Das Über Bra, 2002
I wrote this story in 2001 for a fiction writing class at Eugene Lang College. I was worried about how it would be received, as the college is very politically correct and the subject of the story is Hitler's girlfriend, Eva Braun. I wanted to portray Eva an ordinary woman who longed for fame and individuality despite her degrading, dog-like devotion to a man who was no good for anyone. Das UberBra is her invention, a bra covered in pink marabou feathers, which she thinks will make her famous and loved by all women. The story is about many things. It is a satire. It is an experiment in writing through rumors. It is a social commentary. In reading about Eva Braun, every account I found said that she was a bit flaky and spent her time exercising, reading cheap romance novels, or concerning herself with her own appearance, and that she once attempted suicide. The setting of this story is the notorious bunker as though it were inside the mountain of Hitler's Eagle's Nest retreat, which it is not, and as though Eva had attempted suicide there, which she did not. This story is a compression of time, events, places, and personalities. It is more importantly about Eva's insecurities and frustrations at an invention that fails and a boyfriend who constantly cheats on her (not to mention his other horrible deeds she tries not to hear about), and the passive behavior that ultimately leads to her demise. My Eva is not too bright, and she doesn't often understand the insults made about her. Her attitude is both desperate and hopeful, and she always manages to convince herself that her situation is good, no matter how degrading and painful it gets. I use Eva and her situation as an archetype, representing people who stay in bad relationships, rationalizing their behavior and the behavior of their partners to the bitter end. This is why I decided to leave politics entirely out of the story and focus only on Eva's feelings and actions as a woman who has made a bad choice, not as the girlfriend of history's most hated man. The story is in no way pro-Nazi, just for the record. To read the first chapter of the story, click here.