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La culla del mio nemico
È il 1941 in Germania e al Lebensborn di Steinhöring è appena giunta, scortata da due soldati tedeschi, una ragazza olandese.
«Sorgente di vita» significa in tedesco Lebensborn. E il progetto che porta questo nome così poetico è un’idea di Himmler: creare sul suolo tedesco e nei territori occupati cliniche e istituti in cui far nascere e allevare la progenie delle coppie «razzialmente pure», i figli dell’«autentica razza ariana».
«Un bambino per il Führer» è il motto dei Lebensbornen e campeggia anche a Steinhöring accanto a ritratti di Himmler e a imponenti immagini di Hitler che accetta mazzi di fiori da bimbe vestite di bianco, leva il braccio a salutare un mare di truppe, arringa una folla festante di tedeschi.
A Steinhöring aspettavano la ragazza: Anneke Van den Berg di Schiedam, ridente cittadina a quattro chilometri da Rotterdam, capelli biondi, occhi chiari, pelle bianca e la grazia tipica di una fanciulla incinta, come tante nei territori occupati, di un soldato della Grande Germania.
L’hanno fatta entrare e l’hanno portata al cospetto di una donna di mezza età seduta dietro a una scrivania enorme. La donna, viso duro e capelli grigi tirati come cavi d’acciaio, ha preso il dossier di Anneke Van den Berg e in quel momento la ragazza ha girato la testa, distogliendo il viso. Solo per un istante, però, un piccolissimo, fugace istante.
Come potrebbe sapere, infatti, la donna che lei non è Anneke Van der Berg ma sua cugina Cyrla, figlia della sorella della madre di Anneke e di un ebreo polacco? Come potrebbe sospettare che dietro quei lineamenti così «ariani» batte il cuore impaurito di una ragazza che ha scoperto all’improvviso che le scuole, i parchi, le spiagge, tutti i luoghi a lei familiari sono diventati Joden Verboden? Una ragazza, poi, sicura di avere in grembo non il figlio di un soldato tedesco alto e biondo, ma di Isaak, giovane ebreo dai capelli neri e gli occhi seri e premurosi? Una ragazza, infine, che ha preso il posto della cugina, incinta di un soldato tedesco e tragicamente scomparsa, per rifugiarsi nel posto più sicuro del mondo, nel Lebensborn di Steinhöring, la «culla del nemico»?
Storia intensa e coinvolgente, come sa esserlo soltanto una narrazione ambientata in uno dei periodi più drammatici del Novecento, La culla del mio nemico affronta, con tono autentico e originale e un’impeccabile scrittura, i temi eterni, universali e, insieme, intensamente personali dell’amore, della perdita e della fragilità umana.
«Sorgente di vita» significa in tedesco Lebensborn. E il progetto che porta questo nome così poetico è un’idea di Himmler: creare sul suolo tedesco e nei territori occupati cliniche e istituti in cui far nascere e allevare la progenie delle coppie «razzialmente pure», i figli dell’«autentica razza ariana».
«Un bambino per il Führer» è il motto dei Lebensbornen e campeggia anche a Steinhöring accanto a ritratti di Himmler e a imponenti immagini di Hitler che accetta mazzi di fiori da bimbe vestite di bianco, leva il braccio a salutare un mare di truppe, arringa una folla festante di tedeschi.
A Steinhöring aspettavano la ragazza: Anneke Van den Berg di Schiedam, ridente cittadina a quattro chilometri da Rotterdam, capelli biondi, occhi chiari, pelle bianca e la grazia tipica di una fanciulla incinta, come tante nei territori occupati, di un soldato della Grande Germania.
L’hanno fatta entrare e l’hanno portata al cospetto di una donna di mezza età seduta dietro a una scrivania enorme. La donna, viso duro e capelli grigi tirati come cavi d’acciaio, ha preso il dossier di Anneke Van den Berg e in quel momento la ragazza ha girato la testa, distogliendo il viso. Solo per un istante, però, un piccolissimo, fugace istante.
Come potrebbe sapere, infatti, la donna che lei non è Anneke Van der Berg ma sua cugina Cyrla, figlia della sorella della madre di Anneke e di un ebreo polacco? Come potrebbe sospettare che dietro quei lineamenti così «ariani» batte il cuore impaurito di una ragazza che ha scoperto all’improvviso che le scuole, i parchi, le spiagge, tutti i luoghi a lei familiari sono diventati Joden Verboden? Una ragazza, poi, sicura di avere in grembo non il figlio di un soldato tedesco alto e biondo, ma di Isaak, giovane ebreo dai capelli neri e gli occhi seri e premurosi? Una ragazza, infine, che ha preso il posto della cugina, incinta di un soldato tedesco e tragicamente scomparsa, per rifugiarsi nel posto più sicuro del mondo, nel Lebensborn di Steinhöring, la «culla del nemico»?
Storia intensa e coinvolgente, come sa esserlo soltanto una narrazione ambientata in uno dei periodi più drammatici del Novecento, La culla del mio nemico affronta, con tono autentico e originale e un’impeccabile scrittura, i temi eterni, universali e, insieme, intensamente personali dell’amore, della perdita e della fragilità umana.
408 pages, Paperback
First published January 14, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 856 reviews
October 3, 2017
You know when you read a book and you love it so much, you’re sad that it’s over? Well.. that’s how I feel about this one. I loved it SO much!
“Prisoners. From the camp there. Hundreds. They all looked the same, with their grey skin, their shaved skulls, their grey uniforms. I couldn’t tell one from the other; I didn’t even know if they were men or women. They were skeletons.”
Anneke and Cyrla were cousins who looked very similar in every way except for one thing, Cyrla was half Jewish and hiding. Anneke was carrying a German soldier’s child and was expected to go to Lebensborn, but her sudden death left Cyrla with no choice but to take her place. In the enemy’s lair, how was Cyrla going to deceive the doctors and the other pregnant women? How was she going to escape before her true identity was revealed?
‘Lebensborn’ which translates to ‘wellspring of life’ or ‘foundation of life’ was one of the most horrific and unknown Nazi projects. As Germany’s birth-rate had dropped after the First World War, Heinrich Himmler founded the Lebensborn project in 1935 in order to increase the German population. SS and Wehrmacht officers were encouraged to have children with Aryan women who sometimes were as young as fifteen. They had to be ‘racially pure’ - blond hair and blue eyes - by passing a ‘racial purity’ test. Himmler believed that these Lebensborn children were going to grow up and lead a Nazi-Aryan nation. The purpose of this project was to offer Aryan women the opportunity to give birth to a child privately, in safety and comfort. However the babies and children at the Lebensborn homes were often neglected. Mothers who gave birth at these homes were unable to find their children after the war as all records were intentionally hidden or destroyed. This project affected both women and children across Europe, and yet it remains to be one of the least-known aspects of World War 2 history.
When Cyrla was at Lebensborn, I felt like I was there with her, and it felt like a prison. “One day became another, indistinguishable from all the others, unmarked even by walks out-of-doors. Lunch after breakfast, night after day, sun after snow.”
My Enemy’s Cradle was a poignant story about loneliness and abandonment, about the atrocities against Jews. But it was also about love and hope and endurance, at a time when the world was at war with itself. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, and I’m very grateful to have learnt about this particular part of history.
“Prisoners. From the camp there. Hundreds. They all looked the same, with their grey skin, their shaved skulls, their grey uniforms. I couldn’t tell one from the other; I didn’t even know if they were men or women. They were skeletons.”
Anneke and Cyrla were cousins who looked very similar in every way except for one thing, Cyrla was half Jewish and hiding. Anneke was carrying a German soldier’s child and was expected to go to Lebensborn, but her sudden death left Cyrla with no choice but to take her place. In the enemy’s lair, how was Cyrla going to deceive the doctors and the other pregnant women? How was she going to escape before her true identity was revealed?
‘Lebensborn’ which translates to ‘wellspring of life’ or ‘foundation of life’ was one of the most horrific and unknown Nazi projects. As Germany’s birth-rate had dropped after the First World War, Heinrich Himmler founded the Lebensborn project in 1935 in order to increase the German population. SS and Wehrmacht officers were encouraged to have children with Aryan women who sometimes were as young as fifteen. They had to be ‘racially pure’ - blond hair and blue eyes - by passing a ‘racial purity’ test. Himmler believed that these Lebensborn children were going to grow up and lead a Nazi-Aryan nation. The purpose of this project was to offer Aryan women the opportunity to give birth to a child privately, in safety and comfort. However the babies and children at the Lebensborn homes were often neglected. Mothers who gave birth at these homes were unable to find their children after the war as all records were intentionally hidden or destroyed. This project affected both women and children across Europe, and yet it remains to be one of the least-known aspects of World War 2 history.
When Cyrla was at Lebensborn, I felt like I was there with her, and it felt like a prison. “One day became another, indistinguishable from all the others, unmarked even by walks out-of-doors. Lunch after breakfast, night after day, sun after snow.”
My Enemy’s Cradle was a poignant story about loneliness and abandonment, about the atrocities against Jews. But it was also about love and hope and endurance, at a time when the world was at war with itself. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, and I’m very grateful to have learnt about this particular part of history.
April 18, 2021
Because I enjoy the "historical part" of historical fiction, and had become acquainted with, and interested in the Lebensborn program in "The Baker's Daughter" by Sarah McCoy, I was hoping to learn more about it.
I realize that not much is actually known about the program, which is shrouded in secrecy, but I didn't feel that the author had learned anything about it beyond the premise of what these homes were, and that the book should really be "labeled" as a "romance" and not "historic fiction.”
If you want to learn more about the Lebensborn program-“The Baker’s Daughter” though FICTION was excellent!
I realize that not much is actually known about the program, which is shrouded in secrecy, but I didn't feel that the author had learned anything about it beyond the premise of what these homes were, and that the book should really be "labeled" as a "romance" and not "historic fiction.”
If you want to learn more about the Lebensborn program-“The Baker’s Daughter” though FICTION was excellent!
July 27, 2009
I really wanted to like this book because I am a fan of historical fiction, particularly that dealing with Jews and WWII. Unfortunately, I found the plot predictable, the characters flat, and the tone of the book to be too light for such a serious issue as a half Jewish woman living as a fraud in a Lebensborn (home for women pregnant with children of Nazi fathering to add to the "Master Race.") Although I do not know enough about Lebensborn, I feel as though the author paints too glossy of a picture of life during war-ravaged times, especially for a Jew in a Nazi-run maternity oasis. The love story that evolved out of the plot was cliche and intensely contrived, leaving me feeling as though the book was written for someone who wants to see the world through rose-colored glasses rather than the harsh reality of what actually happened. I'm not saying that I'm looking for a pessimistic story; rather, I expect the author to deliver one that is more realistic and allows the horrors of what these women must have gone through to penetrate its readers' hearts. I was severely disappointed when I finished this book.
February 20, 2008
I picked up Sara Young’s My Enemy’s Cradle after reading a review in USA Today a few weeks ago. The book centers around the German Lebensborn, and I was intrigued.
Despite inundating myself with “Third Reich” literature over the last several years, I’d never before heard of the Lebensborn, homes for women impregnated (both willingly and unwillingly) by German soldiers.
Fair-haired Cyrla, the book’s protagonist, has a Dutch mother and a Polish-Jewish father. For five years, she lives with her mother’s family in the Netherlands and hides her Jewish ancestry. When the family receives threats for harboring a Jew, Cyrla knows she must flee.
Cyrla (Young doesn’t explain the name's pronunciation—Curla—until well into the novel; unpronounceable names is one of my pet peeves) assumes her cousin’s identity and takes refuge in a Lebensborn.
The premise of this book is intriguing, and I have a strong desire to read more about the Lebensborn. Rather than a historical narrative, though, the book reads like a predictable romance novel. As a romance novel, I enjoyed Cradle. I was interested in Cyrla and her romantic entanglements. I wanted a happy ending and even shed a few tears.
As a Holocaust narrative, though, the book leaves much to be desired. Young’s tale romanticizes the time period. Although it refers to the horrors and atrocities committed during WWII and the Holocaust, the book glosses over these passages.
Instead, Cradle concentrates more on Cyrla’s love life and less on the truly perilous situation she and her family members find themselves in.
Despite inundating myself with “Third Reich” literature over the last several years, I’d never before heard of the Lebensborn, homes for women impregnated (both willingly and unwillingly) by German soldiers.
Fair-haired Cyrla, the book’s protagonist, has a Dutch mother and a Polish-Jewish father. For five years, she lives with her mother’s family in the Netherlands and hides her Jewish ancestry. When the family receives threats for harboring a Jew, Cyrla knows she must flee.
Cyrla (Young doesn’t explain the name's pronunciation—Curla—until well into the novel; unpronounceable names is one of my pet peeves) assumes her cousin’s identity and takes refuge in a Lebensborn.
The premise of this book is intriguing, and I have a strong desire to read more about the Lebensborn. Rather than a historical narrative, though, the book reads like a predictable romance novel. As a romance novel, I enjoyed Cradle. I was interested in Cyrla and her romantic entanglements. I wanted a happy ending and even shed a few tears.
As a Holocaust narrative, though, the book leaves much to be desired. Young’s tale romanticizes the time period. Although it refers to the horrors and atrocities committed during WWII and the Holocaust, the book glosses over these passages.
Instead, Cradle concentrates more on Cyrla’s love life and less on the truly perilous situation she and her family members find themselves in.
June 16, 2010
This novel has the most irritating protagonist I’ve ever encountered in fiction. Completely self-absorbed, oblivious to what’s happening around her in Nazi-occupied Holland, utterly unconcerned with anyone’s feelings but her own…God, what a useless wench. The only reason I kept on reading was that it concerned the mysterious Lebensborn program during World War II. Little is known about it, and that little is still not talked about very much. It concerns illicit sex and unmarried motherhood, both frowned on in the 1940s, even in wartime Germany.
I also hated the author's precious writing style. She kept on about the sunlight “spilling.” Sunlight does not spill: liquid spills. Neither does sunlight “pool.” By the end of the book, trees were "spilling" down the cliff. Give me a break! At least she had the grace to write in the past tense. I abhor novels written in the present tense and usually refuse to read them.
I'd recommend this book only to those who have an abiding interest in the Lebensborn program and are willing to read a fictional account of it.
I also hated the author's precious writing style. She kept on about the sunlight “spilling.” Sunlight does not spill: liquid spills. Neither does sunlight “pool.” By the end of the book, trees were "spilling" down the cliff. Give me a break! At least she had the grace to write in the past tense. I abhor novels written in the present tense and usually refuse to read them.
I'd recommend this book only to those who have an abiding interest in the Lebensborn program and are willing to read a fictional account of it.
April 12, 2008
This was an interesting book about a part of WWII that I knew little about. The story highlights the Lebensborn, a birthing center for Aryan children. The story is about Cyrla, a half-Jewish young woman who is finding that life in the home of a Dutch relative is getting increasingly more difficult as the Nazi's impose stricter and stricter laws on anyone Jewish. Cyrla is best friends with her beautiful blond cousin, Annika . Not only are they best friends but they look quite alike. Without giving the story away, Cyrla must take on Annika's identity at the Lebensborn where she has gone to 'hide in plain sight'. I very much enjoyed the beginning and middle of the novel but I have to admit to feeling cheated at the end. I felt like the end came too quickly and seemed abrupt. It is a heart wrenching emotional story - I just wish the ending had been better!
September 30, 2009
Anytime I can read about something new in well-written historical fiction, I'm all for it! The author of this adult novel taught me something and had me googling before I had even finished the book. It's a tale of the Lebensborn, a home for girls who were breeding good German stock to carry on the work of the Fuhrer. Wow.[return][return]Cyrla is 1/2 Jewish and her father sends her to the Netherlands before Hitler starts raising too much heck. But the war catches up with her in the Netherlands. No one knows she is 1/2 Jewish (maybe) but she can't keep up appearances with her Jewish boyfriend anymore. Her cousin and best friend wants to marry a German soldier who has gotten her pregnant, but things don't usually work out during wartime. Then enters the Lebensborn. These homes were full of girls who were raped or freely having German babies. Some were even like factories, churning out the Aryan race for Hitler. Wow. That's really about all I can say. The novel reads quickly and easily, but things were wrapped up a little cheesily for me at the end.
November 9, 2020
I know I will be in the minority but this felt too much like a modern book with an agenda and I could not get that out of my head enough to believe the story. Probably I read too many classics, because I can taste something written recently within the first 10 to 20 pages, sometimes sooner. Only read up to page 84. It was enough.
April 6, 2009
I am one of those people that love books on the Holocost, true or not. (Call me morbid if you have to). This was a novel, but focused on Lebensborns, which are an aspect of the Holocost that has never been focused on before, and something that I didn't even realized existed. The characters in this book were so well-defined that I felt like I knew them and could understand all of their thoughts and feelings. I was so touched by this book. I loved the characters, I loved the ending, and I really really hope this is a movie because I would love to see this brought to life so I can share it with all of my non-reader friends. Great book. Even if you are not into the Holocost, it is a must read. You will not be disappointed.
September 16, 2016
Viết về đề tài Thế chiến thứ II, nhưng tiểu thuyết không hề đi vào lối mòn của sự đàn áp, giết hại người Do Thái như những tác phẩm viết về đề tài này trước đây. Dĩ nhiên là nó vẫn được xây dựng trên cái nền muôn thuở là sự khốn đốn của người Do Thái trước sự nhẫn tâm của phát xít Đức, thế nhưng, "Trong vòng nôi kẻ thù" lại đề cập đến một vấn đề khác, riêng tư hơn, ít được nhắc đến hơn: cuộc sống và số phận của những người phụ nữ mang thai con của lính Đức ở nhà hộ sinh Lebensborn. Đây là những người mà giây phút họ vượt mọi đớn đau và nguy hiểm, đem sinh linh bé bỏng mình đã cưu mang suốt chín tháng trong người đến với thế giới này, thì cũng là lúc vai trò và thiên chức làm mẹ của họ bị tước đoạt một cách phũ phàng và đau đớn.
Vấn đề ấy được khắc họa thông qua câu chuyện của nhân vật Cyrla, một cô gái người gốc Ba Lan lai Do Thái, vì trốn chạy sự đàn áp người Do Thái ở quê nhà mà phải khăn gói sang Hà Lan tá túc tại nhà dì ruột. Giữa bối cảnh đó, cô em họ Anneke của Cyrla bất ngờ có thai với bạn trai là một người lính Đức tên Karl, sau đó bị cha mình - trong cơn nóng giận - bắt phải vào nhà hộ sinh Lebensborn để sinh con rồi đem con cho người Đức. Quyết tâm không muốn bán con mình cho kẻ thù, Anneke tự mình phá thai, để rồi vì mất máu quá nhiều mà cô đã qua đời. Trong cơn buồn đau mà vẫn nghĩ đến sư an nguy của đứa cháu ruột giữa lúc mà sự đàn áp người Do Thái ở Hà Lan đang dâng đến đỉnh điểm, mẹ của Anneke bắt Cyrla phải lấy giấy tờ và nhân dạng của con gái mình đến trại Lebensborn tá túc như là một cách che giấu thân phận thật của cô.
Nhưng đó mới chỉ là sự bắt đầu của tất cả mọi thứ... Để an toàn thực hiện được kế hoạch trốn chạy một cách trót lọt, Cyrla đã nhờ đến sự chung đụng miễn cưỡng và xa cách của Isaak - người đàn ông Do Thái mà cô yêu thầm biết bao năm qua, người mà cô luôn khát khao được ở gần bên, được đáp lại tình cảm - để cô có thai và vào nhà hộ sinh mà không ai nghi ngờ. Đến được Lebensborn, nguy hiểm cũng chưa buông thôi Cyrla, khi đây chính là thế giới của kẻ thù, là vòng nôi của những cô gái Đức bị chủ nghĩa phát xít tẩy não triệt để, của những "Ả Áo Nâu" là y tá chăm sóc cho các cô gái đang có thai, của những tên lính Đức canh gác khu trại 24/7, ai ra vào đều phải trình báo hẳn hòi.
Đó còn là thế giới, là vòng nôi của những người phụ nữ bị xem như những cỗ máy đẻ, đơn thuần chỉ là công cụ gieo giống cho những bữa tiệc truy hoan đáng ghê tởm đội lốt tiệc mừng sinh nhật người đứng đầu. Và những đứa trẻ họ sinh ra, nếu là bé trai thì cũng chỉ như những cỗ máy chiến đấu, những tên lính Đức quốc xã tương lai, còn bé gái thì cuối cùng cũng sẽ như mẹ của chúng, những cổ tử cung biết đi, những cái máy để tiếp tục làm công việc ăn nằm với lính Đức để sản sinh ra thế hệ những tên phát xít tiếp theo.
Đó còn là thế giới mà đau thương của sự chia cắt tình mẫu tử đâu chỉ để lại ảnh hưởng lên những người mẹ phút trước còn muốn tống khứ của nợ trong bụng mình một cách nhanh chóng, phút sau đã muốn níu giữ máu thịt ở lại bên mình. Sự chia cắt ấy còn hằn sau vết thương đau của nó lên người những đứa bé mới sinh, những sinh linh bé bỏng bị đem đến những nhà trẻ mồ côi, suốt ngày nằm khóc ngằn ngặt trong những cái nôi thiếu tình thương, thiếu sự quan tâm, dỗ dành âu yếm và hơi ấm tình mẹ... Đó còn là thế giới của nỗi ám ảnh khôn nguôi về cái ác đang diễn ra trước mặt, và cảm giác tội lỗi luôn hiện về trong tâm khảm những người căm ghét chế độ phát xít nhưng không thể làm gì để thay đổi, thể hiện qua nhân vật Sơ Ilse.
Giữa cảnh sống tưởng chừng đầy đủ, sung túc nhưng thực chất lại lắm đau thương trong nhà hộ sinh ấy là diễn biến phức tạp trong suy nghĩ và nội tâm của nhân vật Cyrla, mà chủ yếu là cảm giác tội lỗi như thể cô đang chiếm lấy cuộc đời đáng lẽ cô em họ đáng thương của cô phải được hưởng, chiếm lấy phần tính cách sôi nổi, hoạt bát, hướng ngoại của Anneke - trái ngược hoàn toàn với con người thật của cô. Và đặc biệt là chiếm lấy tình cảm của Karl, khi cô nhận ra cô đã yêu người đàn ông này, bạn trai cũ của em họ cô, người mà sau bao nhiêu sự quan tâm ân cần, hết lòng giúp đỡ cho cô có cơ hội gặp lại Isaak, cô mới chợt nhận ra anh tốt bụng, chân thật và yêu cô sâu sắc, thủy chung đến như thế nào... Đó là người đã đem đến cho Cyrla sự kết hợp thể xác mà cô luôn khát khao nhưng không bao giờ cảm nhận được ở Isaak, những cái đụng chạm đáng giá hơn cả ngàn lời nói yêu đương cô đã từng mơ Isaak sẽ nói với mình...
Câu chuyện được trần thuật ở ngôi thứ nhất, và trong một chừng mực nào đó, có vẻ tác giả có đôi chỗ quá cường điệu và phi lý khi khắc họa một số suy nghĩ, lời nói và hành vi của nhân vật Cyrla. Thêm vào đó, bản dịch của NXB Phụ Nữ có quá nhiều lỗi sai trong cách hành văn và chính tả, dẫn đến cái hay của tác phẩm, tinh hoa của câu chuyện không được thể hiện một cách trọn vẹn và đủ đầy. Tuy nhiên, đây vẫn là một tác phẩm hay, không phải hay kiểu ám ảnh, lúc nào cũng khiến độc giả nghĩ về nó dù đã buông sách xuống, nhưng vẫn đủ để lôi cuốn người đọc mỗi lần cầm sách lên, như thể độc giả đang thực sự ở trong câu chuyện, thực sự nhìn thấy diễu ra trước mắt những thước phim về cuộc đời của nhân vật Cyrla.
Đoạn kết quả là gây xúc động mạnh, và là một trong những trường đoạn hay nhất của tác phẩm. Nó gói gọn lại nhiều thứ và làm trọn vẹn nhiều thứ. Nó làm tan biến nỗi khắc khoải về một mái ấm gia đình đích thực mà Cyrla đã từng mong mỏi xuyên suốt những phần trước; nó cho cô biết đâu là nhà, là tổ ấm thực sư của cô; nó tôn vinh tình yêu mãnh liệt và son sắt, vẫn còn lại sau cuộc chiến tranh; nó sưởi ấm lòng người đọc bằng chất men tình ấm áp, và bằng cả cảm giác nhẹ nhõm, bình yên khi tất cả mảnh ghép đã về đúng vị trí của mình... Đơn giản là một cuốn sách nên đọc, nếu bạn đang tìm kiếm một tác phẩm viết về đề tài Thế chiến thứ II không theo bất kỳ lối mòn, khuôn mẫu và motif nào trước đây; về nửa kia của thế giới giữa vòng vây của chiến tranh và niềm đau khi bị tước đi thiên chức làm mẹ.
Vấn đề ấy được khắc họa thông qua câu chuyện của nhân vật Cyrla, một cô gái người gốc Ba Lan lai Do Thái, vì trốn chạy sự đàn áp người Do Thái ở quê nhà mà phải khăn gói sang Hà Lan tá túc tại nhà dì ruột. Giữa bối cảnh đó, cô em họ Anneke của Cyrla bất ngờ có thai với bạn trai là một người lính Đức tên Karl, sau đó bị cha mình - trong cơn nóng giận - bắt phải vào nhà hộ sinh Lebensborn để sinh con rồi đem con cho người Đức. Quyết tâm không muốn bán con mình cho kẻ thù, Anneke tự mình phá thai, để rồi vì mất máu quá nhiều mà cô đã qua đời. Trong cơn buồn đau mà vẫn nghĩ đến sư an nguy của đứa cháu ruột giữa lúc mà sự đàn áp người Do Thái ở Hà Lan đang dâng đến đỉnh điểm, mẹ của Anneke bắt Cyrla phải lấy giấy tờ và nhân dạng của con gái mình đến trại Lebensborn tá túc như là một cách che giấu thân phận thật của cô.
Nhưng đó mới chỉ là sự bắt đầu của tất cả mọi thứ... Để an toàn thực hiện được kế hoạch trốn chạy một cách trót lọt, Cyrla đã nhờ đến sự chung đụng miễn cưỡng và xa cách của Isaak - người đàn ông Do Thái mà cô yêu thầm biết bao năm qua, người mà cô luôn khát khao được ở gần bên, được đáp lại tình cảm - để cô có thai và vào nhà hộ sinh mà không ai nghi ngờ. Đến được Lebensborn, nguy hiểm cũng chưa buông thôi Cyrla, khi đây chính là thế giới của kẻ thù, là vòng nôi của những cô gái Đức bị chủ nghĩa phát xít tẩy não triệt để, của những "Ả Áo Nâu" là y tá chăm sóc cho các cô gái đang có thai, của những tên lính Đức canh gác khu trại 24/7, ai ra vào đều phải trình báo hẳn hòi.
Đó còn là thế giới, là vòng nôi của những người phụ nữ bị xem như những cỗ máy đẻ, đơn thuần chỉ là công cụ gieo giống cho những bữa tiệc truy hoan đáng ghê tởm đội lốt tiệc mừng sinh nhật người đứng đầu. Và những đứa trẻ họ sinh ra, nếu là bé trai thì cũng chỉ như những cỗ máy chiến đấu, những tên lính Đức quốc xã tương lai, còn bé gái thì cuối cùng cũng sẽ như mẹ của chúng, những cổ tử cung biết đi, những cái máy để tiếp tục làm công việc ăn nằm với lính Đức để sản sinh ra thế hệ những tên phát xít tiếp theo.
Đó còn là thế giới mà đau thương của sự chia cắt tình mẫu tử đâu chỉ để lại ảnh hưởng lên những người mẹ phút trước còn muốn tống khứ của nợ trong bụng mình một cách nhanh chóng, phút sau đã muốn níu giữ máu thịt ở lại bên mình. Sự chia cắt ấy còn hằn sau vết thương đau của nó lên người những đứa bé mới sinh, những sinh linh bé bỏng bị đem đến những nhà trẻ mồ côi, suốt ngày nằm khóc ngằn ngặt trong những cái nôi thiếu tình thương, thiếu sự quan tâm, dỗ dành âu yếm và hơi ấm tình mẹ... Đó còn là thế giới của nỗi ám ảnh khôn nguôi về cái ác đang diễn ra trước mặt, và cảm giác tội lỗi luôn hiện về trong tâm khảm những người căm ghét chế độ phát xít nhưng không thể làm gì để thay đổi, thể hiện qua nhân vật Sơ Ilse.
Giữa cảnh sống tưởng chừng đầy đủ, sung túc nhưng thực chất lại lắm đau thương trong nhà hộ sinh ấy là diễn biến phức tạp trong suy nghĩ và nội tâm của nhân vật Cyrla, mà chủ yếu là cảm giác tội lỗi như thể cô đang chiếm lấy cuộc đời đáng lẽ cô em họ đáng thương của cô phải được hưởng, chiếm lấy phần tính cách sôi nổi, hoạt bát, hướng ngoại của Anneke - trái ngược hoàn toàn với con người thật của cô. Và đặc biệt là chiếm lấy tình cảm của Karl, khi cô nhận ra cô đã yêu người đàn ông này, bạn trai cũ của em họ cô, người mà sau bao nhiêu sự quan tâm ân cần, hết lòng giúp đỡ cho cô có cơ hội gặp lại Isaak, cô mới chợt nhận ra anh tốt bụng, chân thật và yêu cô sâu sắc, thủy chung đến như thế nào... Đó là người đã đem đến cho Cyrla sự kết hợp thể xác mà cô luôn khát khao nhưng không bao giờ cảm nhận được ở Isaak, những cái đụng chạm đáng giá hơn cả ngàn lời nói yêu đương cô đã từng mơ Isaak sẽ nói với mình...
Câu chuyện được trần thuật ở ngôi thứ nhất, và trong một chừng mực nào đó, có vẻ tác giả có đôi chỗ quá cường điệu và phi lý khi khắc họa một số suy nghĩ, lời nói và hành vi của nhân vật Cyrla. Thêm vào đó, bản dịch của NXB Phụ Nữ có quá nhiều lỗi sai trong cách hành văn và chính tả, dẫn đến cái hay của tác phẩm, tinh hoa của câu chuyện không được thể hiện một cách trọn vẹn và đủ đầy. Tuy nhiên, đây vẫn là một tác phẩm hay, không phải hay kiểu ám ảnh, lúc nào cũng khiến độc giả nghĩ về nó dù đã buông sách xuống, nhưng vẫn đủ để lôi cuốn người đọc mỗi lần cầm sách lên, như thể độc giả đang thực sự ở trong câu chuyện, thực sự nhìn thấy diễu ra trước mắt những thước phim về cuộc đời của nhân vật Cyrla.
Đoạn kết quả là gây xúc động mạnh, và là một trong những trường đoạn hay nhất của tác phẩm. Nó gói gọn lại nhiều thứ và làm trọn vẹn nhiều thứ. Nó làm tan biến nỗi khắc khoải về một mái ấm gia đình đích thực mà Cyrla đã từng mong mỏi xuyên suốt những phần trước; nó cho cô biết đâu là nhà, là tổ ấm thực sư của cô; nó tôn vinh tình yêu mãnh liệt và son sắt, vẫn còn lại sau cuộc chiến tranh; nó sưởi ấm lòng người đọc bằng chất men tình ấm áp, và bằng cả cảm giác nhẹ nhõm, bình yên khi tất cả mảnh ghép đã về đúng vị trí của mình... Đơn giản là một cuốn sách nên đọc, nếu bạn đang tìm kiếm một tác phẩm viết về đề tài Thế chiến thứ II không theo bất kỳ lối mòn, khuôn mẫu và motif nào trước đây; về nửa kia của thế giới giữa vòng vây của chiến tranh và niềm đau khi bị tước đi thiên chức làm mẹ.
July 26, 2010
I have read a lot of books on the Holocaust. So far I have enjoyed every one of them. Some more than others. This book is not on that list. I couldn't even finish it and I almost never leave a book unfinished! My complaint was the way it was written. I felt it was very "child-like". The main character, Cyrla, when I started reading this book seemed like she was around 12 years old. Turns out she is nineteen. Yet she had a very childish mind. To be a 19 year old whose mother had died and whose father has sent her away to live with other relatives in the midst of war makes a child grow up very quickly. This was not the sense that I received from reading this book. I wanted to like her and the other characters but there was nothing there to pull me to them. The only reason I stuck with this book as long as I did was the story behind it. The Lebonsborn Project is a horrifying account that took place between 1935-1945. It is not a subject that I have been able to find a lot of books on. So with this book (even with it being fictitious)I was so eager to read it. I tried to stick with it, even flipping near the end of the book to see if it got better but to no avail. I would have to say to pass this one up or at least glance through it at a bookstore and see if you can handle the writing style before you purchase it.
October 14, 2010
Okay. Here's what I think happened. I think the author found out about the Lebensborns and decided to write a novel about them. And since we're writing about WWII, why not add in a Jew trying to hide from the Nazis? It just got too melodramatic for me. I tried skipping around, hoping to find the story and/or the characters compelling at some point, but it never happened. Young's one strength she shares with Dan Brown: she can write cliffhangers that keep you reading, even if you don't like anyone. But I still gave up reading it, and I don't plan to go back to it.
October 23, 2015
I absolutely LOVED this book. I found it very interesting, a page turner, and I didn't want to put it down. My only complaint was the ending. All of a sudden the book ended very abruptly. It definitely could have gone on at least another chapter or two. It also could have had a sequel written but this book was originally published in 2008 so I don't see that being very likely. I thought about taking a star away because of the ending, but decided against it because the book gave me so many hours of reading entertainment. With that, I still highly recommend this book.
March 5, 2013
My Enemy's Cradle had so much potential....I had never heard about Lebensborns, maternity homes for mothers of future nazi's and they are a sad fact of those times. However, the plot does not thicken, but becomes sappy and unbelievable. I wasted about 250 pages and couldn't take it anymore. I hate to not finish a book, but I hated to waste my time even more.
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September 28, 2024Demasiado relleno
December 24, 2018
No sé si sabéis o habéis oído hablar de los Lebensborn nazis. Fueron un experimento promovido por Himmler para incentivar y promover el nacimiento de niños arios, convirtiéndose en "fábricas" de futuros soldados afectos al régimen. Primeramente eran muchachas alemanas que se ofrecían voluntarias para servir al régimen dando a luz niños de soldados alemanes. Una vez avanzada la guerra, también sirvió para "acoger" a mujeres de los países ocupados que hubieran quedado embarazadas de soldados alemanes (de la forma que fuese), siempre que ellas fueran arias a su vez. Y más adelante, llegaron a secuestrar niños que sin ser hijos de alemanes si pudieran ser considerados arios.
Ahora imaginaos la situación de una joven polaca refugiada en Holanda que se queda embarazada y la "acogen" en uno de estos sitios, siempre ocultando que es judía. Esta es la trama de este libro que quiere sacar a la luz uno de esos secretos a voces, las Lebensborn. Porque nadie quiere saber lo que allí sucedió y qué fue de aquellos niños.
Un libro, que aunque al principio me costó entrar en la trama, me acabó atrapando y haciendo que me identificara con Cyrla.
Ahora imaginaos la situación de una joven polaca refugiada en Holanda que se queda embarazada y la "acogen" en uno de estos sitios, siempre ocultando que es judía. Esta es la trama de este libro que quiere sacar a la luz uno de esos secretos a voces, las Lebensborn. Porque nadie quiere saber lo que allí sucedió y qué fue de aquellos niños.
Un libro, que aunque al principio me costó entrar en la trama, me acabó atrapando y haciendo que me identificara con Cyrla.
May 26, 2016
The Nazi Lebensborn program-that's one area I haven't found much to read outside of non-fiction. So I was intrigued, to say the least, about this book. I need to stop getting my hopes up, and just go into reading a book with zero expectations.
It started out great-a Polish Jew hiding in the household of an unstable Uncle in Holland. Cousin finds herself pregnant by a Nazi Officer and quickly commits suicide. Interesting so far! And then little things here and there made me wonder if I had somehow been transported to another ridiculous teen angst love triangle YA novel.
The main character, Cyrla, is a Poet, which means she feels so, so, so much more and deeply than you or I. She's also incredibly selfish and uses her powerful feelings to control other people, which is just way too much high school drama.
It's the I am going to make remembering my awfully bratty cousin my sole mission in life, and I will be as annoyingly rude to anyone who cant see that I just feel deeply about this!
She forces someone to get her pregnant, who has explained for years why he doesn't want any emotional attachment to anyone or thing. But hey, I feel deeply over here, so give me a baby!
She gets herself pregnant with a Jewish child, takes on another identity to join the Lebensborn, and then sort of flits around, not really worrying about what will happen when a seriously dark baby is born to a hospital that only prizes blonde babies. When she is presented with 3 alternatives to help her, she refuses all but the most childish escape. These poets, they need to make a scene!!
She acts like a spoiled child who needs to be angry at anyone who remotely tries to help her. Karl, her dead cousins ex boyfriend, keeps her secret when he discovers her posing as Anneke in the Lebensborn, and even tries to help her. But no, Cyrla just needs to be angry, and try to piss off the one person who can either save her or destroy her. Like wildly, ridiculously, let the girl suffer the consequences of her stupidity already! Her angry reactions really don't make since for the plot and the characters, unless the author needed to tell us she was really hurt and angry-oh, wait, that's all she's been telling us!! Or, the author thought we just really, REALLY need to wonder if the two lovers will ever reconcile their differences and find true love.
As a way to prove he is sorry Anneke killed herself, Karl creates a makeshift funeral to help Cyrla get some closure and say goodbye. He goes to place roses on her grave, but she is angered that rose thorns might go in that fake grave. This is typical emotional nonsense from Cyrla: '"No". I picked them up. One by one, I plucked the petals off and dropped them over the fresh dirt. They fell like slices of my heart. This should hurt more, I thought.' Why, honestly, why? Because she feels so, so, so much! She's a poet, dontchaknow?
Here's another what the what moment: When Cyrla finds out Anneke had dated her crush secretly, she feels no betrayal or anger, no Anneke-you selfish cow! just, oh, Anneke, I hope you're happy now. But Cryla needs to endlessly atone for what...finding her dead cousin's ex boyfriend attractive? Just so ridiculous and contrived.
Guess I'll go back to the history books and wikipedia for more info on the Lebensborn.
It started out great-a Polish Jew hiding in the household of an unstable Uncle in Holland. Cousin finds herself pregnant by a Nazi Officer and quickly commits suicide. Interesting so far! And then little things here and there made me wonder if I had somehow been transported to another ridiculous teen angst love triangle YA novel.
The main character, Cyrla, is a Poet, which means she feels so, so, so much more and deeply than you or I. She's also incredibly selfish and uses her powerful feelings to control other people, which is just way too much high school drama.
It's the I am going to make remembering my awfully bratty cousin my sole mission in life, and I will be as annoyingly rude to anyone who cant see that I just feel deeply about this!
She forces someone to get her pregnant, who has explained for years why he doesn't want any emotional attachment to anyone or thing. But hey, I feel deeply over here, so give me a baby!
She gets herself pregnant with a Jewish child, takes on another identity to join the Lebensborn, and then sort of flits around, not really worrying about what will happen when a seriously dark baby is born to a hospital that only prizes blonde babies. When she is presented with 3 alternatives to help her, she refuses all but the most childish escape. These poets, they need to make a scene!!
She acts like a spoiled child who needs to be angry at anyone who remotely tries to help her. Karl, her dead cousins ex boyfriend, keeps her secret when he discovers her posing as Anneke in the Lebensborn, and even tries to help her. But no, Cyrla just needs to be angry, and try to piss off the one person who can either save her or destroy her. Like wildly, ridiculously, let the girl suffer the consequences of her stupidity already! Her angry reactions really don't make since for the plot and the characters, unless the author needed to tell us she was really hurt and angry-oh, wait, that's all she's been telling us!! Or, the author thought we just really, REALLY need to wonder if the two lovers will ever reconcile their differences and find true love.
As a way to prove he is sorry Anneke killed herself, Karl creates a makeshift funeral to help Cyrla get some closure and say goodbye. He goes to place roses on her grave, but she is angered that rose thorns might go in that fake grave. This is typical emotional nonsense from Cyrla: '"No". I picked them up. One by one, I plucked the petals off and dropped them over the fresh dirt. They fell like slices of my heart. This should hurt more, I thought.' Why, honestly, why? Because she feels so, so, so much! She's a poet, dontchaknow?
Here's another what the what moment: When Cyrla finds out Anneke had dated her crush secretly, she feels no betrayal or anger, no Anneke-you selfish cow! just, oh, Anneke, I hope you're happy now. But Cryla needs to endlessly atone for what...finding her dead cousin's ex boyfriend attractive? Just so ridiculous and contrived.
Guess I'll go back to the history books and wikipedia for more info on the Lebensborn.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 17, 2013
Cyrla and Anneke are cousins who look enough alike to be twins. Cyrla, who is half Dutch, has been sent by her father to safely live with her mother's Dutch relations in Holland as Hitler's army occupies Poland. Being half Jewish from her father's side life is any thing but safe for Cyrla as the neighbors are afraid to associate with her when it is apparent that Holland is about to be occupied by Hitler's army. In the meantime, Anneke falls in love with a Karl, a German soldier. He shortly abandons her after she finds out she is pregnant. Her father is outraged and decides to send her to Lebensborn, a secret maternity home created by the Nazis, where Aryan girls can have their babies, in comfort, which are fathered by German soldiers. The babies were then adopted out to German families with the intention that they grow up to purify the German race.
A tragic chain of events cause Cyrla to assume Anneke's identity and go in her place With twists and turns suspense, there is still hope for the future portrayed in this novel. I thoroughly enjoyed this romantic novel set against the tragedies of wartime. I am amazed that I had never heard of the Lebensborn program until this novel. I did some research of this sinister project because it was unbelievable to me and found out it was horrifyingly real!
A tragic chain of events cause Cyrla to assume Anneke's identity and go in her place With twists and turns suspense, there is still hope for the future portrayed in this novel. I thoroughly enjoyed this romantic novel set against the tragedies of wartime. I am amazed that I had never heard of the Lebensborn program until this novel. I did some research of this sinister project because it was unbelievable to me and found out it was horrifyingly real!
November 4, 2013
This book has to contain some of the worst plotting I have ever seen. Cryla, a young woman (19) is living in Amsterdam with her mothers family. Her father, who is Jewish, sent her whenever the new regime (Nazis) arrived in Poland. Cryla has no understanding of what it means to be Jewish during this time period. Her uncle shows her all the newspaper announcements about the Jewish restrictions and she feels he is just being mean. Her Jewish boyfriend, who has endless privileges taken away from him constantly, tries to explain to her what is happening and she doesn't believe him in spite of seeing it with her own eyes. Through a series of ridiculous events Cryla finds herself at a Lebensborn, a maternity home for girls carrying German babies. However, the baby she is carrying belongs to black haired, brown eyed Jewish Isaac. Lebensborn babies are only ever released to their fathers' custody--or taken away. It is Cryla's hope that her Jewish boyfriend will come to this Nazi stronghold which is guarded 24/7.
Cryla is way beyond TSTL. The information about the Lebensborn was fascinating but it did not make up for an outrageous plot and a heroine that had less intelligence than the average two year old.
Cryla is way beyond TSTL. The information about the Lebensborn was fascinating but it did not make up for an outrageous plot and a heroine that had less intelligence than the average two year old.
July 15, 2009
This book is incredibly powerful. I tend to have a difficult time reading books set during the Holocaust. Both my husband and I have German heritage and it makes the atrocities so much more real to me knowing what I do about family history and conscription.
That being said, I couldn't put this book down. I was hooked from the start. The storyline is intriguing. The Lebensborn is a home for mothers pregnant with German babies. Cyrla's cousin, Anneke, is pregnant and has passed the admissions requirements. Cyrla is a half-Jewish Pole who has been hiding in her cousin's home in the Netherlands. Anneke and Cyrla are almost identical and through a cruel twist, Cyrla ends up taking Anneke's place in the Lebensborn.
This is a love story with all the complications that make real life messy. This is also a war story that draws you in completely to a different time and place. It's compelling and heart wrenching and real. I wish the ending had come a little more slowly, not quite as abrupt but I feel that overall the book is completely genuine.
That being said, I couldn't put this book down. I was hooked from the start. The storyline is intriguing. The Lebensborn is a home for mothers pregnant with German babies. Cyrla's cousin, Anneke, is pregnant and has passed the admissions requirements. Cyrla is a half-Jewish Pole who has been hiding in her cousin's home in the Netherlands. Anneke and Cyrla are almost identical and through a cruel twist, Cyrla ends up taking Anneke's place in the Lebensborn.
This is a love story with all the complications that make real life messy. This is also a war story that draws you in completely to a different time and place. It's compelling and heart wrenching and real. I wish the ending had come a little more slowly, not quite as abrupt but I feel that overall the book is completely genuine.
January 20, 2009
I picked this up at the library, and based on the reviews, expected it to be along the lines of "Anne Frank". While the subject matter is similar, this is more adult, and I really felt that the "love scenes" took away from the story. I also did not come away from this book with the same feeling as I did - probably because this book, while set around some horrific events, comes across as purely fiction.
October 22, 2008
This is an amazing story about a little known Nazi plan to create babies for the Third Reich. A great read!
June 5, 2015
This book was irritating.
January 5, 2023
An overlong melodramatic saga - peppered with teenage sex, set in Holland during World War II. I thought it would never end, the book, not the war!!
This was a romance novel, written for a Young Adult audience. The historical aspect was lost among trauma and drama starring a very flawed heroine!!
This was a romance novel, written for a Young Adult audience. The historical aspect was lost among trauma and drama starring a very flawed heroine!!
August 21, 2010
This is a very compelling book about World War II, told from an entirely different perspective. It is told not from the point of view of the war and the soldiers or the camps, but rather the innocent citizens caught up in the turmoil and terror.
The main character, Cyrla, is a mischling, which is what Germans called a person of mixed heritage, one not totally Aryan. She is young, barely 19, and often because of her pride she is careless and foolish. Her mistakes endanger others. She might even be considered promiscuous but the circumstances of the times called for extreme behavior in order to survive.
Told from a point of view of the Holocaust which encompasses the German perspective, it casts a different light on the event. There were many who embraced the hate and horror of Hitler’s design for the world but there were also many who quietly tried to do everything in their limited power to prevent it. Often, they were arrested and discarded in the same way as the Jews, criminals and others they thought defective. They too, were murdered and tortured.
Cyrla enters a Lebensborn, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/j... a place for unwed mothers who, in exchange for food and care, produce future Aryan soldiers for the Reich. Some women enter the program and are impregnated by German soldiers deliberately. When too few babies are born, they expand the program to include other women from other countries deemed worthy. The children who are products of rape, by German soldiers, are adopted unless the soldier decides to enter the picture and take the child or marry the woman. As there proved to be a shortage of future soldiers, non Aryan babies from other countries were kidnapped and given to "good" Germans to adopt and raise.
Cyrla enters in the identity of her cousin whom she resembles and who had been carefully screened, as an Aryan, for the program. The women in these homes are bearing children who will become Germany's future, soldiers for the Reich. Of course, Cyrla is not an Aryan, and the book is about her effort to survive and also those who help her. It is also about those who are evil and do their best not to help but to hinder her and further the cause of the Reich. It is presented fairly and honestly, not overdone.
How she endures the trials life hands her make for a very interesting tale which opened my eyes to a different side of some Germans. Not all were Nazis, but all were hiding that fact for fear of their own lives. Those that risked their lives in an effort to defeat or confront the Nazis, often died or were tortured and punished. The effects of Hitler's madness were often subtle and insidious, discovered too late to stop him from his heinous plans.
Although the pages almost turn themselves, the plot seems unrealistic, yet we know it happened in some form. The book opens a window onto a program in Germany, for German girls, that few know about and it does explore it well.
I think many of the characters are very well developed so that you do get a real sense of who they are and how they suffer with the burden of the war, regardless of background or heritage.
The main character, Cyrla, is a mischling, which is what Germans called a person of mixed heritage, one not totally Aryan. She is young, barely 19, and often because of her pride she is careless and foolish. Her mistakes endanger others. She might even be considered promiscuous but the circumstances of the times called for extreme behavior in order to survive.
Told from a point of view of the Holocaust which encompasses the German perspective, it casts a different light on the event. There were many who embraced the hate and horror of Hitler’s design for the world but there were also many who quietly tried to do everything in their limited power to prevent it. Often, they were arrested and discarded in the same way as the Jews, criminals and others they thought defective. They too, were murdered and tortured.
Cyrla enters a Lebensborn, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/j... a place for unwed mothers who, in exchange for food and care, produce future Aryan soldiers for the Reich. Some women enter the program and are impregnated by German soldiers deliberately. When too few babies are born, they expand the program to include other women from other countries deemed worthy. The children who are products of rape, by German soldiers, are adopted unless the soldier decides to enter the picture and take the child or marry the woman. As there proved to be a shortage of future soldiers, non Aryan babies from other countries were kidnapped and given to "good" Germans to adopt and raise.
Cyrla enters in the identity of her cousin whom she resembles and who had been carefully screened, as an Aryan, for the program. The women in these homes are bearing children who will become Germany's future, soldiers for the Reich. Of course, Cyrla is not an Aryan, and the book is about her effort to survive and also those who help her. It is also about those who are evil and do their best not to help but to hinder her and further the cause of the Reich. It is presented fairly and honestly, not overdone.
How she endures the trials life hands her make for a very interesting tale which opened my eyes to a different side of some Germans. Not all were Nazis, but all were hiding that fact for fear of their own lives. Those that risked their lives in an effort to defeat or confront the Nazis, often died or were tortured and punished. The effects of Hitler's madness were often subtle and insidious, discovered too late to stop him from his heinous plans.
Although the pages almost turn themselves, the plot seems unrealistic, yet we know it happened in some form. The book opens a window onto a program in Germany, for German girls, that few know about and it does explore it well.
I think many of the characters are very well developed so that you do get a real sense of who they are and how they suffer with the burden of the war, regardless of background or heritage.
December 28, 2020
I expected this novel about a Jewish woman in a Lebensborn setting to be more interesting than it was. It turned out to be more of a romantic book and less of a historical novel than I hoped.
November 5, 2009
A very memorable story of young ladies and how they suffered during WWII. They weren't put in concentration camps, but they were victims of cruelty just the same. The author uses the backdrop of Hitler's maternity homes as she paints the story of one girl's search for safety during the war.
I enjoyed this book because it's a very interesting plot line that keeps you constantly on your toes as you read it. And the author does a wonderful job developing the characters, peeling away layer after layer as you get to know them better. The heartbreak they face is so easy to feel, and it's a good reminder of how human cruelty has such a profound impact on so many lives.
Get ready to be surprised as you read the book. And get ready to have it touch your heart. How can you not be disturbed as you learn the truth about how the Nazi's stole children from their mothers? And during a time of war and hunger, it is sad to think that women found a safe haven by producing babies that would be taken away from them. It's another very dark side of the Nazi regime.
And as an adoptive mom of a child who lived in an orphanage as an infant, it was extremely sad to read about how the Germans placed these children in orphanages for the first few months of their lives before placing them with "adoptive" families. They didn't realize (or didn't care) about the emotional damage they did to the kids by not placing them right away with families.
Thanks go to my friend Debbie for loaning me this book! (And finally finding a book we both like!)
I enjoyed this book because it's a very interesting plot line that keeps you constantly on your toes as you read it. And the author does a wonderful job developing the characters, peeling away layer after layer as you get to know them better. The heartbreak they face is so easy to feel, and it's a good reminder of how human cruelty has such a profound impact on so many lives.
Get ready to be surprised as you read the book. And get ready to have it touch your heart. How can you not be disturbed as you learn the truth about how the Nazi's stole children from their mothers? And during a time of war and hunger, it is sad to think that women found a safe haven by producing babies that would be taken away from them. It's another very dark side of the Nazi regime.
And as an adoptive mom of a child who lived in an orphanage as an infant, it was extremely sad to read about how the Germans placed these children in orphanages for the first few months of their lives before placing them with "adoptive" families. They didn't realize (or didn't care) about the emotional damage they did to the kids by not placing them right away with families.
Thanks go to my friend Debbie for loaning me this book! (And finally finding a book we both like!)
June 27, 2012
This one is a really hard one to rate. It was quite gripping, and I read it in a couple of days as I had to keep going to find out what happened next. It was, however, somewhat disappointing from a historical fiction perspective. Judging by the author's note and acknowledgements at the end of the book, the author was trying to write a historical novel about the Lebensborns, maternity homes set up by the Nazis for suitably Aryan women pregnant with the children of Nazi officers. This could have made for a fascinating historical novel, as this is an almost unknown part of WWII history. The story of a Jewish woman hiding in one these homes under an assumed identity should have been especially fascinating. This book, however, was more of a romance novel in a historical setting as it tended to gloss over the horrors of the war and really did not go into much depth on the hardships, brutality and tragedies of that time. It was short on history and realism and long on sex scenes. The writing style was rather simple, and at times I found myself feeling like I was reading a young adult novel. Perhaps this is because the author does write children's books under another name, and had difficulty writing in a more mature tone. The sex scenes, however, make it clear that this book is intended for adults. This book could have been so much more. It is not a bad book. I did enjoy it, it was a compelling story, and I did learn about the Lebensborns, but I would have preferred less sex and more historical content.
January 12, 2014
Prior to reading this book I knew nothing of the Lebensborn -- Nazi-sponsored homes for German or "suitably Aryan" women carrying babies fathered by German men -- yet another atrocity of the Nazi regime. These babies were treated as a commodity -- more future soldiers or future mothers of soldiers -- and the women were encouraged to produce as many children with German soldiers as possible. Against this backdrop we are offered the story of Cyrla, a young woman of partial Jewish parentage who enters one of the Lebensborn homes using the identity of her cousin, Anneke. There are moments of beauty, moments of sadness, moments of horror and many moments of suspense, and I found myself reluctant to put this book down.
March 9, 2010
I read this book really quickly and I enjoyed it the whole time. I have read a lot of books about the holocaust (and I even took a Holocaust & Genocide Studies class) but never knew about the Lebensborn. It was really interesting.
Cyrla's character is well-developed and you really feel for her. At times the plot was a bit soap opera like, but I didn't really mind it because the book held my attention really well and I was emotionally invested in the story. The love scenes were kinda intense in a romance novel type of way.
Cyrla's character is well-developed and you really feel for her. At times the plot was a bit soap opera like, but I didn't really mind it because the book held my attention really well and I was emotionally invested in the story. The love scenes were kinda intense in a romance novel type of way.
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