Sarah Sundin's Blog, page 346

Book Beat – Saving Amelie by Cathy Gohlke

In 1939, Rachel Kramer visits Germany with her professor father for a eugenics conference, where she receives a cryptic message from her childhood friend, Kristine, who is married to SS officer Gerhard Schlick. Kristine begs Rachel to take her little daughter Amelie back to America with her. Amelie is deaf and a “blemish” on Gerhard’s Nazi pedigree, and Kristine fears for Amelie’s life. Rachel can’t believe this, but American journalist Jason Young proves she is dead wrong.

In picturesque Oberammergau, Lea Hartmann mourns her inability to have children with her beloved Friederich but finds purpose in leading the children’s choir for the renowned Passion Play. When Jason leads Rachel and Amelie to Oberammergau, everything Rachel has known about herself and her family is upended. And how can they hide a deaf child in Hitler’s Germany?

Saving Amelie by Cathy Gohlke rivets you from the start. An exciting race of a story, built on the stories of two compelling women, so different in every way, yet more alike than they imagine. The plight of the handicapped in Nazi Germany comes to life in darling Amelie, shedding light on the dangers of the eugenics movement – the danger of any society that rules certain lives have no value. A beautifully written novel you won’t want to miss.

Today in World War II History—April 15, 1940 & 1945

Women and children, former inmates of Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp, after liberation, Germany, 17-18 Apr 1945 (Imperial War Museum)

75 Years Ago—Apr. 15, 1940: Germans appoint a council to run the Norwegian government. Off Narvik, British destroyers Brazen and Fearless sink U-49; documents about the Enigma machine float to the surface and are captured by the British

70 Years Ago—Apr. 15, 1945: In Germany, British liberate Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

Today in World War II History—April 14, 1940 & 1945

Men of US 101st Infantry Regiment running past a burning fuel trailer in square of Kronach, Bayreuth, Germany, 14 Apr 1945 (US National Archives)

75 Years Ago—Apr. 14, 1940: British and French troops land at Namsos near Narvik to assist Norwegians against German invasion.

70 Years Ago—Apr. 14, 1945: US Fifth Army launches final offensive in Italy, toward the Po Valley. US Third Army takes Bayreuth, Germany.

Today in World War II History—April 13, 1940 & 1945

Battleship HMS Warspite and a British destroyer during Second Battle of Narvik, 13 Apr 1940 (Imperial War Museum)

75 Years Ago—Apr. 13, 1940: Second Battle of Narvik (Norway): British Royal Navy sinks eight German destroyers. British troops land in Danish Faroe Islands for occupation duty under agreement with Danish governor.

70 Years Ago—Apr. 13, 1945: Soviets secure Vienna, Austria. US B-29 fire raid on Tokyo burns 13 square miles in arsenal district, damages Imperial Palace.

Soviet troops in US-built M3A1 scout car fighting in Vienna, Austria, Apr 1945

Today in World War II History—April 12, 1940 & 1945

Harry Truman being sworn in as the President of the United States, White House, Washington DC, 12 Apr 1945 (Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum)

75 Years Ago—Apr. 12, 1940: Movie premiere of Rebecca, starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine (Alfred Hitchcock’s first American-made film).

70 Years Ago—Apr. 12, 1945: President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies in Warm Springs, GA of a cerebral hemorrhage. Harry Truman sworn in as president.

Today in World War II History—April 11, 1940 & 1945

Three German Neubaufahrzeug heavy tanks at Oslo, Norway, 19 Apr 1940 (German Federal Archive, Bild 183-L03744)

75 Years Ago—Apr. 11, 1940: In Norway, Germans launch drive from Oslo to link with forces at Trondheim.

70 Years Ago—Apr. 11, 1945: In Germany, the US Third Army liberates Buchenwald concentration camp, and the Ninth Army reaches the Elbe river near Magdeburg, 60 miles from Berlin.

Inhumane conditions at Buchenwald, 16 Apr 1945 (US National Archives)

Today in World War II History—April 10, 1940 & 1945

German Messerschmitt Me 262A at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo)

75 Years Ago—Apr. 10, 1940: Icelandic parliament grants full powers to Icelandic cabinet, effectively declaring independence from German-occupied Denmark.

70 Years Ago—Apr. 10, 1945: US Eighth Air Force sends 1315 bombers to strike German jet bases, which leads to the essential end of jet program; ten bombers fall to jets, the highest loss to jets during the war. In Germany, US Ninth Army takes Hannover, Düren, Gelsenkirchen, Bochum, and Essen.

Today in World War II History—April 9, 1940 & 1945

German Junkers Ju 52 transport aircraft over Denmark, 9 Apr 1940

75 Years Ago—Apr. 9, 1940: Germany invades Denmark and Norway, with the first use of combat paratroops in history. Denmark falls. In Norway, Germans take Oslo, Bergen, and Narvik.

70 Years Ago—Apr. 9, 1945: German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Adm. Wilhelm Canaris, and Hans von Dohnanyi are executed in Flossenburg concentration camp. Soviets take Königsberg, Germany after long siege. British Eighth Army opens its final offensive in Italy near Bologna.

Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Book Beat – A Sparrow in Terezin by Kristy Cambron

Sera James’s wedding day falls to pieces when her new husband is arrested for a sale of a piece of art, a crime he didn’t commit. To clear William’s name, Sera travels to London to meet his estranged father. . .and discovers a strange connection to a Holocaust survivor and the teacher who saved her life at Theresienstadt. . .Terezin.

In 1939, Kaja Makovsky flees Prague, unwillingly leaving her Jewish family behind. In London, her newspaper job introduces her to handsome reporter Liam Marshall, who is also working for British Intelligence. While the Blitz rages around them, Kaja is devastated when she hears reports of concentration camps and worse in her beloved country. Kaja’s conscience compels her to return and save her family, and Liam reluctantly agrees to help her. But things go terribly wrong . . .

A Sparrow in Terezin takes you from the terror of London during the Blitz, to the horror of the concentration camps, to modern-day London and San Francisco. Kristy Cambron paints a touching picture of a woman trying to do the right thing in a time when evil prevailed, and the ripples her actions send into the future. Beautiful writing and heartbreaking imagery make the novel sing, proving Cambron’s acclaimed debut novel, The Butterfly and the Violin, was no fluke. I highly recommend this book.

Today in World War II History—April 8, 1940 & 1945

HMS Glowworm under attack by Admiral Hipper, 8 April 1940.

75 Years Ago—Apr. 8, 1940: British minelayers arrive off Norway and are surprised by German navy preparing to invade Norway. In heavy fighting, the destroyer HMS Glowworm is sunk while ramming German heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper. Gallup poll: 84% of Americans want Allies to win, 2% want German victory, only 23% want US to join war.

70 Years Ago—Apr. 8, 1945: The Royal Air Force makes the final raid in the Allied campaign against the German oil industry.