Dear Peter, Dear Ulla by Barbara Nickel

Dear Peter, Dear Ulla Reviews

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  Manybooks

  I actually read Barbara Nickel's 2021 middle grade (in my opinion) WWII and National Socialism themed novel Dear Peter, Dear Ulla early this summer, but have not until now gotten around to posting a review (mostly because there is one textual aspect of Dear Peter, Dear Ulla with which my adult reading self was having some issues and thus constantly internally debating with my inner child if my rating for Dear Peter, Dear Ulla should be three or if it should be four stars).
  
  Now basically, with Dear Peter, Dear Ulla Barbara Nickel presents a fictional but historically realistic and generally pretty much accurate and authentic account of both Canadian (in Saskatchewan) and German (in Danzig, in what is now Gdansk, Poland) Mennonites in 1939 and thus just at the beginning of WWII during Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland, with main protagonist one and letter writer Ulla living in Danzig and main protagonist two and letter writer Peter living on a farm in a Mennonite community in Saskatchewan (and with Peter and Ulla being cousins, but knowing each other only from their continuous epistolary correspondence). And of course and sadly, but also not at all surprisingly, what had previously been mostly an easy and entertaining connection between Peter (a talented pianist) and Ulla (who is a gifted artist), this in Dear Peter, Dear Ulla becomes increasingly problematic and fraught with horrible and even majorly unthinkable questions. For with the Nazis occupying Danzig (and Poland) and WWII being declared, are they, are Peter and Ulla, even though they are cousins supposed to consider each other as enemies now that Canada and Germany are at war? What makes a person your enemy? What makes a person your friend? And is violence ever a good solution to conflict? (all important questions generally brilliantly and delightfully textually presented by Barbara Nickel both with the imagined letters between Peter and Ulla and also with the non-letter parts of Dear Peter, Dear Ulla).
  
  And yes, I do with Dear Peter, Dear Ulla really adore and appreciate how Barbara Nickel textually brings early to mid 20th century Mennonite history to life as she presents the daily struggles of two related and connected families who find themselves on opposite sides during the Second World War, and that Nickel poses many rather difficult but necessary questions and scenarios in and throughout Dear Peter, Dear Ulla, such as for example bullying and sibling rivalry, and yes, that even in a supposedly following strict pacifism Canadian Mennonite community, there can be bullies and there can thus be individuals like Peter's neighbour Bruno (who might be from a Mennonite family but has a nasty temperament and if much prone to violence). But furthermore, Dear Peter, Dear Ulla equally has Barbara Nickel address and tackle more complex and difficult issues, such as the Mennonite dictum of pacifism in and of itself and the Mennonite response to Hitler’s invasion of Poland, with Peter's family and also Ulla's family being textually depicted by Nickel in Dear Peter, Dear Ulla as being strictly and totally against the Nazis, but that Ulla's family in Danzig also has Mennonite friends and associates who are trying to ingratiate themselves with the National Socialists and some who even seem to agree with and actively support the Nazis having invaded Poland.
  
  A wonderful and thought-provoking novel that I (even with its WWII thematics) totally loved reading and had trouble putting down has been Dear Peter, Dear Ulla and yes generally also quite warmly recommended (and in particular if readers from about the age of ten or so onwards want to know more about the Mennonites and how WWII and Nazism affected them in both Canada and abroad). However and my general textual enjoyment of Dear Peter, Dear Ulla notwithstanding, I do have one rather major textual problem with regard to Barbara Nickel's storyline in Dear Peter, Dear Ulla (and that this has indeed almost made me decide on only a three star rating, but in the end, only almost and not quite). For while most of the novel, while the majority of Dear Peter, Dear Ulla certainly feels wonderfully historically accurate and that in particular Nickel’s main characters of Peter and Ulla are both totally likeable and generally also convincing, some of in particular Ulla's fictional exploits do seem more than a bit fantastical and as such also somewhat unbelievable. Because while my inner German child definitely and absolutely adores Ulla being described in Dear Peter, Dear Ulla by Barbara Nickel as repeatedly sneaking out of her house (in Danzig) in the middle of the night to actively support and help her Polish friends (who are being attacked and targeted by the Nazis), my older adult German self has to wonder if Barbara Nickel is not trying a bit too hard to render her Ulla character into some kind of anti Nazi heroine (for realistically speaking, MOST Germans, including the Mennonites, in fact did not actively try to fight and rise up against against the Nazis and I definitely would textually feel a bit better and also rather less guilty if Dear Peter, Dear Ulla would show this more overtly, that I would like Dear Peter, Dear Ulla better and find it more realistic if Ulla's family were depicted by Barbara Nickel as being staunchly against the National Socialists but also not as doing all that much to help the Poles and actively confront and specifically go against and fight the Nazis).
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  Gabriele Goldstone

  Set in 1939 between two worlds, rural Saskatchewan and urban Freistadt Danzig (now Gdańsk. Poland). I appreciated the juxtaposition of the two worlds, intersecting via letters. A complicated, subtly nuanced and engaging story, built around the September 1st explosion of the Polish post office. The book will appeal to teen readers and adults interested in the German perspective. Especially poignant because there’s a tragic & true story behind it.
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  Mrs.MakesReadingFun

  Wow- what a powerful and thrilling story. The use of letters back and forth really brought this story to life, and I felt really connected to the characters. The war history within this novel made for a very interesting read, and I can't wait to recommend it to my students.
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  Lorna

  Generally enjoyable read. Thought she did a good job with the letters. Interesting setting of Danzig- a free city caught between Germany and Poland in WWII. Liked the way she portrayed the divided loyalties of immigrants during the war. Wasn't very gripping though. Easy to put down.
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  Samuel

  An interesting pair of stories that felt somewhat artificial and forced. The Ulla saga in Danzig is the stronger of the two. Peter never quite seemed believable to me.