8. Monika Hertwig Goeth was raised to believe her father was a war hero – but then she saw Schindler’s List
Growing up, Monika Herwig was told that her father had been a good man. She was even told that he was a hero and served with honor during the Second World War. It wasn’t until she was a young woman that Monika learned the truth. Her father had indeed played a key role in the war. But he was no hero. In fact, he was a monster. Her father was Amon Goeth, the Nazi death camp commandant made infamous by the movie Schindler’s List.
Monika was born at the very end of the war. Her mother was Ruth Kadler, Goeth’s mistress. She had been fully aware of what her lover had been responsible for. But still, she maintained that he was no war criminal. Indeed, she even brought her daughter up believing that Goeth had been carrying out important work. If Monika questioned this, she would be severely beaten. But then, in 1983, Ruth agreed to speak with the BBC. Her defense of Goeth crumbled as she was shown evidence of his crimes. She killed herself one day later. From then on, Monika was determined to learn the truth.
When the movie Schindler’s List came out, she claims she was angry, not at Goeth but at the filmmakers. She hated seeing her father depicted as a monster. But still, she visited the camp in Poland and even met relatives of the people killed there. Monika even agreed to take part in a documentary film in which she gave a full and frank account of what it was like living with the ghost of Amon Goeth.
Notably, Monika had a child herself. The girl was the result of a brief affair with a Nigerian man. Monika felt she couldn’t cope and gave the child up for adoption. Some 21 years later, that daughter found out about her mother and her direct link with history. She too penned a book, noting that her own grandfather would have had her killed simply because of the color of her skin.