Summer of My German Soldier

Bette Greene was born in Memphis in 1934 and grew up in nearby Parkin, Arkansas, which is part of the Arkansas Delta in the eastern part of the state. Greene’s hometown is the inspiration for the fictional Jenkinsville, which is located in the same region. The Delta, which runs along the Mississippi River, has been primarily agricultural for over 100 years and is considered part of the Deep South and the Bible Belt.

Decades after publishing Summer of My German Soldier, Greene admitted that the novel was largely autobiographical. Like Patty, she hid an escaped German POW in her family’s garage, and her parents ran a general store. They were also the only Jewish family in town, and this contributed to Greene’s feelings of isolation from her peers.

The book is a classic coming-of-age story. In the beginning, Patty is desperate for attention after being shunned by both her community and her family. She seeks any approval she can find, and when Anton expresses real affection for her, she is unable to accept what he is saying. The figure who helps her realize her own worth is Ruth, the housekeeper. Greene based Ruth’s character on her own family’s housekeeper, who was also named Ruth. In an interview, Greene describes why Ruth made such an impression on her as a child:

The etiology of my hating hate probably has to do with two women whom I loved very much. One was our housekeeper Ruth, who was African-American in a time and place where the Ku Klux Klan rode. In spite of this, Ruth was not a subservient person. For example, she would never have called you, ‘Miz Lynne.’ She would have called you ‘Miss Alvine.’ She protected her dignity at a time when it was neither popular or even safe to do so (Alvine, Lynne. “Understanding Adolescent Homophobia: An Interview with Bette Greene.” ALAN, Winter 1994).

This passage sheds light on the many different forms of prejudice at play in the novel. Patty and her family experience antisemitism during the height of the war. The town’s Black residents face deadly racism. The town also holds prejudice against German POWs, believing them to be Nazis. In this web of discrimination, Greene found the perfect mentor to teach her why it was necessary to stand against injustice.