From Auschwitz to Hope: A Descendant's Reckoning with Dark History

Eighty years after the end of World War II, descendants of both victims and aggressors are coming together to carry forward a message of peace. This year, the Hope 80 Project — part of the Flame of Hope initiative dedicated to realizing 'humankind's common hope for peace' — has brought together a remarkable group of people with living ties to history.

Among them are Duncan Sandys, the great-grandson of Winston Churchill, Clifton Truman Daniel, grandson of the American president who ordered the atomic bombings of Japan, Magali Brosh, daughter of an Auschwitz survivor, Hidetoshi Tojo, great-grandson of Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, and Jennifer Teege, granddaughter of one of the Holocaust's notorious perpetrators, Amon Goeth.

For Teege, joining Hope 80 is not only a personal challenge but also a chance to give voice to a message forged through her painful journey. She reflected on this experience in a recent conversation with JAPAN Forward.

Discovering a Family Secret

In 2008, Teege's life changed in an instant. While browsing in a Hamburg library, she picked up a book and was stunned to see a photograph of her mother. Her biological grandfather, she realized, was Amon Goeth, the SS commandant of the Płaszow concentration camp near Kraków, notorious for carrying out executions of Jews.

Goeth was later portrayed chillingly by Ralph Fiennes in the film Schindler's List.

Her memoir, My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me, recounts the shock of that discovery. Teege, the daughter of a German mother and Nigerian father, recalls: "Slowly I began to grasp that the Amon Goeth in the film Schindler’s List was not a fictional character, but a person who actually existed in flesh and blood. I am the granddaughter of a mass murderer."

*Mug shot of Amon Goeth on August 29, 1945. (©United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Instytut Pamięci Narodowej)*

The revelation plunged her into depression. Growing up as a Black child in a German orphanage, abandoned by her mother and later adopted at age 7, she had already struggled with questions of belonging.

Learning about Goeth reopened those wounds. "What is family?” she asks in her book. "Is it something we inherit, or something we build?"

Confronting History

Teege eventually set out on a journey to confront her grandfather's crimes. She traveled to the ruins of the Kraków ghetto, to Płaszow, and to the villa where her grandmother once lived in comfort while Jewish prisoners served as slaves under Nazi rule.

"I went to Krakow to get closer to the overwhelming figure of Amon Goeth, to understand why he destroyed my family," she recalled.

*Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp (1940-1945). (©UNESCO/P. Sawicki)*

At first, she could not even admit the truth to others. In Israel, where she had once studied, she avoided telling her Jewish friends who she really was. "Had he been alive when I was born, I believe he would have killed me too," she said.

Over time, however, Teege began to speak publicly about her experiences. Together with co-author and journalist Nikola Sellmair, she wove her personal story with historical research and interviews into a book that is intimate and analytical.

A Message for Japan

Today, Teege channels those lessons into the Hope 80 project. She speaks with gratitude about Ryokyu Endo, the Buddhist monk, musician, and peace activist who founded the project.

"We have joined forces to promote hope and peace in a practical way," she said. "The descendants come from all over the world and from different political and religious backgrounds. Our ultimate goal is to show the world that peace and reconciliation are possible."

*Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome bathed in the light of the setting sun.*
*(©Sankei by Kazuya Kamogawa)*

Asked what message she would like to share with the people of Japan, Teege emphasizes the importance of education and remembrance. "When I tell my family story, I emphasize the need to educate younger generations about the horrors of war and to ensure that the lessons of history endure," she said.

"Coming to terms with one's history is also important for Japan. Japan can be proud of not having participated in any wars since World War II."

Choosing the Future

Teege's memoir closes not with despair, but with a declaration of agency. After speaking with Israeli students about her journey, she reminds readers: "There is no Nazi gene. We can decide for ourselves who and what we want to be."

For Teege, the granddaughter of one of history's most reviled figures, that decision means working to ensure that the past is neither forgotten nor repeated. Through Hope 80, she has found companions who share that resolve — descendants of leaders, survivors, and aggressors alike.

Eighty years on, their collaboration offers proof that even the heaviest burdens of history can be transformed into a shared hope for peace.