Gundi feels unmoored without access to current news. Do you find her curiosity unusual? What's your relationship to news reports?

Gundi feels unmoored without access to current news. Do you find her curiosity unusual? What's your relationship to news reports? Do you prefer staying up on current events or avoiding them, and has this changed over time?

Gundi is concerned about what is happening to Leo and his family. She also wants to know what's happening with the war. The "home" she's in is isolated and everything is controlled. Knowing something of the outside world, even if she couldn't participate, would be somewhat liberating. I'm interested in the news and and try to keep abreast of what's happening. It's unfortunate that the news is now all political propaganda instead of the straight facts.

I don’t think it was unusual for Gundi to want to know what was happening in the outside world, since she had played a small part in the resistance. She felt she was already a part of Leo’s family and worried about what was happening to them. I read my news feed every day and try to find sources that are reporting the facts, not giving me opinions, but that is hard today.

I definitely identified with that concern of hers to be so disconnected. Before arriving there, she was very involved via the resistance move, as well as having some insight into the Jewish plight through her boyfriends family. To not have that access to real daily info was a real source of anxiety for her.

I understand Gundi's feelings. She was concerned for Leo and his family and was desperate for any information.
I used to watch the news daily. Now I limit my social media viewing to once per day, and I'll watch the news two/three times per week. There is so much propaganda, drama, hatred, etc in this world. I find myself much happier, grounded, and peaceful when I limit myself.

I fully understand her want of news of the outside world. She was concerned for her family and Leo's family. She only heard what was mentioned in her surroundings. It was her only way to hold onto some type of hope.

I understand Gundi's need to know what was happening in the world. Her awareness of the tensions and perils of the outside world were new to her since she began a relationship with Leo.

I grew up in a post-war era of peace and prosperity and was unaware that the tensions in far away countries could affect me personally. I guess my rude awakening was the Cuban Missile Crisis in the '60s. After that I became active in political protests and have followed news closely ever since.

I understand Gundi's need to know what is happening in the world, as I share it. Even when I decide I'm turning off the news to save my sanity, I find truly stepping away very difficult and find myself at least reading headlines.

It was normal for her to be concerned with what was going on in the outside world. She was concerned for Leo and his family and knew that they were in danger.

I used to pay a lot of attention to the world news. I have forced myself to quit listening and watching the news programs in the last few years. I guess I am keeping my head in the sand but its much better for my mental health.

This happens every day in more countries than I care to think of. The entire purpose of the press (hard news- not op Ed’s)is to inform the public of local and world events. This is freedom of the press. It is when dictators control communication that gives them the power to instill their false narratives. My local newspaper’s mantra is “Democracy dies in darkness”. It can’t be said any better.

Gundi had a healthy concern about what was happening in her country. She worried about what could happen to her Jewish family connection and ultimately about the future of her non-Aryan baby.
At this time in our countries history, and more than any other time in my life, I'm constantly seeking as much truthful news as I can find.

I was somewhat surprised by this. I guess I felt that in a war-torn country pre-Internet that news sources would be pretty limited, and that young women in particular wouldn't go out of their way to stay informed. Granted, Gundi was unusually aware because of her liaison with Leo, but still.

I go back and forth on the news. There are many times in my adult life when I've been obsessed with tracking current events, but I've definitely had to step away from it from time-to-time over the past few years. I've found the divisiveness too upsetting. When I start losing sleep over the news, I know it's time to put away the iPad!

Even though the news is filled with terrible events and stories of war, murder, rape, looting, gang violence, and corrupt politicians, I feel the need to stay current with the news. I feel untethered to the world without my daily "fix" of news. I would really appreciate it if there weren't 12 pages of sporting news clipped into my local paper on a daily basis. But that is another issue! Gundi is, of course, looking for news of Leo's family or perhaps their neighborhood. On a broader scale, she wants news about the work of the resistance movement and the news about the war in general. She is normal in her desire for news from the "outside" world.

I think many people feel this way when isolated from current news. Sometimes I disconnect totally when I go on vacation but I feel I am probably missing important things. Usually there is no good news but we still want to feel aware of what is going on. When there is a war, we feel more of a need to be current. I do feel, however, that sometimes even in a democracy our news is being filtered and isn't always accurate. A few years ago, I went to a meeting and when I read the description of the meeting the next day in a local paper, I couldn't believe it was the same meeting I went to. The newspaper focused on one person at the meeting who wasn't representative of the other attendees and sensationalized her just to entice people to read the article. That isn't journalism!

Gundi was trying to find out what might be happening with her own family members as well as with Leo and his family.

I can relate. My undergrad degree is in journalism and I've always been a bit of a news junkie. That only changes slightly during election cycles when I feel compelled to watch the major debates and the national conventions for both major political parties, but I try to tune out the political advertisements/commercials/etc. I get a bit of political fatigue which makes me seek out more international news than usual during those times (like right now...).

I do not find her curiosity unusual. There is a war going on and I think it would be more unusual to not want to know what is going on.

I totally understand Gundi's frustration of not knowing what happened to Leo and her inability to connect with her mother. Had I been in her situation I would have been less controlled than she was. Regarding my connection to the news of today, I feel annoyed with the concept of "Breaking News" especially when it is a continuation of how Trump is controlling the GOP, how the Ukrainians are fighting back against Russian invasion. and how the current candidates for public office will fix everything in the government. I ignore Cable news and watch the BBT instead. I read foreign newspapers online (In English) to get a clearer picture of what is really happening. My local station now has news from 4:00 P.M. to 6:30 which repeats the same news constantly

I am an avid news listener, reader and watcher. I totally understand Gundi's need to know what's going on. In Germany, during that era, the news was censored and controlled in an astounding success. Many people suffered and died because they listened to forbidden radios. In order to survive, one must have knowledge of what is happening around you. Gundi was an intelligent young woman who understood the peril she was in. So, yes, she really had to know what was going on in her country and the rest of the world for that matter, as well as her personal life. How frightening it must have been to be out of touch with everything she knew and everyone she loved.

I can see why she would want to have access to the news to see what was happening given what was going on in her world at the time, although whatever she heard/read would probably have been biased. Personally, I limit my news intake because it’s just overwhelming and you never know what to believe.

I can't imagine not having access to the news. That being said, I don't read as much of it as I would like to, but there is a security of sorts knowing that I can. What does scare me is the number of people I know who only access one side of any story. The unwillingness to acknowledge that there might be multiple perspectives on any topic is, in my opinion, what can turn "news" into "propaganda."