Questions About The Nine: The True Story of a Band of Women Who Survived the Worst of Nazi Germany

by Gwen Strauss (Goodreads Author)

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Answered Questions (3)

Is there graphic description of torture?

Gwen Strauss I tried to be careful because I don't like a kind of prurient writing -- gratuitous descriptions-- but the subject is a violent subject. I do discuss …moreI tried to be careful because I don't like a kind of prurient writing -- gratuitous descriptions-- but the subject is a violent subject. I do discuss La supplice de la baignoire, which was waterboarding-- a common torture the Gestapo used and I describe an incident my aunt told me that happened to her in Ravensbruck. There are discussions of rape and how women were treated.(less)

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Does anyone have book club questions for The Nine by Gwen Strauss?

Gwen Strauss I can send you book club questions I developed with my editor.
You ask some good questions. I think it is important to write and tell these stories car…moreI can send you book club questions I developed with my editor.
You ask some good questions. I think it is important to write and tell these stories carefully without glorifying violence. Not speaking about them would be worse. The most difficult part of my research was when I was reading about what happened to newborns and their mothers. I often had to put the work down and go for long walks. Some of what I learned I decided not to write about because I did not want to inflict that on the reader. There was a collective will immediately after the war to forget about it, push the memories away and "get on with life." I think families felt they were helping their daughters/sisters/wives but telling them not to dwell in the past. I understand this impulse, even if I don't agree with it. It was really when their children grew old enough to begin asking questions, in the 60s, that many began to speak.(less)

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Are these the ladies whose stories are also part of The Train in Winter?

Gwen Strauss No that is a different group who were transported to Auschwitz, I believe.

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Unanswered Questions (1)

Are there anymore questions that I could use in my book club please?

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