During the war, Géraldine Schwarz's grandparents were neither heroes nor villains - they just followed the current. Afterwards they wanted to forget, to bury it all under the wreckage of the Third Reich. But decades later, delving through the basement of their apartment building, Géraldine discovers that her grandfather Karl profited from the forced 'Aryanisation' of Jewish businesses - and so she is compelled to investigate her ancestors' past. On her mother's side, she delves into the role of her French grandfather, a policeman during the Vichy regime. How guilty were they? Combining generations of family stories with the history of Europe's post-war reckoning, Géraldine asks: how did Germans transform their collective guilt into democratic responsibility? And, given rising populism in Europe today, how can we ensure we learn from history?

"I was gripped by Schwarz's book partly because she writes from a new generational perspective... I was moved by this book... she highlights the consequences of acquiescence in wrongdoing" - Sunday Times

"Out of all the books I read this year-and I read many, stuck at home during 2020's endless quarantine-the one that resonated perhaps the most was Those Who Forget... It made the very convincing case that, until and unless there is a full accounting for what happened with Donald Trump, 2020 is not over and never will be" - New Yorker

"Although she has written a searing book about the past, Schwarz's work is oriented toward the present and the future... Those Who Forget is as readable as it is persuasive. Schwarz embeds her appeal to citizens and nations to do memory work in a gripping detective story centered on her own family's history... [an] invaluable warning" - Washington Post

"[A] riveting exploration of Germany's post-World War II reckoning with guilt and responsibility... with eloquence and passion [Schwarz] demonstrates that we can never be reminded too often to never forget" - Wall Street Journal

"A powerful and unflinching look at Germany during World War II and Europe's postwar reckoning with far-right nationalism... In searing yet engaging prose, Schwarz makes her case for the need for memory work in this highly recommended read for fans of memoirs and World War II history" - Library Journal (starred review)

"[An] astute debut... This timely memoir also serves as a perceptive look at the current rise of far-right nationalism throughout Europe and the U.S." - Publishers Weekly