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Resistance Women

Jennifer Chiaverini (Goodreads Author)

4.06 · Rating details · 11,859 ratings · 1,792 reviews

This is a historical saga that recreates the danger, romance, and sacrifice of an era and brings to life one courageous, passionate American—Mildred Fish Harnack—and her circle of women friends who waged a clandestine battle against Hitler in Nazi Berlin.

After Wisconsin graduate student Mildred Fish marries brilliant German economist Arvid Harnack, she accompanies him to h ...more

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Hardcover, 608 pages

Published May 14th 2019 by William Morrow

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Apr 12, 2019 Tammy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is my first experience with Chiaverini and I am impressed. From 1929 through 1946, three women look on in horror as the Nazi Party rises and comes into power. Mildred Harnack is an American intellectual married to a German and Greta Kuckhoff is a hopeful German writer formerly enrolled at the University of Wisconsin where she met the Harnacks. Their stories are factual and both are members of the Red Orchestra, a resistance cell operating in Berlin. Sara Weitz is a Jewish-German literature ...more

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Jan 02, 2019 Kimberley Burg rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Just started this book and feel an eerie similarity to our current situation in the United States as the unthinkable builds in 1930's Germany. Well written if not fast paced. The slow pace of the book provides a sense of the unthinkable unfolding and reminds the reader of how glacial change can be destructive, perhaps more so than a catastrophic sudden shift. A lengthy book reflective of the topic and the period. ...more

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May 21, 2019 Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I finally read a book by Jennifer Chiaverini! I’ve meant to for ages now, and I’m thrilled to say my first book from her was epic! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Mildred Fish is a graduate student from Wisconsin. She marries a German economist, Arvid Harnack, and moves with him to Germany. Berlin in the 1930s is swimming with intellectuals, and the newlyweds are enjoying their work and social lives.

At the same time, we all know Hitler and his Nazi party are rising in power. Mildred and Arvid decide to resist. Mi ...more

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Apr 21, 2019 Fred rated it did not like it · review of another edition

This ambitious World War II novel is vast in its historical record and scope, taking us from the beginning of Hitler's rise to power through the end of the war, focusing in detail on the sociological and historical aspects of the rise of Nazism and Hitler, and the attempts by a few brave souls to withstand and resist and finally to just survive the onslaught of the horrors the characters face that grow larger and more incomprehensible every year.

The author's grasp of the period is amazing, and s This ambitious World War II novel is vast in its historical record and scope, taking us from the beginning of Hitler's rise to power through the end of the war, focusing in detail on the sociological and historical aspects of the rise of Nazism and Hitler, and the attempts by a few brave souls to withstand and resist and finally to just survive the onslaught of the horrors the characters face that grow larger and more incomprehensible every year.

The author's grasp of the period is amazing, and she conveys the realities of the time in Germany very well. There are broad historical brushstrokes as well as more detailed looks at what everyday life must have been like for your average German citizen, who found herself swept up in the madness of the National Socialist movement.

Because of the tremendous scope of this novel, which aims to provide an idea of the larger historical movement as well as the more focused daily impact of these movements on the lives of the characters, the story suffers when the author turns her attention to the actual human interests here, the 4 characters that are the foci of the story. In good historical fiction the historical background serves the interest of the characters, serves as a way to highlight their personalities, choices, actions, etc. The setting should always be in service to the characters. In this novel, however, the characters seem to just be the conduit for writing about the history, which is clearly the author's strong point. There's no heart here. We see the individual lives and the specifics of the day-to-day encroachments of Nazism on the characters, but there is a lack of soul in their stories. The reader is never very attached to them. This is partly because there are so many of them to deal with, the author never delves too deeply into any of their minds or hearts.

The author does a great job of showing the at first slow progression of the steady march of Nazism on German society, the incremental changes to the Jewish laws, and the way that the characters become the frogs in the pot as they go along with the changes to their world, having no other choice but to hope for the best as their world crumbles around them. We feel along with the characters the various reactions to events, moving from denial to disbelief, to sadness, shock, and horror.

I have to admit, though, that I skimmed much of this novel. It was overlong, at more than 500 pages. I think the author was trying for a saga but ended up with a textbook with some personal stories thrown in.

A word about politics: in a novel like this, the reader should never be able to detect the author's political views. However, the author makes a not-so-subtle point of repeatedly drawing a parallel between Hitler and Donald Trump. No matter where an author's political leanings fall, a novel of historical fiction is not the appropriate venue for such musings. Aside from that, the comparisons are ludicrous and so beyond the pale of any rational political discourse, that the novel suffers greatly from this insertion of the author's views. ...more

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Sep 05, 2019 Erin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own

Jennifer Chiaverini's latest historical novel delves into the lives of four women- three historical and one fictional that along with their husbands and family members took a stand against Adolf Hitler and the Nazi government. A well researched, well-detailed narrative, Resistance Women takes readers from 1930's Germany all the way through the war and into 1946.

Wisconsin graduate student Mildred Fish, daughter of an American ambassor Martha Dodd, literature student Greta Kuckoff, and Jewish ...more

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May 05, 2019 Cheri rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, germany, holocaust, wwii, minnesota, 2019

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”
--- Edmund Burke

”Some fires burned themselves out only after consuming everything within reach of the flames.”

Beginning in June of 1929, this story shares the stories of several women living in Germany during the rise of the Nazi Party, and the stories of those whose lives connected with theirs. Two of these women, Mildred Harnack and Greta Kuckhoff, were based on their real lives, living and operating as ...more

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Mar 12, 2020 Bkwmlee rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, book-club-botm, arc-direct-from-publisher

One of the reasons why I love reading historical fiction is because it gives me a chance to learn about people, places, cultures, time periods, etc. that I may not otherwise have known about. It is also an opportunity for me to better understand aspects of history and the important role we, as human beings, play in shaping and directing the trajectory of this world in which we live.

Even though Jennifer Chiaverini’s latest historical novel Resistance Women is set in a time period that most bi One of the reasons why I love reading historical fiction is because it gives me a chance to learn about people, places, cultures, time periods, etc. that I may not otherwise have known about. It is also an opportunity for me to better understand aspects of history and the important role we, as human beings, play in shaping and directing the trajectory of this world in which we live.

Even though Jennifer Chiaverini’s latest historical novel Resistance Women is set in a time period that most bibliophiles like me who read a lot of WWII-themed novels are probably very familiar with, the story she tells about American graduate student Mildred Fish Harnack and the many brave women who were part of her Rote Kapelle (Red Orchestra) resistance cell in Germany during Hitler’s rise to power in the 1930s, is not one that I had heard of prior to reading this book. Spanning a time period from 1929 all the way through the end of the war, this is an epic tale told in meticulous detail, through the eyes of 4 women who bear witness to Germany’s transformation from a thriving intellectual and cultural hub to an oppressive, violent, and much-feared Nazi regime. In addition to Mildred and Greta, the other 2 perspectives that formed the core narrative were that of Martha Dodd, the lively and vivacious daughter of the U.S. Ambassador, as well as Jewish literature student Sara Weitz (a fictional character based on other Jewish women within the Rote Kapelle network).

Over the years, I’ve read plenty of books about this particular historical period, but this one is unique in that it tells the story not just from the Jewish perspective, but also from that of anti-fascist Germans who were intent on saving their beloved country from total ruin at the hands of a madman. This was a fascinating and insightful read that was absolutely well-researched and well-written (I’m blown away by the extensive amount of research that Chiaverini did and how she was able to incorporate all of it into the story so seamlessly). At nearly 600 pages, also given the subject matter, this was not an easy read by any means, especially the sections that mentioned the horrors and atrocities of what took place during that time – however with that said, being able to learn about these courageous women and getting to hear their inspiring, powerful stories, definitely made this well worth the effort.

One quick footnote – I also noticed the political “comparison” that many of the other readers mentioned in their reviews and while I admit that it did frustrate me a bit at first because I felt it took some of the focus away from what the story was supposed to be about (namely the resistance women who sacrificed their lives to fight against evil), I eventually decided to ignore it and absorb myself in the women’s powerful stories instead.

Received complimentary copy from publisher (William Morrow) via Book Browse.

...more

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May 31, 2019 Travel.with.a.book rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Resistance Women takes you to a whole brilliant journey and it follows the WWI from the beginning of Hitler's rise, and the story is elaborated very intriguing with mixed emotions, a huge applause for Chiaverini for writing such a wonderful story! She really is a powerful Author to share an amazing story with all of us, and we're so happy to have her book in our May choice for our Monthly Picks so make sure to grab a copy!
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The reality of the time is so accurate and it is very professional in tha Resistance Women takes you to a whole brilliant journey and it follows the WWI from the beginning of Hitler's rise, and the story is elaborated very intriguing with mixed emotions, a huge applause for Chiaverini for writing such a wonderful story! She really is a powerful Author to share an amazing story with all of us, and we're so happy to have her book in our May choice for our Monthly Picks so make sure to grab a copy!
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The reality of the time is so accurate and it is very professional in that level, surviving each day was so intriguing for the family and the acts that followed were so different and interesting, I really liked the way how the Author portrayed the National Socialist movement, it felt like I saw a movie within the movie! The book is really unputdownable and it has 600 pages which will feel to you like 6 because the story is so unique and interesting you wouldn't want to finish!
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The true story of the brave women were so incredibly powerful, they tried to fight the injustice being done to the oppressed during the war! All the character's actions are focused on taking down the Nazis! You'll enjoy every detail of the book that has taken part in one of the worst moment of Human's history!
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The novel follows with four different main characters, we meet Midred an American girl who is a teacher in Berlin, she's married to Arvid Harnack! The second character is Greta who is a Writer, her love romance hasn't still been free from different reasons so she's back to Germany from Wisconsin! Then we meet Sara Weits a Jewish girl, and a student of Mildred's ! And the end we will meet martha Dodd the daughter of the American Ambassador who is able to help in ways no one else can! The mixed company will make this historical fiction a mind-blowing story which you'll fall in love!
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I enjoyed the experience of the brave women so much, the feelings were so strong and the background was set in such a vivid old amazing details! The restrictive laws, food cuts and the fear of Berlin's citizens were fascinating, the Author's research must've been so deep as the book is more than a five stars for us!
The ending of the book is powerful and really emotional, we highly recommend you to read this wonderful book!! ...more

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Feb 28, 2020 DJ Sakata rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: war, historical-fiction

Favorite Quotes:

Darling, you must never become accustomed to the extraordinary and the outrageous. If you do, little by little you’ll learn to accept anything.

Scapegoating Jews – or Communists, Poles, women, immigrants – was the refuge of the lazy, envious, and unimaginative. It made the world an ugly hostile place to live in and did nothing to solve any actual problems. She would rather be solitary than count bigots as her friends.

I used to think the rise of the Nazis was about politics. I don Favorite Quotes:

Darling, you must never become accustomed to the extraordinary and the outrageous. If you do, little by little you’ll learn to accept anything.

Scapegoating Jews – or Communists, Poles, women, immigrants – was the refuge of the lazy, envious, and unimaginative. It made the world an ugly hostile place to live in and did nothing to solve any actual problems. She would rather be solitary than count bigots as her friends.

I used to think the rise of the Nazis was about politics. I don’t anymore… It’s something deeper, more sinister, going well beyond mere racial prejudice. The German people are desperately ill with some dread malady of the soul… Think of it. An entire nation has become infected with an ever-present hatred and fear, twisting and blighting all human relations.

She knew before the doctors confirmed it that she had lost the child. She imagined that she had felt the tiny soul leaving her, letting go with a gentle, wistful sigh as if to say it had already learned enough of the world to know it dared not linger.

My Review:

This six hundred page book was arduous reading but well worth the effort. It was an epic saga involving four vastly different women’s intersecting stories while living, struggling, and risking their lives to exist in Berlin during the 1930s and ’40s. The tale spanned almost two horrific decades of sadistic and insidious Nazi brutality and ingenious cruelty during Hitler’s unfettered rise and ruthless abuse of power leading up to and during WWII. Based on fact and embellished with fiction it was poignant, disheartening, heartbreaking, artfully written, intensely emotive, and effusively detailed with vibrant descriptions of each scene. It ruined me. The massive research and attention to detail was profoundly evident and deftly woven into the complex storylines in a remarkably cohesive and thoughtful manner. This was my first experience of the devastating and evocative skill set of Jennifer Chiaverini, I - am – in – awe.
...more

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Jun 04, 2019 Gina rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, fiction-based-on-fact, history, germany, favorites, love-stories-and-romance, europe, war, world-war-ii

Although this book is shown as a work of fiction, it is also noted that the events portrayed in this book are based on historical facts.

Jennifer Chiaverini does it again, that being that she has written an extraordinary story in "Resistance Women". She never disappoints.

Told in varying viewpoints, the story revolves around American Mildred Fish Harnack, and the friends who support her - and each other - through an extremely harrowing time in history when nothing, and no one, is safe, especially ...more

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May 28, 2019 Cathy rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: digital-library-books, historical-fiction

Another historical fiction novel about WWII. I’m sorry, but this was a struggle from about 20% in until the end. The author seemed to lose touch with her characters and only slightly used them to give a TON of facts about the war in Berlin. So glad I finished but really wish I had never bothered to read it.
One additional note. I did marvel over the similarities in what Hitler said/did in his rise to power and what Trump says and does. It’s frightening, almost as if they were following the same h ...more

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Aug 17, 2019 Amanda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, historical, favorites-2019

I'll be honest: I almost put this one off indefinitely after realizing I had about 5-6 World War II historical fiction novels sitting on my shelf, waiting to be read. I'm not sure why every author seems to have released one this year, but my shelf is FULL of them. It was hard to decide which one to read first, and reading too many of them close together would just confuse them in my head. I don't remember how I ended up choosing this one to come first, but I'm glad I was able to fit it in.

Resist I'll be honest: I almost put this one off indefinitely after realizing I had about 5-6 World War II historical fiction novels sitting on my shelf, waiting to be read. I'm not sure why every author seems to have released one this year, but my shelf is FULL of them. It was hard to decide which one to read first, and reading too many of them close together would just confuse them in my head. I don't remember how I ended up choosing this one to come first, but I'm glad I was able to fit it in.

Resistance Women is based on real people (almost every main character was a real person) and real resistance activities. It starts quite early compared to most WWII fiction, all the way in 1929. It follows the characters through Hitler's rise to power and the gradual changes in Germany, all the way through the end of the war. To be honest, the resistance activities are pretty tame, as far as resistance went, but the important thing wasn't the resistance itself, but the women who risked their lives and safety to try to stop the Nazis. (view spoiler)

It's hard to read historical fiction when you're familiar with the era, especially when you know the characters are making the wrong choices. When a character mentions offhand that a Jewish friend escaped to Poland where they'd be safe, how do you not sit and silently scream "noooooo"? How do you feel hopeful, as the characters do, and think "how much worse could it get?" as early as 1933? (Answer: so very, very much worse.) When characters are presented with multiple opportunities to escape to safety earlier in the 1930s, and they decide to stay in Germany, you just want to yell at them to stop being naive and just GO. But if everyone did what we know, in hindsight, they should have, it wouldn't feel very true to the era and wouldn't really be good historical fiction.

It took me a few days to read this, in part because it was fairly long (608 pages) and in part because I'd need to set it down from time to time to do something a little less stressful. It never felt particularly long or slow, which was nice, and I enjoyed the writing and the story, insofar as one can enjoy a story about Nazi Germany. This was an excellent book and it presented an angle I haven't read a million times (though, to be fair, I don't read every WWII historical fiction novel published).

I admire the men and women who put their own safety aside to try to help Jews and other persecuted groups reach safety and who did what they could to try to defeat Hitler and the Nazis from within. We so often hear about all the Nazis, Nazi supporters and sympathizers, and Germans who went along with the Nazis to keep themselves and their families safe. It was nice to read about the resistance in a way that looked at the people behind it rather than focusing on the activities of the resistance itself. This book is a favorite of the year so far for me. ...more

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Apr 11, 2019 Maureen Timerman rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019

Going into this book I thought I knew what to expect, but not in this detail, and not when I felt that I needed to get out of there and leave. When I think about those that stay and then what happened, I thought about staying in my own home, it’s mine why should I leave, and that mentality could get them killed.
Through the author we get to walk on the streets of Berlin during this horrific time, and we put faces to those who can see what is happening and do what they can to help thwart this evil ...more

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Apr 12, 2019 Amy Bullis rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: advanced-copies

One of the best books I’ve read; I could not put it down for the first 400 pages. My reading pace slowed as I neared the end because I’d fallen in love with the characters, and I didn’t want their stories to end as I knew they would. This excellent work needs to be on everyone’s “to read” list.

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May 05, 2019 Karen Macedo rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I won this book in a goodreads giveaway. Thank you to William Morrow. The story is about the brave women in the resistance during the second world war. Some of the characters are the actual women who tried to fight the injustice being done to the oppressed during the war. Really well written and well researched. One of the best books I've read about the second world war. ...more

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Mar 21, 2020 Joy D rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, wwii, library-audio, espionage, relationships, 2020-top-50, favorites, europe, library, friendship

Historical fiction that portrays the gradual rise of fascism in Germany prior to World War II, starting in 1929 and ending in 1946, from the perspective of the courageous women of Die Rote Kapelle (the Red Orchestra), one of the resistance groups that actively opposed the Nazis.

The novel follows four women, three of whom are real people. Mildred Fish Harnack is an American who meets her husband, Arvid, during her college studies in Wisconsin. She follows Arvid to his homeland in Germany and bec Historical fiction that portrays the gradual rise of fascism in Germany prior to World War II, starting in 1929 and ending in 1946, from the perspective of the courageous women of Die Rote Kapelle (the Red Orchestra), one of the resistance groups that actively opposed the Nazis.

The novel follows four women, three of whom are real people. Mildred Fish Harnack is an American who meets her husband, Arvid, during her college studies in Wisconsin. She follows Arvid to his homeland in Germany and becomes a teacher. Greta Lorke Kuckhoff is a German who studies in America, where she meets Mildred and Arvid. After returning to Germany, she meets her future husband, Adam. Sara Weitz is Jewish and is one of Mildred’s students. The Red Orchestra is a resistance group that includes their husbands, other family members, and friends. Martha Dodd, spirited daughter of the U.S. Ambassador to Germany, serves to lighten the mood in interacting with the main characters, though she is not an official member of the resistance.

This book is character driven. The female characters are particularly well-developed. Some of the male characters are not as well defined, but they are not the primary focus. The plot is provided by the course of events leading up to WWII. This novel is a detailed, well written, and historically rigorous depiction of how a group of Germany’s residents become activists, how they try to save their country from a malevolent regime, and how they attempt to convince outside forces to join them.

It is a long book at over 600 pages, but I highly recommend listening to the audio, which provides a slow immersion into the historical era. It allows the reader to get well-acquainted with these admirable people and feel their frustration as their lives change, gradually losing freedoms and bearing witness to the rising violence during Hitler’s ascension to power. The reader of the audio book, Saskia Maarleveld, does an excellent job with female and male voices and a variety of accents.

Resistance Women is an inspiring story based on real people that faced death to take a stand for their beliefs. It is a sweeping epic that provides perspective on how ordinary people can become heroic. It is historical fiction at its best. ...more

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Feb 16, 2020 Nursebookie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: blog-ig-feature, womensfiction, williammorrow, women-author, historical-fiction, wwii

I just finished reading this captivating and engrossing read by the one and only Jennifer Chiaverini and I am enthralled! I loved this book and read it slowly over the last few days enjoying Chiaverini’s writing and her attention to detail of 1930’s Berlin, the development of these amazing characters you will love, and building the political tension of the Nazi regime.

Newlywed and recent Wisconsin graduate Mildred Fish marries Arvid Harnack a German economist and lives with him in Berlin. The s ...more

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Jul 27, 2019 Danielle Friedrich rated it liked it · review of another edition

Long book gets a long review ;-)

I thought this book was very well researched and so interesting to read the detailed events of what unfolded. Not as good as Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s biography by Metaxas, because of the fictional aspect that didn’t really draw me in as much as the facts in and of themselves. Honestly, the book would have been better IMO without the fictional narrative and published as non-fiction. The author did significant and thorough research, but blending it with the fictional n ...more

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Jun 05, 2019 The Lit Bitch rated it liked it · review of another edition

3.5 stars

This book showed up on my desk for review a few months ago and I was absolutely in love with the cover!

It reminded me of spring and it was elegant and had a lot of visual interest. The summary also sounded like something I would love, as I especially love war time stories.

Chiaverini has written a variety of different books, with her most widely known book being Mrs Lincoln’s Dressmaker as well as a women’s fiction quilting series called, Elm Creek Quilts.

This book seemed completely out 3.5 stars

This book showed up on my desk for review a few months ago and I was absolutely in love with the cover!

It reminded me of spring and it was elegant and had a lot of visual interest. The summary also sounded like something I would love, as I especially love war time stories.

Chiaverini has written a variety of different books, with her most widely known book being Mrs Lincoln’s Dressmaker as well as a women’s fiction quilting series called, Elm Creek Quilts.

This book seemed completely out of her normal genre. Her signature genre seemed to be historical fiction with crafting and women’s fiction with crafting so I wondered how this book about resistance women in WWII was going to come together and be different than her usual stories!

I have to say that I admire Chiaverini’s ability to shift genres and write memorable stories. While this book was on the longer, more dense/heavy side (over 600 pages), I did enjoy it and I commend her for reaching out into a new genre. There were some parts that were a little slow for me, but on the whole I thought the book mostly flowed ok, but it was just slow in parts and had a lot of historic detail .

It definitely wasn’t a books that I was able to ‘breeze’ through. It took me a few days of aggressive reading to get through it. While it was an enjoyable story, it was just long and had a lot of heavy content to process and uncover. I did love reading about the 4 women though. I thought the author created interesting women and intriguing stories for them.

While this book was on the long side, I did feel like I learned some new bits about history. I liked that this book gave some female perspective on the state of Germany at the time of the war and I enjoyed getting a bit of ‘behind the scenes’ views of history here. I didn’t know that this book was based on a true story, the characters themselves were fictional, but their stories were based on true events. I thought that was exciting and well researched so I commend the author on this front but at times I felt like this book had a little too much history in some parts.

Overall I ended up going with 3.5 stars for this one. It was good and interesting, but the length was just a little much for the story in my opinion.

See my full review here ...more

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Apr 24, 2019 Jane rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: goodreads-giveaway-wins, dnf

Thanks to Goodreads and Wm. Morrow for this ARC.

I struggled with this book until I dropped it at page 59.

I usually enjoy WWII/historical books but this one was just too heavy for me (literally and figuratively since it was 586 pages). I've read so many historical books about WWII that I felt this book was not for me.

This is my first book by this author and I've heard of her other books which are a lighter read and she's sure gone in the opposite direction and I commend her for trying something ...more

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Jul 14, 2019 Sassa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This historical fiction is heavy on the history, which is exactly as I like it. The history evolved around the many difficult situations for the Germans and emigrants inside Berlin and Germany during Ww2 who did not like the direction the country was taking under Hitler and his Nazi cohorts. Their dissension led to resistance groups and therein lies the plot of the thrilling story. There was so much to learn and plenty of inspiration to investigate further. Fact is often more intriguing than fic ...more

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May 20, 2019 Laura • lauralovestoread rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arcs, 2019

Resistance Women is about the true badass woman named Mildred Fish Harnack and her circle of women friends who waged a clandestine battle against Hitler in Nazi Berlin.

My first book by Jennifer Chiaverini and I’m hooked! I love historical fiction and I was blown away by the true story of the brave women- A professor, an aspiring author, and a student- who helped commit espionage against Hitler during WWII.

While this book is a chunker, I loved the true historic events taking place, and fell in lo ...more

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Mar 19, 2020 Whitney rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction

I feel really proud of myself for finishing this one (thank you @williammorrowbooks @bookclubgirl for the free book).
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Resistance Women follows the lives of a group of women living in Berlin in the decade preceding WWII and beyond. I learned SO MUCH about German history and culture. Most WWII fiction focuses on the war itself or just before. But this book helped me understand why Nazism took such a strong hold on the German people and also showed how many Germans fought against it.
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I did struggle ...more

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Jul 08, 2019 Christina DeVane rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-read-in-2019

This was a long book and took awhile to get through! 😅 Amazing history and heart gripping events! The author bases all her main characters on real people (except one who is a combination of people) which makes for excellent authenticity. Because this is so historically accurate the story gets choppy in places. The middle gets a little slow, but the last 100 pages are worth the whole book. There’s a brief affair at the beginning that I assume is historically accurate.
This story begins in 1929 and ...more

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Jul 17, 2020 Morgan rated it it was amazing

Written from a different perspective this saga is set in Germany (for the most part).
The story follows a group of courageous women determined to do the right thing in the face of obvious and imminent danger.
Beginning in 1929 the reader is taken into Germany before Hitler came to power, his meteoric rise to power and the beginning, the middle and the end of WWII.
How these gutsy women risked their lives in a resistance movement within Germany to thwart Hitler and his insane ambitions is a moving ...more

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Aug 29, 2019 Julie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This book seemed to take a long time to read which is natural I guess when it takes you slowly thru 20 years of time leading up to and into World War II. The story of the 4 women and their families tell an inside of Germany tale of the tedious pre-planned buildup with Hitler against the Jews and other non-aryan groups that leads the expansion into border countries and eventually out right war. Another book that reminds us we must never forget...

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Jun 20, 2019 Carol (Reading Ladies) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Mildred Fish, an American College graduate, meets the love of her life, Arvid Harnack. After they fall in love, they marry and make their home in Arvid’s homeland of Germany. Mildred and Arvid thrive there, forming new friendships, and enjoying the intellectual and artistic offerings of 1930s Berlin. As Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party become more popular and powerful, Mildred and Arvid and their friends are compelled to resist. For years, Mildred and Arvid and their cohorts risk their lives to g Mildred Fish, an American College graduate, meets the love of her life, Arvid Harnack. After they fall in love, they marry and make their home in Arvid’s homeland of Germany. Mildred and Arvid thrive there, forming new friendships, and enjoying the intellectual and artistic offerings of 1930s Berlin. As Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party become more popular and powerful, Mildred and Arvid and their friends are compelled to resist. For years, Mildred and Arvid and their cohorts risk their lives to gather intelligence to bring down the Third Reich from within. Sadly, their sincere efforts don’t result in the help they desired or envisioned. This is a story of ordinary people who, while they should be enjoying their carefree youth, give their best efforts to fighting evil and saving their country.

Jennifer Chiaverini puts history back into historical fiction!

Most of the story is focused on prewar Germany. Many WW11 books drop the reader right into the middle of the war action and atrocities. In contrast, Jennifer Chiaverini devotes approximately 60% of the story tracing the fascinating buildup to WW11. For the most part, this is a quiet story that focuses on the lives of ordinary, patriotic, sincere, and likable people and the difficult circumstances in which they find themselves. Although Resistance Women is not a page-turner, the suffering, quiet desperation, and stealthy efforts of the characters are engaging. As the conspirators continue to live their lives as best they can, they quietly find others who share their concern and are also willing to take risks. These risks do not produce many rewards, and as Mildred and her friends suffer dire consequences, the pace of the story quickens.

Resistance Women is well researched and thoughtfully written, and I can picture the author writing the story with all of her notecards spread out around her. In this 600 page story, there’s a significant amount of time devoted to the build-up of the war. If the focus on this time in history interests you, you will appreciate the read. The author includes a great deal of “reporting” of the events, a lot of “telling” and minimal “showing.” It’s like reading a history book where we hear about the events but we do not experience them alongside the character. So even though it’s easy reading, the writing isn’t as engaging or page turning as some other historical fiction books that I’ve read over the past years. Nevertheless, I enjoyed Resistance Women because the prewar history and details about the lives of real people fascinate me. If there had been more specific details about the characters’ activities (more intrigue), I would have bumped this up to a full five stars. In summary, this is a “quiet” story that’s heavily character driven with a great deal of emphasis on the build-up to the war.

Resistance Women shares the experiences of three courageous souls and their resistance efforts: Mildred (an American married to a German man), Greta, and Sara. These three unforgettable and ordinary women risk their lives to fight evil. It is especially interesting to read about the American, Mildred, and her commitment to the resistance movement. Mildred is a fascinating character to me because she is an American who grew to love her husband’s homeland and risked her life to fight against the Nazis. (If you read about her death online, the book doesn’t include the most disturbing details.) There is a memorial honoring Mildred in Madison, Wisconsin (USA). In Wisconsin schools, Sept. 16 is celebrated as Mildred Harnack Day. It’s her birthday.

An additional note of historical interest is that Mildred Harnack was married to the cousin of the famous theologian, Detrich Bonhoeffer, and he is mentioned at the beginning of the book. Some of you may recognize the name.

Thoughtful themes include hope, friendship, bravery, courage, risk-taking, patriotism, and ordinary people doing extraordinary things in the most impossible and difficult circumstances. These themes would contribute to a great book club discussion.

Jennifer Chiaverini puts the history into historical fiction! If you are ever frustrated by historical fiction that reads like women’s fiction in a historical setting, you can be assured that there’s an abundance of history in Resistance Women. I recommend this story for readers who love a quieter, character-driven story with lots of historical detail, for those who might be interested in the prewar buildup in Germany, and for fans of Jennifer Chiaverini (and, of course, histfic). This story would provide thoughtful discussion topics for a book club.

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Dec 17, 2019 CoachJim rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction

Resistance Women
by Jennifer Chiaverini

“Hitler lied with impunity, …. when his fanatical admirers disregarded all evidence that contradicted him? [Mildred] wondered sometimes if the Fuhrer believed his own lies, but she suspected the answer was much simpler, that he was ruthlessly calculating——“ (Page 280)

The story involves 4 women who are part of a cell trying to hasten the end of Hitler’s reign by passing information to the Allies and helping victims of Hitler’s Horror. The 4 women, Mildred Fis Resistance Women
by Jennifer Chiaverini

“Hitler lied with impunity, …. when his fanatical admirers disregarded all evidence that contradicted him? [Mildred] wondered sometimes if the Fuhrer believed his own lies, but she suspected the answer was much simpler, that he was ruthlessly calculating——“ (Page 280)

The story involves 4 women who are part of a cell trying to hasten the end of Hitler’s reign by passing information to the Allies and helping victims of Hitler’s Horror. The 4 women, Mildred Fish Harnack, an American married to a German professor, Greta Kuckhoff, a German woman, Martha Dodd Stern, the daughter of the American Ambassador to Germany, and Sara Weitz, a Jewish German. The story gives almost a month-by-month accounting of these women during the 1930s and Hitler’s rise to power. The first 3 women are actually historical people, although Martha is not that interesting and has only a brief involvement. Sara is a composite of people the author interviewed for this book.

The reader knows things will not end well from the first chapter, but the story builds tension as we follow the events. I enjoyed reading the first three quarters of this book about the heroic efforts of these women. I thought the story was well structured, the writing good, and the characters interesting and well developed.

However, in the last part of the book the story descends into the sadistic hell of Nazi Germany. At that point I considered putting the book down. It is not that I don’t think people should know about these horrors but I have read about them too many times. These stories are not fiction. They really happened and too many of the Nazi criminals were allowed to go free, as is one in this story.

It may be the temperature of the times, but I find the parallels between this history and our current political environment too eerie to be ignored. In addition to the quote at the beginning of this review, there is the following observation:

“Perhaps Germany will serve as a warning. May they learn from us to snuff out fascism in America when the first sparks arise and not delay until democracy goes up in flames around them.” (Page 153)

The line between History and Historical Fiction gets a little blurred sometimes. This book works on both sides. Anyone that would like to know what living in Berlin during the 1930s would do well to read this book. As a dramatization of the ideas and feelings of these women as they resisted Hitler and the Nazis this book is an excellent choice. ...more

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Mar 26, 2019 Lynn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Meet the women:
• Mildred, an American, is married to Arvid Harnack, a German. She is teaching in Berlin, working on her Doctorate, vowing to stay in Germany with her husband.
• Greta Kuckoff, recently returned to Berlin from Wisconsin. She is a writer, with not many options. Her lover is Adam, who is married, but insists he will soon be free.
• Sara Weitz is a Jew and a student of Mildred's. Her parents have been able to flee to Switzerland, while Sara remains in Germany with her brother Natan.

In ...more

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Mar 24, 2020 Lyne rated it really liked it

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

This is my first read from Jennifer Chiaverini and I loved it! It is well written and not fast paced.

This book covers the period between 1929 and 1946. It is based on fact. “Die Rote Kapelle”, the Red Orchestra or the Red Chapel was the name given by the Gestapo to a group of resistance workers. Their ages were between 16 and 86, and about 40% of the group were women. This story is told not only from the Jewish perspective, but also from the fraction of anti-fascist Germans who wanted ...more

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About Jennifer Chiaverini

Jennifer Chiaverini

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Jennifer Chiaverini is the New York Times bestselling author of several acclaimed historical novels and the beloved Elm Creek Quilts series, as well as six collections of quilt patterns inspired by her books. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Chicago, she lives with her husband and two sons in Madison, Wisconsin. About her historical fiction, the Milwaukee Journal Se ...more

Books by Jennifer Chiaverini

The Quilter's Apprentice (Elm Creek Quilts, #1)

The Runaway Quilt (Elm Creek Quilts, #4)

The Quilter's Legacy (Elm Creek Quilts, #5)

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Quotes from Resistance Women

“Perhaps Germany will serve as a warning,” said Arvid. “May they learn from us to snuff out fascism in America when the first sparks arise and not delay until democracy goes up in flames all around them.” “This could never happen in America. A nation that elected Franklin Delano Roosevelt would never elect a madman populist.” — 12 likes

“She wanted a true partnership fueled by intellect and creativity, respect and desire.” — 1 likes

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