “Rise & Fall” (Loudly)

🎶 Music background by 🇺🇦 Serge Pavkin Music

🎶 SFX from Freesound Community