Hillers' work was either "ignored or reviled" in Germany in 1959. It was too early to examine German suffering, and some readers were horrified at the pragmatism of German women taking Soviet officers for protection. "Accused of besmirching the honour of German women," Hillers refused to have the book republished in her lifetime.[1]
After Hillers died in 2001, the book was republished in 2003, again anonymously, by Hans Magnus Enzensberger, a noted poet and essayist.[1] The book won wide critical acclaim that year. It was noted for "its dry, laconic tone and lack of self-pity. 'The writer is too reflective, too candid, too worldly for that,' one reviewer said."[1] Harding noted that the author wrote: "I laugh right in the middle of all this awfulness. What should I do? After all, I am alive, everything will pass!"[1]
The memoir was a bestseller for more than 19 weeks in Germany. Since the late 20th century, German writers and historians have explored the people's suffering during World War II. Gunter Grass published Crabwalk, about thousands of fatalities when a refugee ship was sunk by a Russian submarine, and W.G. Sebald published On the Natural History of Destruction, reflecting on the estimated 600,000 civilian deaths due to Allied bombing of German cities.[1]
A Woman in Berlin was published again in English in 2005, with an introduction by Antony Beevor, a prominent British historian who has published on the Battle of Berlin. He has described it as "the most powerful personal account to come out of World War II."[15]
