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The Last Baby In Auschwitz by Anna Stuart

Mar23

The Spider Keeps On Spinning

The Last Baby In Auschwitz by Anna Stuart is a powerful and heartbreaking historical novel that consumed me from the start. It is based in facts.

The reader follows the plight of the Greek Jewish people from freedom to the hell that was Auschwitz. They were always “a heartbeat from death.”

We follow two Jewish female cousins and their fight to survive. It was hope, love and luck that kept them going. “They can’t wash away my heart. They can’t shave off my spirit. The spider keeps on spinning.” The webs of love and friendship were woven in Auschwitz. They had to focus on each other and hope for a better future. They needed to survive in order to tell the world of the horrors.

Even in Auschwitz, the women retained their humanity. “As Naomi sang… she knew that love, not hatred, was the way to truly rouse a rabble, the way to fight oppression.” The women shared what little they had. They did what they did in order to survive, and to help others to survive. “Survival was their only weapon against Nazi oppression.” They realised “guns were strong, but hearts were stronger.”

In the hell that was Auschwitz, it was easy to lose sight of God. “Naomi tried to pray, but it was hard to get through to God these days.” As the months went on, “God was becoming harder and harder to see through all this darkness.” But love was stronger than hate. “She had to… pray that love would win out against the grinding hate.”

There was a powerful quote about the futility of war (from a Nazi Soldier). “I went off to fight thinking it was all about glory and honour, but… it’s just horror and fear and… waste. Waste of money, waste of resources, waste of lives.”

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The War Orphan’s Courage by Jenna Ness

Mar13

The Heart Of Everything

The War Orphan’s Courage by Jenna Ness is a fabulous conclusion to the Orphans Of St Agnes trilogy. Although you could read this as a stand-alone, I recommend reading the books in numerical order as the books follow on in time. This is the story of three orphans during World War II in Paris – Jossette, Lucie and Margot.

In this book, we are approaching the end of the war and all the orphans have found their way back to Paris. They all want to fight with the resistance in order to disrupt the Nazi war machine, and one particularly nasty and cruel officer.

All the female characters are loyal and gutsy. Each one thinks of self-sacrifice for the good of the group. Together they are stronger.

The men of the resistance fight for justice. They support the women in attempting to bring down the evil Nazi officer.

Within war, love still blossoms. We see those who try to fight their feelings. In a previous book, we saw forbidden love – we hear what happened next in this book. The fruits of love bring hope for the next generation.

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The Last Train Home by Marion Kummerow

Mar9

Loving Bonds

The Last Train Home by Marion Kummerow is a powerful historical novel that consumed me from the start.

The action is set in Germany at the start of World War II. This book is all about the disgusting treatment of the Roma people following on from the Nuremburg race laws of 1938. The “gypsy had lost their citizenship and had effectively become a people without civil rights.”

We follow two characters from two different families. One is an orphaned teenage girl, and the other is a father separated from his wife and son by war. Bit by bit their civil liberties are eroded – and still, there are characters who are believing that something better will happen next.

There were some very difficult to read scenes, especially where the Roma were being ‘examined’ by the doctors who were brutal. “The doctors… rose like lions circling their prey.” The people felt vulnerable and exposed.

Eventually the Roma end up in the camps. Every action by the Nazis is designed for maximum cruelty. Newcomers are given a “survival strategy: avoid trouble, don’t stand out, don’t be remembered, and never be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

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The Girl With The List by Shari J Ryan

Mar6

A Promise To Time

The Girl With The List by Shari J Ryan is a powerful historical novel that I read in just one sitting. It is a story of love in the darkest of times.

The tale starts in Poland during World War II, quickly progressing to Auschwitz as we follow the two lead characters, Rosalie, a gentile; Stefan a Jew. Within their small village, no distinctions are made between people – until the Nazis move in, spreading fear and hatred as they commit evil acts against the innocent.

A traumatic event in Rosalie’s childhood, saw he becoming a competent midwife by the age of sixteen. Her services find her ending up in the household of an officer serving in Auschwitz. It is just a small step to her becoming an enforced list maker in the camp.

It is here, against all the odds that Rosalie and Stefan find each other. They both cling to love and have hope to survive. “You know you can’t escape. We must survive.” Their wars are similar but different. Both face traumatic times.

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