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A Woman of War
Germany, 1944. Taken from the camps to serve the Führer himself, Anke Hoff is assigned as midwife to one of Hitler’s inner circle. If she refuses, her family will die.
Torn between her duty as a caregiver and her hatred for the Nazi regime, Anke is swept into a life unlike anything she’s ever known – and she discovers that many of those at the Berghof are just as trapped as she is. And soon, she’s falling for a man who will make her world more complicated still…
Before long, the couple is faced with an impossible choice – and the consequences could be deadly. Can their forbidden love survive the horrors of war? And, more importantly, will they?
370 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 14, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,485 reviews
September 21, 2019
I really did enjoy this book. It's definitely one to get you wondering! It's the story of Anke, a young German woman who has been a prisoner in a concentration camp during WW2 as a political prisoner. However, her growing reputation as a midwife in the camp sees her relocated and forced to act as a midwife to high ranking Nazi's wives, and she finds herself at the highest echelon of Nazi officialdom.
Anke has conflicted views, struggling for working to help the regime that incarcerated her and her family, yet a desire to help any woman in need during childbirth. It's the innocent babies she's most concerned about. Yet there is always the threat of something going wrong during childbirth, where the regime will easily find a scapegoat in the midwife. Anke has no idea if she will survive this never ending war.
This is a little gem of a book, Mandy Robotham tells a tale that is so realistic that the reader is left asking 'What if...'. I recommend this book to all lovers of Historical Fiction.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Anke has conflicted views, struggling for working to help the regime that incarcerated her and her family, yet a desire to help any woman in need during childbirth. It's the innocent babies she's most concerned about. Yet there is always the threat of something going wrong during childbirth, where the regime will easily find a scapegoat in the midwife. Anke has no idea if she will survive this never ending war.
This is a little gem of a book, Mandy Robotham tells a tale that is so realistic that the reader is left asking 'What if...'. I recommend this book to all lovers of Historical Fiction.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
September 14, 2021
5 stars! A fresh and unique WWII perspective.
Published under both titles, “The German Midwife” and “A Woman Of War”, this novel is centred around Holocaust prisoner midwife, Anke Hoff, who is called to secretly care for a Reich mistress.
This was a captivating and suspenseful novel. If you enjoy pregnancy/midwife storylines, you will love this. The characters were truly phenomenal - I loved every one of them! Anke was an intriguing main character who I loved spending time with. Her situation was awful and several times I found myself stepping back to consider how I would handle being in her shoes. I felt the relief she experienced when removed from the concentration camps, and then the extreme worry and stress she endured as she realized what her “freedom” entailed and what consequences there could be for an unfavourable outcome. Flashbacks added suspense and tension and provided important detail to Anke’s backstory which had me fully invested and engaged in her situation.
The harrowing situations and torment the concentration camp prisoners faced was palpable. The stress they experienced when Nazi’s threatened family members safety if a prisoner didn’t agree to a request. What I found fascinating was the sense of hope that the prisoners focused on to keep them surviving and moving forward. Even during the most horrendous and devastating times, they were able to keep each other uplifted with even a small sliver of hope that things would get better. This was both heart breaking and heart warming and a true testament to the strength of the human spirit and survival.
Audio rating: 5 stars! The narrator did an outstanding job and added to my overall reading experience.
This was an excellent historical fiction novel that I highly recommend and will be added to my Favourites Shelf. Thank you to the publisher for my review copy and my lovely local library for the audio loan.
Published under both titles, “The German Midwife” and “A Woman Of War”, this novel is centred around Holocaust prisoner midwife, Anke Hoff, who is called to secretly care for a Reich mistress.
This was a captivating and suspenseful novel. If you enjoy pregnancy/midwife storylines, you will love this. The characters were truly phenomenal - I loved every one of them! Anke was an intriguing main character who I loved spending time with. Her situation was awful and several times I found myself stepping back to consider how I would handle being in her shoes. I felt the relief she experienced when removed from the concentration camps, and then the extreme worry and stress she endured as she realized what her “freedom” entailed and what consequences there could be for an unfavourable outcome. Flashbacks added suspense and tension and provided important detail to Anke’s backstory which had me fully invested and engaged in her situation.
The harrowing situations and torment the concentration camp prisoners faced was palpable. The stress they experienced when Nazi’s threatened family members safety if a prisoner didn’t agree to a request. What I found fascinating was the sense of hope that the prisoners focused on to keep them surviving and moving forward. Even during the most horrendous and devastating times, they were able to keep each other uplifted with even a small sliver of hope that things would get better. This was both heart breaking and heart warming and a true testament to the strength of the human spirit and survival.
Audio rating: 5 stars! The narrator did an outstanding job and added to my overall reading experience.
This was an excellent historical fiction novel that I highly recommend and will be added to my Favourites Shelf. Thank you to the publisher for my review copy and my lovely local library for the audio loan.
September 2, 2019
The German Midwife or it's alternative title A Woman at War tackles a "what if" in this historical fiction. A political prisoner in Ravensbruck concentration camp, Anke Hoff is recruited to become the midwife of Eva Braun, mistress of Adolf Hitler.
Confusion draped again like a thick fog, twisting the moral threads in my brain. I was supposed to feel dislike towards this woman, hatred even. She had danced with the devil, created, and was now nurturing, his child. And yet she appeared like any woman with a proud bump and dreams of cradling her newborn. I wished there and then, I was back in the camp with Rosa by my side, where the world was ugly, but at least it was black and white. Where I knew who to seethe against, and who the enemy was.
Although the Eva Braun storyline is based on speculation rathar than concrete historical fact, the conditions of Ravensbruck that Anke and the other prisoners face and the atmosphere in Germany during this period are accurate. The author actually draws much of her research from the nonfiction bookIf this is A Woman by Sarah Helm. A book that I highly recommend.
A compelling story that I just couldn't put down.
Goodreads review published 02/09/19
Confusion draped again like a thick fog, twisting the moral threads in my brain. I was supposed to feel dislike towards this woman, hatred even. She had danced with the devil, created, and was now nurturing, his child. And yet she appeared like any woman with a proud bump and dreams of cradling her newborn. I wished there and then, I was back in the camp with Rosa by my side, where the world was ugly, but at least it was black and white. Where I knew who to seethe against, and who the enemy was.
Although the Eva Braun storyline is based on speculation rathar than concrete historical fact, the conditions of Ravensbruck that Anke and the other prisoners face and the atmosphere in Germany during this period are accurate. The author actually draws much of her research from the nonfiction bookIf this is A Woman by Sarah Helm. A book that I highly recommend.
A compelling story that I just couldn't put down.
Goodreads review published 02/09/19
May 18, 2024
In the acknowledgements of this historical romance, author Mandy Robotham said she wanted to imagine a “what if” scenario where a midwife would be put in impossible circumstances—in this case to care for a secret baby to be born to Eva Braun, mistress of Hitler, after all the horrors she’d witnessed in the Nazi death camps. Midwife Anke Hoff is determined that her patient will be treated no differently from any other. But her assignment remains a prison, merely a more comfortable one.
This was well written and had dual timelines detailing Anke’s time earlier in the war, and switching back to the present, where she is with Eva. There is also a romance with the Captain assigned to guard her—and this relationship, along with the relationship Anke has with Eva, was the most interesting of the novel. The author is a midwife, and the detailed medical scenes were extremely well done.
Trigger Warnings:
This was well written and had dual timelines detailing Anke’s time earlier in the war, and switching back to the present, where she is with Eva. There is also a romance with the Captain assigned to guard her—and this relationship, along with the relationship Anke has with Eva, was the most interesting of the novel. The author is a midwife, and the detailed medical scenes were extremely well done.
Trigger Warnings:
July 10, 2020
What if Hitler had a child?
Midwife Anke, a German political prisoner, is forced to attend to pregnant Eva Braun, Hitler's mistress. An interesting premise for a book! Although it started off fast-paced, I found this debut novel dragged in places, occasionally catching me nodding off. At times, this book read like a birthing manual for anyone interested in obstetrics (actually, I found these parts interesting!). Anke deplores the Reich and all it stands for, but she falls in love with Dieter, a good-looking but kindhearted SS officer (an oxymoron, in my opinion). So many incidences occurred during Anke's stay at Berghof that I would think, "Now there'll be trouble!", but nothing really came of them, leaving me to question, "What was the point writing about that?" To me, the character development of Anke fell short that I felt little emotion or affinity for her. So many possible endings could have been written that I was surprised, but a little disappointed, with the one that was chosen.
Overall, some portions were interesting/entertaining, but this isn't a book I will put on my "Favorites" bookshelf.
Midwife Anke, a German political prisoner, is forced to attend to pregnant Eva Braun, Hitler's mistress. An interesting premise for a book! Although it started off fast-paced, I found this debut novel dragged in places, occasionally catching me nodding off. At times, this book read like a birthing manual for anyone interested in obstetrics (actually, I found these parts interesting!). Anke deplores the Reich and all it stands for, but she falls in love with Dieter, a good-looking but kindhearted SS officer (an oxymoron, in my opinion). So many incidences occurred during Anke's stay at Berghof that I would think, "Now there'll be trouble!", but nothing really came of them, leaving me to question, "What was the point writing about that?" To me, the character development of Anke fell short that I felt little emotion or affinity for her. So many possible endings could have been written that I was surprised, but a little disappointed, with the one that was chosen.
Overall, some portions were interesting/entertaining, but this isn't a book I will put on my "Favorites" bookshelf.
January 9, 2019
Many thanks to Avon Books UK & #NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I was extremely pleased to receive a copy of this book to read and review and am happy to report that I really enjoyed reading it. The cover art grabbed my attention as did the subject matter. I am a retired public health nurse and taught prenatal classes for approximately twenty years so this book was right down my alley.
If the reader is looking for a story that is strictly factual then perhaps this story is not for them, but if you have ever heard a piece of news or studied a time period in history only to wonder "What if...." then you will surely enjoy this book. The author was inspired by a real and desperate time in history - the second world war and the genocide which was waged against the Jewish people. Her main character is a German midwife who is NOT Jewish but whose beliefs about how all labouring women and newborn babies should be treated lands her in Ravensbruck Concentration Camp.
The story of women giving birth only to have their newborns taken from them to be put to death was horrifying to read and yet it did happen. There are graphic descriptions of women giving birth which have beauty in spite of the horrific location. Clearly the author did her research on the time period and her own experience as a midwife made the descriptions come to life.
Things do not end in the concentration camp though. Anke Hoff (the midwife) finds herself transferred from the camp to a completely different location where she is expected to be the private midwife to a very important German woman. The life of her family is held over her to make sure that she will co-operate. In spite of such a strong incentive she still finds herself questioning her innermost beliefs about what is right and what she will or will not do in terms of the birth of this important baby. There are twists and turns in this novel and even a little romance (although it is not the main thrust of the book). The ending came as a real surprise to me. For a debut novel this was extremely well done!
From the first pages of the book I was enthralled and had real trouble putting the book down in spite of the fact that I had a houseful of company to feed and entertain. This is a book that I won't soon forget. I highly recommend it especially if you are interested in novels set in World War 2 Germany.
I was extremely pleased to receive a copy of this book to read and review and am happy to report that I really enjoyed reading it. The cover art grabbed my attention as did the subject matter. I am a retired public health nurse and taught prenatal classes for approximately twenty years so this book was right down my alley.
If the reader is looking for a story that is strictly factual then perhaps this story is not for them, but if you have ever heard a piece of news or studied a time period in history only to wonder "What if...." then you will surely enjoy this book. The author was inspired by a real and desperate time in history - the second world war and the genocide which was waged against the Jewish people. Her main character is a German midwife who is NOT Jewish but whose beliefs about how all labouring women and newborn babies should be treated lands her in Ravensbruck Concentration Camp.
The story of women giving birth only to have their newborns taken from them to be put to death was horrifying to read and yet it did happen. There are graphic descriptions of women giving birth which have beauty in spite of the horrific location. Clearly the author did her research on the time period and her own experience as a midwife made the descriptions come to life.
Things do not end in the concentration camp though. Anke Hoff (the midwife) finds herself transferred from the camp to a completely different location where she is expected to be the private midwife to a very important German woman. The life of her family is held over her to make sure that she will co-operate. In spite of such a strong incentive she still finds herself questioning her innermost beliefs about what is right and what she will or will not do in terms of the birth of this important baby. There are twists and turns in this novel and even a little romance (although it is not the main thrust of the book). The ending came as a real surprise to me. For a debut novel this was extremely well done!
From the first pages of the book I was enthralled and had real trouble putting the book down in spite of the fact that I had a houseful of company to feed and entertain. This is a book that I won't soon forget. I highly recommend it especially if you are interested in novels set in World War 2 Germany.
November 22, 2022
"A son and heir to [Hitler's] name and genetics was too much to fathom."
Anke Hoff is a skilled and compassionate midwife in 1940s World War II Germany. Her decision to offer medical assistance to women giving birth in Berlin’s infamous Jewish Ghetto bought her a one way ticket to the wrong side of the razor wire around Ravensbrück, a factory prison camp dedicated to the production of soldiers’ uniforms for the German war effort. Ms Hoff is horrified when the SS move her out of the camp to be the midwife giving daily care to Eva Braun, Hitler’s mistress, pregnant with the child Joseph Goebbels knows will be the poster child for the future Fourth Reich!
To the best of history’s knowledge, this never actually happened but, for purposes of a what-if novel, the creation of these conflicts obviously makes for a tension-packed, gut-wrenching story! Anke Hoff’s loathing and hatred of Nazis, Nazism, and all that they stand for; her fear of renewed imprisonment; and her concern for her family members still being held in prison stand in clear conflict with her duty of care to Eva Braun and the unborn child; her responsibility to the tenets of midwifery and simple charity; her disgusted perception of herself as a self-interested, cowardly, sellout to save herself from prison; her inability to conceive of the prospect and the means of actually killing the child, Eva Braun and even Hitler himself. Indeed, given the basic plot outline, these possible conflicts and tensions are so obvious that it is difficult to imagine a novel that avoids falling into melodrama and saccharine platitudes and also ends in a fashion that resolves plot issues without clashing in some stupid fashion with the actual results of World War II.
Mandy Robotham managed it all and THE GERMAN MIDWIFE is a compelling, convincing, thoroughly enjoyable page-turner. Definitely recommended.
Paul Weiss
Anke Hoff is a skilled and compassionate midwife in 1940s World War II Germany. Her decision to offer medical assistance to women giving birth in Berlin’s infamous Jewish Ghetto bought her a one way ticket to the wrong side of the razor wire around Ravensbrück, a factory prison camp dedicated to the production of soldiers’ uniforms for the German war effort. Ms Hoff is horrified when the SS move her out of the camp to be the midwife giving daily care to Eva Braun, Hitler’s mistress, pregnant with the child Joseph Goebbels knows will be the poster child for the future Fourth Reich!
To the best of history’s knowledge, this never actually happened but, for purposes of a what-if novel, the creation of these conflicts obviously makes for a tension-packed, gut-wrenching story! Anke Hoff’s loathing and hatred of Nazis, Nazism, and all that they stand for; her fear of renewed imprisonment; and her concern for her family members still being held in prison stand in clear conflict with her duty of care to Eva Braun and the unborn child; her responsibility to the tenets of midwifery and simple charity; her disgusted perception of herself as a self-interested, cowardly, sellout to save herself from prison; her inability to conceive of the prospect and the means of actually killing the child, Eva Braun and even Hitler himself. Indeed, given the basic plot outline, these possible conflicts and tensions are so obvious that it is difficult to imagine a novel that avoids falling into melodrama and saccharine platitudes and also ends in a fashion that resolves plot issues without clashing in some stupid fashion with the actual results of World War II.
Mandy Robotham managed it all and THE GERMAN MIDWIFE is a compelling, convincing, thoroughly enjoyable page-turner. Definitely recommended.
Paul Weiss
February 10, 2019
In 1939 Anke Hoff is working as a midwife in the maternity section of a Berlin hospital when a Nazi directive is presented to all maternity staff that any babies born with a disability or with a deformity be reported to the authorities. As a dedicated midwife Anke does not support this directive, her belief is that regardless of any hiccup of nature every baby born is loved. This sets the scene for the reader to know Anke, a young German woman caught up in a time of great turmoil, distrust and evil and for which in 1942 she finds herself in a maternity section of a concentration camp, a political prisoner due to her father's and brother's non-support of the war. The conditions are deplorable and the unbelievable cruelty suffered by the women who in the main have become pregnant due to being raped, or the few who have arrived at the camp pregnant from their previous lives is distressing to read. Non Jewish women are allowed to try and care for their babies until in most cases they die due to the very circumstances they are born into. Jewish mothers have their babies removed at birth with immediate death the general outcome. Unexpectedly Anke is ordered to the Commandant's office where she receives compliments on her excellent midwifery skills but with the veiled threat of harm to her family unless she complies with the order he has received. She is informed that she is needed elsewhere for a very important and confidential role. She has no belongings to collect, her dress is threadbare, holes in worn shoes and is malnutriced. Anke is taken in a chauffeur driven car to her new destination. From here on the reader along with Anke is transported to a very different world, a world of luxury and excesses on top of a mountain retreat where she is informed that she has only one patient to care for. Shocked at her change of circumstances Anke now realises that she and her imprisoned family are in a more perilous predicament. The author has created a thought provoking story wrapped around the caring and responsibilities of midwifery with her central character of Anke Hoff. However, possible events portrayed in this book make cause for serious contemplation of a future world with a perfect storm of evil.
Many thanks to Netgalley and AVON publishers (div of Harper Collins Publishers) for the opportunity to read and review this remarkable book.
Many thanks to Netgalley and AVON publishers (div of Harper Collins Publishers) for the opportunity to read and review this remarkable book.
May 26, 2020
This was a really good book. It was a quick read as the chapters were very short and I found I couldn’t put it down. It was so well written and very plausible, although at times I kept thinking, is this true, was there a child? At times it made me shiver with the thought of it.
Apart from that it was lovely and I’m interested in reading more of her books.
Apart from that it was lovely and I’m interested in reading more of her books.
February 19, 2019
I am gasping!!I'm not sure if I liked it or hated it. The writing is good and I stayed in the book intensely, that's not the problem. The atrocities of WWII continue to pile up in my head. I'm not sure I was ready for this fiction or to consider having feelings for Eva Braun. Good writing but very heart wrenching.
March 31, 2019
Find this and other reviews at: https://historicalfictionreader.blogs...
Most readers seem to have enjoyed the time they spent with Mandy Robotham’s The German Midwife (aka A Woman of War), but I have to admit the novel left me conflicted.
As I understand it, Hitler’s few living relations have voluntarily committed themselves to intentionally stamping out their bloodline and I had great difficulty rectifying that knowledge against the context of Robotham’s work. I appreciate the theories that inspired this piece, but I also felt the framework Robotham chose thumbs its nose at the intensely personal decisions of very real people and couldn’t help wishing she’d opted to express herself through a different lens.
By pure coincidence, I also read this novel alongside I Was A Doctor In Auschwitz. The memoir, penned by Gisella Perl, is the firsthand account of the time its author spent as an inmate gynecologist. Fair or not, the natural overlap in subject matter prompted unconscious comparison and while I felt the fiction heavy, I couldn’t help noticing it the paler of the two. The course of Perl’s experiences with the officers of the camp also undermined Anke’s rise and at the end of the day, I found I had little patience for the fiction.
When all is said and done, I liked the ideas on which this story was built and appreciate Robotham’s style of writing but have such mixed feelings about the historic context and contemporary implications that I’d have a hard time recommending it forward.
Most readers seem to have enjoyed the time they spent with Mandy Robotham’s The German Midwife (aka A Woman of War), but I have to admit the novel left me conflicted.
As I understand it, Hitler’s few living relations have voluntarily committed themselves to intentionally stamping out their bloodline and I had great difficulty rectifying that knowledge against the context of Robotham’s work. I appreciate the theories that inspired this piece, but I also felt the framework Robotham chose thumbs its nose at the intensely personal decisions of very real people and couldn’t help wishing she’d opted to express herself through a different lens.
By pure coincidence, I also read this novel alongside I Was A Doctor In Auschwitz. The memoir, penned by Gisella Perl, is the firsthand account of the time its author spent as an inmate gynecologist. Fair or not, the natural overlap in subject matter prompted unconscious comparison and while I felt the fiction heavy, I couldn’t help noticing it the paler of the two. The course of Perl’s experiences with the officers of the camp also undermined Anke’s rise and at the end of the day, I found I had little patience for the fiction.
When all is said and done, I liked the ideas on which this story was built and appreciate Robotham’s style of writing but have such mixed feelings about the historic context and contemporary implications that I’d have a hard time recommending it forward.
December 12, 2018
Don't read this review if you are worried about spoilers. It's hard to write about this book without addressing the main event in this book and I was spoiled myself before I started this book. Although that just intrigued me...
Anka Hoff, a midwife sent to a camp is the "lucky" one to be selected to help a woman through her pregnancy and upcoming delivery. The woman is Eva Braun. Yup, she's expecting Adolf Hitler's love child. But, what you think now. Eva and Adolf did not have any children. Right, this is a "what if" story. Totally fiction. However, it's so very well written that you for the moment you read this book actually starts to think about what would have happened if this would have been the truth. An heir to Hitler. But, also an innocent child. This story is interwoven with flashbacks to Anka's time at Ravensbrück. How she came to be there and what she experiences there. It's a very strong story, with some tough moments. Anka herself falls in love with someone, but can their love last?
A Woman of War is a tough book to read, but well worth it. If you enjoy "what if stories" or like to read WW2 novels than I recommend this book warmly!
I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!
Anka Hoff, a midwife sent to a camp is the "lucky" one to be selected to help a woman through her pregnancy and upcoming delivery. The woman is Eva Braun. Yup, she's expecting Adolf Hitler's love child. But, what you think now. Eva and Adolf did not have any children. Right, this is a "what if" story. Totally fiction. However, it's so very well written that you for the moment you read this book actually starts to think about what would have happened if this would have been the truth. An heir to Hitler. But, also an innocent child. This story is interwoven with flashbacks to Anka's time at Ravensbrück. How she came to be there and what she experiences there. It's a very strong story, with some tough moments. Anka herself falls in love with someone, but can their love last?
A Woman of War is a tough book to read, but well worth it. If you enjoy "what if stories" or like to read WW2 novels than I recommend this book warmly!
I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!
December 1, 2018
A woman at war by Mandy Robotham is her debut novel and what a great one it is. Set in Germany in 1944 Anker Hoff is a Midwife in a concentration camp, dealing with helping the women prisoners giving birth to their babies and the problems what occur afterwards. When she is called to Hitler’s inner circle to become the Midwife of Eva Braun, that is pregnant with the Fuhrer’s child. She has no choice but to agree, so she can keep her family safe. They are also prisoners in camps scattered over Germany.
When I read the blurb and it was comparing it to the Tattooist of Auschwitz. I had to read this. I understand that this is pure fiction and the Tattooist of Auschwitz is true life. But this didn’t deter me. I really enjoyed The Woman at war. I think it’s a brilliant first novel. The Author has really done her homework with the research. It has great characters and the novel is realistic and shows of the other atrocities and the suffering that happened in Germany in world war 2. The story made me feel I was actually there. I highly recommend.
Thank you NetGalley and Avon books for ARC of this book.
When I read the blurb and it was comparing it to the Tattooist of Auschwitz. I had to read this. I understand that this is pure fiction and the Tattooist of Auschwitz is true life. But this didn’t deter me. I really enjoyed The Woman at war. I think it’s a brilliant first novel. The Author has really done her homework with the research. It has great characters and the novel is realistic and shows of the other atrocities and the suffering that happened in Germany in world war 2. The story made me feel I was actually there. I highly recommend.
Thank you NetGalley and Avon books for ARC of this book.
July 29, 2020
Após passar alguns anos no campo de concentração de Ravensbruk, onde era parteira e cuidava dos bebés recém nascidos, Anke é levada para acompanhar uma grávida muito especial: Eva Braun está grávida do filho de Hitler.
Ao longo da história vamos ficando também a conhecer o passado de Anke antes de ir para Ravensbruk e durante a sua permanência no campo de concentração.
Não me canso de ler livro sobre a 2a Guerra Mundial. Aprendo sempre alguma coisa nova. Neste aprendi que já antes da guerra os judeus tinham sido excluídos do sistema nacional de saúde alemão...
É um livro bastante difícil de ler dadas as descrições do que mães e bebés eram sujeitos neste campo de concentração. Impossível imaginar a dor destas mães...
Ao longo da história vamos ficando também a conhecer o passado de Anke antes de ir para Ravensbruk e durante a sua permanência no campo de concentração.
Não me canso de ler livro sobre a 2a Guerra Mundial. Aprendo sempre alguma coisa nova. Neste aprendi que já antes da guerra os judeus tinham sido excluídos do sistema nacional de saúde alemão...
É um livro bastante difícil de ler dadas as descrições do que mães e bebés eram sujeitos neste campo de concentração. Impossível imaginar a dor destas mães...
January 21, 2021
DNF at 44%
I’m definitely going against the grain on this one. I normally enjoy WW2 historical fiction and The German Midwife sounded intriguing. However the story itself was dull. It lacked historical detail and was mostly about delivering babies. The MC’s dilemma wasn’t enough to keep me invested. I listened to the audio and perhaps this contributed to my disinterest as the narrator’s performance was monotone. I kept tuning out and was reluctant to turn the audio back on after putting it down.
I’m definitely going against the grain on this one. I normally enjoy WW2 historical fiction and The German Midwife sounded intriguing. However the story itself was dull. It lacked historical detail and was mostly about delivering babies. The MC’s dilemma wasn’t enough to keep me invested. I listened to the audio and perhaps this contributed to my disinterest as the narrator’s performance was monotone. I kept tuning out and was reluctant to turn the audio back on after putting it down.
July 2, 2019
I was totally duped by the fact that this novel was being compared with “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” which is the true story of one man who actually lived it. Such a comparison is sacrilege.
This book is a novel. It is fiction. It is fantasy.
A German woman, a midwife, having been found not to be a Nazi sympathizer is placed in a labour camp. She is selected to care for Eva Braun during her pregnancy. (???)
While at Berghof, seeing to Eva’s every need, the midwife falls for a SS Officer and we are treated to lines such as: “We sat on the porch and sipped.” (Pg.218).
Exactly why that particular line so annoyed me I can’t really say, but it did.
I take umbrage at anyone who would portray Eva Braun as a quivering love-sick innocent and describe her as “this lonely princess in the tower.” (Pg.301).
The ‘ironic’ ending did nothing to dissipate my feelings about this book.
This book is a novel. It is fiction. It is fantasy.
A German woman, a midwife, having been found not to be a Nazi sympathizer is placed in a labour camp. She is selected to care for Eva Braun during her pregnancy. (???)
While at Berghof, seeing to Eva’s every need, the midwife falls for a SS Officer and we are treated to lines such as: “We sat on the porch and sipped.” (Pg.218).
Exactly why that particular line so annoyed me I can’t really say, but it did.
I take umbrage at anyone who would portray Eva Braun as a quivering love-sick innocent and describe her as “this lonely princess in the tower.” (Pg.301).
The ‘ironic’ ending did nothing to dissipate my feelings about this book.
July 5, 2019
3.5.
It was good! Is it the must read of 2019? Nope. It would be a terrific book club book
Note, the author is a midwife so the birthing scenes are incredibly long and detailed.
It was good! Is it the must read of 2019? Nope. It would be a terrific book club book
Note, the author is a midwife so the birthing scenes are incredibly long and detailed.
September 2, 2019
My #1 favourite book of 2019. From the opening pages, I was swept into an entirely real, horrific world, filled with stunning, yet subtly included - as they would be, if they were seen from the character’s viewpoint - details. We have all read wartime novels that have moved us, taken us to terrible places in our hearts and minds, but this book ... It was more. Holocaust and Gestapo stories woven together by unexpected, expert inside knowledge, fibres of the deeply personal life of the midwife, tales of love and grief that won’t leave me. I was convinced, my heart breaking, my mind hungry for more. “The German Midwife” (the title I read) was Ms Robotham’s debut novel, but it is clear she is as passionate and skilled as an author as she ever was as a midwife. And in that, I wonder if she has an equal. Every sentence, every word was beautifully crafted. I am not often moved to write to an author, but I shall be writing to her tonight. Thank you for this incredible journey, Ms Robotham. I look forward to experiencing your next journey.
One of so many favourite lines: “I raised the cup to my lips, thinking of Dieter, and I let the tears fall over the rim, the brine adding to the bitterness of the beans.”
One of so many favourite lines: “I raised the cup to my lips, thinking of Dieter, and I let the tears fall over the rim, the brine adding to the bitterness of the beans.”
January 12, 2021
Anke é prisioneira e parteira num campo de concentração, onde a dura realidade sobre as gravidezes e partos é o seu dia a dia. Todos sabemos que era duro mas é sempre muito muito difícil ler sobre este tema e sobre todas as enormes atrocidades que se passavam.
A determinada altura, passa de uma vida de fome e miséria no campo de concentração para uma mansão muito luxuosa onde tem de escolher entre o seu dever de parteira e o ódio pelo regime. Anke vê-se numa luta sem precedentes entre o que é certo e o que é errado.
E se Eva Braun, companheira de Hitler, estivesse grávida?
O que fariam se se encontrassem cara a cara com o engenheiro da falência moral alemã?
Era o filho do diabo ou um bebé como outro qualquer?
Sobre escolhas, decisões, violência, miséria, ódio, muito ódio, sofrimento, tortura, saudade, família, desprezo, morte e vida também.
Gostei muito, embora gostasse de ter gostado ainda mais. Para mim, acho que faltou mais desenvolvimento da história em algumas partes e em outras tornou-se por vezes lenta e arrastada.
Com descrições muito longas sobre os partos, muito pormenorizadas, violentas e por vezes de arrepiar.
Dura descrição sobre uma pequena, muito pequena, mas muito dura, parte da história.
March 16, 2020
Este é um livro de ficção sobre a 2ª Guerra Mundial e que pega no tema "E se Eva Braun estivesse grávida de Hitller", e protno, foi mais que suficiente para eu ficar muito curiosa.
Estamos em 1944 e Anke Hoff, é uma alemã mas que se encontra detida no campo de concentração de Ravensbrük e que faz o melhor que pode pelas mulheres grávidas e pelos seus bebés. No entanto, devido os seu trabalho como parteira, é "requisitada" para acompanhar, em segredo Eva Braun, que está grávida do filho de Hittler.
A narrativa está muito bem estruturada pois vamos acompanhando Anke no campo, com descrições bem realistas das condições duras, como depois junto de Eva, intercalando com alguns momentos/cenas do seu passado, que nos permitem conhecer melhor a personalidade, ideais e medos de Anke.
A autora dá-nos uma personagem, que apesar de ficcionada, consegue-se tornar real, e sentimos as suas dúvidas e tememos por ela.
Foi também muito interessante a perspectiva de um oficial nazi, pois faz-nos acreditar que, nem todos aqueles homens partilhavam dos mesmos ideais e que, também eles (e as suas famílias), se sentiam ameaçados.
Recomendo!
Estamos em 1944 e Anke Hoff, é uma alemã mas que se encontra detida no campo de concentração de Ravensbrük e que faz o melhor que pode pelas mulheres grávidas e pelos seus bebés. No entanto, devido os seu trabalho como parteira, é "requisitada" para acompanhar, em segredo Eva Braun, que está grávida do filho de Hittler.
A narrativa está muito bem estruturada pois vamos acompanhando Anke no campo, com descrições bem realistas das condições duras, como depois junto de Eva, intercalando com alguns momentos/cenas do seu passado, que nos permitem conhecer melhor a personalidade, ideais e medos de Anke.
A autora dá-nos uma personagem, que apesar de ficcionada, consegue-se tornar real, e sentimos as suas dúvidas e tememos por ela.
Foi também muito interessante a perspectiva de um oficial nazi, pois faz-nos acreditar que, nem todos aqueles homens partilhavam dos mesmos ideais e que, também eles (e as suas famílias), se sentiam ameaçados.
Recomendo!
July 13, 2019
This was a fantastic book! I never felt like it dragged on or was tedious. The title is “The German Mid-Wife” here in the USA, rather than the title indicated.
Setting was WWII and those who have been sent to the Concentration Camps are German citizens who were caught helping the Jews and those who also opposed the Nazis and their Socialist Workers Party.
It is a work of historical fiction, and well researched, but one never knows how much is based in truth concerning the German citizens resistance in joining the Party.
The main character is a mid-wife (as is the author) and the plot is a look at “ what if this really were to have occurred” concerning Hitler.
Not a far fetched “what if”, but credible.
Main take away - “is there ever an exception of who is worthy of life?”
I recommend it to lovers of historical fiction in the WWII genre.
I’m not sure how much some men would enjoy it as it is all about the women who are effected by Hitler. Not much action, but a lot of thinking of what is ones duty in their present situation.
Setting was WWII and those who have been sent to the Concentration Camps are German citizens who were caught helping the Jews and those who also opposed the Nazis and their Socialist Workers Party.
It is a work of historical fiction, and well researched, but one never knows how much is based in truth concerning the German citizens resistance in joining the Party.
The main character is a mid-wife (as is the author) and the plot is a look at “ what if this really were to have occurred” concerning Hitler.
Not a far fetched “what if”, but credible.
Main take away - “is there ever an exception of who is worthy of life?”
I recommend it to lovers of historical fiction in the WWII genre.
I’m not sure how much some men would enjoy it as it is all about the women who are effected by Hitler. Not much action, but a lot of thinking of what is ones duty in their present situation.
December 11, 2020
The description of this book intrigued me and I was looking forward to reading it. I was deeply disappointed. The idea that Hitler's female companion is pregnant and they pick a midwife that is a political prisoner in a concentration camp to tend to her is ridiculous, but I went with it, it is fiction after all. However, from there it just got worse. Anke see the atrocities committed by the Nazis in the concentration camps. But when she is plucked from the camp to be a midwife for Eva Braun, she forgets all that and happily enjoys her new, comfortable life. Oh, and her family is also in a concentration camp but, no worries, they will be fine as long as she does what she is told. All the Nazis treat her well and she feels free to talk back to them every step of the way. No concern that they might shoot her or kill her family. Then she falls in love with a Nazi officer right away. I have to say, I find it beyond unbelievable to think a person could live in a concentration camp and then fall in love with a Nazi without even knowing anything about him. Also, Eva Braun is portrayed as a sweet, innocent, kind young woman when, by all accounts of historians, she was just as much a hateful Nazi as Hitler. This book rambled on and on without adding to the story. The descriptions of delivering babies was a little too much for me but also felt like the author added that just to have more words in the book. The book really did not have much story to it. It was just rambling and repeating things over and over. Anke was not an interesting or very likable character. I had to force myself to finish this book. I feel like I wasted every second I spent reading this book. The ending was just as bad as the rest. I would not recommend this book.
January 8, 2021
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The German Midwife is the debut historical fiction release from Mandy Robotham, also published under the title A Woman of War. The German Midwife is a powerful, affecting and unforgettable novel presenting an intriguing historical possibility – that Hitler had a child by Eva Braun. Speculative, thought provoking and heartbreaking, The German Midwife is an engrossing tale that enthralls from page one.
Two concurrent narratives running from 1939 through to 1944 forms The German Midwife. Mandy Robotham’s novel reveals the heart wrenching story of Anke Hoff, a midwife who is imprisoned in the notorious Ravensbrück concentration camp during the war. Anke tries hard to conceal her midwifery skills from the guards at the camp, but she cannot help but intervene when her fellow campmates find themselves in trouble while giving birth. Anke’s special gift in bringing babies into the world attracts the attention of the camp officials, who issue Anke with the care of Hilter’s unborn child by Eva Braun. This dangerous situation thrusts Anke in the pathway of possible freedom, love and difficult moral choices. Anke faces her most challenging case yet in tending to the birth of the Führer’s child.
I was fortunate enough to pick up The German Midwife by Mandy Robotham, directly following my experience of Robotham’s latest release, The Berlin Girl. The German Midwife was recommended to me by a like minded reader. The German Midwife was a great book to close my reading year on, a solid five-star rating followed my experience with this unforgettable novel.
Drawing on her first-hand experiences as a practicing midwife, Mandy Robotham has fully utilised her knowledge, skills and expertise to craft a deeply authentic novel. I felt all the situations involving the birth scenarios, the expectant mothers and the after birth care Robotham’s lead protagonist offered was precise. All the situations presented involving birthing were incredibly vivid and I felt like an assistant nurse to Anke at many points of the novel. Robotham’s prose has a way of drawing you right in so that you feel the emotion and angst connected to the different experiences put forward in this affective historical composition.
With so many historical fiction novels out there focused on Hitler’s reign, it is getting harder and harder to surprise readers with an original premise. However, The German Midwife did manage to distinguish itself from other books of this genre on offer. I really connected to the interesting scenario put forward by Robotham, that Hitler’s mistress and eventual wife birthed his child. I haven’t come across a story that has presented this ‘what if’ scenario before, so I fully appreciated Robotham’s creative reimagining. The situation put forward did seem very plausible and not fantasy based at all. Robotham’s approach which intertwines real-life figures with a fictional cast worked extremely well in my opinion. I was really taken in by the lead Anke, a pillar of strength who displayed courage and empathy in the face of great adversity. I also loved the sense of friendship, comradery and the gentle touch of romance experienced by the lead. It made The German Midwife a compelling story.
The German Midwife succeeds in highlighting the female experience of war. This comes from the lead as the pioneering medical saviour, through to the wide-eyed Eva Braun, to female friends made in the camp and at Hitler’s abode. We see the good side of human nature in the war, through the many heroic and selfless acts performed by the cast, which is juxtaposed with the awful atrocities inflicted on the innocent through the barbaric Nazi regime. The war never ceases to shock and appall me, so The German Midwife is an essential text in my eyes, despite it taking the form of a fictional set piece.
With an emotional final turn of events, complete with a shock twist to the matter of Hitler’s child, Mandy Robotham’s tale is absolutely gripping from cover to cover. I give The German Midwife my highest recommendation, it is an indispensable read for all historical fiction fans.
The German Midwife is the debut historical fiction release from Mandy Robotham, also published under the title A Woman of War. The German Midwife is a powerful, affecting and unforgettable novel presenting an intriguing historical possibility – that Hitler had a child by Eva Braun. Speculative, thought provoking and heartbreaking, The German Midwife is an engrossing tale that enthralls from page one.
Two concurrent narratives running from 1939 through to 1944 forms The German Midwife. Mandy Robotham’s novel reveals the heart wrenching story of Anke Hoff, a midwife who is imprisoned in the notorious Ravensbrück concentration camp during the war. Anke tries hard to conceal her midwifery skills from the guards at the camp, but she cannot help but intervene when her fellow campmates find themselves in trouble while giving birth. Anke’s special gift in bringing babies into the world attracts the attention of the camp officials, who issue Anke with the care of Hilter’s unborn child by Eva Braun. This dangerous situation thrusts Anke in the pathway of possible freedom, love and difficult moral choices. Anke faces her most challenging case yet in tending to the birth of the Führer’s child.
I was fortunate enough to pick up The German Midwife by Mandy Robotham, directly following my experience of Robotham’s latest release, The Berlin Girl. The German Midwife was recommended to me by a like minded reader. The German Midwife was a great book to close my reading year on, a solid five-star rating followed my experience with this unforgettable novel.
Drawing on her first-hand experiences as a practicing midwife, Mandy Robotham has fully utilised her knowledge, skills and expertise to craft a deeply authentic novel. I felt all the situations involving the birth scenarios, the expectant mothers and the after birth care Robotham’s lead protagonist offered was precise. All the situations presented involving birthing were incredibly vivid and I felt like an assistant nurse to Anke at many points of the novel. Robotham’s prose has a way of drawing you right in so that you feel the emotion and angst connected to the different experiences put forward in this affective historical composition.
With so many historical fiction novels out there focused on Hitler’s reign, it is getting harder and harder to surprise readers with an original premise. However, The German Midwife did manage to distinguish itself from other books of this genre on offer. I really connected to the interesting scenario put forward by Robotham, that Hitler’s mistress and eventual wife birthed his child. I haven’t come across a story that has presented this ‘what if’ scenario before, so I fully appreciated Robotham’s creative reimagining. The situation put forward did seem very plausible and not fantasy based at all. Robotham’s approach which intertwines real-life figures with a fictional cast worked extremely well in my opinion. I was really taken in by the lead Anke, a pillar of strength who displayed courage and empathy in the face of great adversity. I also loved the sense of friendship, comradery and the gentle touch of romance experienced by the lead. It made The German Midwife a compelling story.
The German Midwife succeeds in highlighting the female experience of war. This comes from the lead as the pioneering medical saviour, through to the wide-eyed Eva Braun, to female friends made in the camp and at Hitler’s abode. We see the good side of human nature in the war, through the many heroic and selfless acts performed by the cast, which is juxtaposed with the awful atrocities inflicted on the innocent through the barbaric Nazi regime. The war never ceases to shock and appall me, so The German Midwife is an essential text in my eyes, despite it taking the form of a fictional set piece.
With an emotional final turn of events, complete with a shock twist to the matter of Hitler’s child, Mandy Robotham’s tale is absolutely gripping from cover to cover. I give The German Midwife my highest recommendation, it is an indispensable read for all historical fiction fans.
January 28, 2021
3.5 stars. I can’t quite put my finger on what it was that I didn’t like about this book. It was certainly an interesting and even scandalous story. It was thought provoking, and it did offer me new perspectives on the war. Ultimately though, the creative liberties taken with some of the most well known Nazis - Hitler himself, Goebbels, Braun etc. - were too many.
Whereas so many other novels I’ve enjoyed in this genre are at least rooted in fact before being built out into fiction, The German Midwife followed an entirely “what if” structure. I do think rewriting history for the sake of entertainment can be a rewarding exercise, but in this case, it fell flat and yielded an overly romanticized cast of characters and an out of touch reality.
Whereas so many other novels I’ve enjoyed in this genre are at least rooted in fact before being built out into fiction, The German Midwife followed an entirely “what if” structure. I do think rewriting history for the sake of entertainment can be a rewarding exercise, but in this case, it fell flat and yielded an overly romanticized cast of characters and an out of touch reality.
September 15, 2019
Just when I feel like I’ve read enough of Hitlers’ war against the Jews here comes a very good book about a German midwife assigned to help care for the mistress who will bear his child. Anke agrees to move to the compound and monitor the progress of the pregnancy. This move will ensure the safety of her family. There as a prisoner she meets a German officer, who seems to care for her. I learned some interesting things about midwifery and the stages of labor. I would recommend this if you like historical fiction.
October 9, 2020
I have read many different books set during WWII, but this one was quite different. German midwife Anke Hoff is sent to a camp due to her defiance of the edict that any children born with a disability of any kind should not leave the hospital. Once in the camps she is responsible for delivering the babies of the interned, most of them Jewish. This was just terrible as the babies were often killed or left to die after their birth. She does what she can and becomes quite renowned for her skills. When she is plucked from the camp to work as a midwife at the Berghof of one of Hitler's inner circle. I won't say anymore about the story, as each reader needs to learn what happens next on their own. I did like Anke as a character. She was moral, had strong character, and was willing to do what she felt was right. Once at the Berghof she found herself befriending several people who lived there and even finding some romance. There was a bit of an unbelievable storyline at that point, but the author writes it in a very believable way, it even had me thinking, what it? The story before she is moved from the camps was the most interesting to me. I found the dilemma of does every child deserve a chance to live quite strong. Today, this is not as much of an issue with all the medical advances we have, but in the 1940s things were very different. A very interesting story. The narrator, Julia Winwood did a nice job with this story. Her accents, expression and tone added much to the story.
June 17, 2019
A touching and bittersweet alternative history fictional novel set in the midst of German warfare. I enjoyed how the author drew on her own experiences as a midwife to develop her characters, as Anke the German midwife forced to care for the babies of Nazis.
Although the cover promises a somewhat romance element to the story, this is actually only a relatively minor part. The book is more focused on Anke and her developing relationship with the woman, Eva, she is caring for. The story also demonstrates the unique bond between birthing mother and her midwife, both historically and in modern times.
I really enjoyed this novel and hope to read more of this author in the future.
Although the cover promises a somewhat romance element to the story, this is actually only a relatively minor part. The book is more focused on Anke and her developing relationship with the woman, Eva, she is caring for. The story also demonstrates the unique bond between birthing mother and her midwife, both historically and in modern times.
I really enjoyed this novel and hope to read more of this author in the future.
April 3, 2022
I know this is not a completely original WWII book, but I loved it. It was a great mixture of brutal reality with a sprinkle of love and friendship.
I have often wondered about Eva Braun, Hitler’a mistress, and her complete story and this book makes me even more curious about her.
A satisfying read. 4 ⭐️!
I have often wondered about Eva Braun, Hitler’a mistress, and her complete story and this book makes me even more curious about her.
A satisfying read. 4 ⭐️!
March 27, 2021
I read The Berlin Girl by the same author first and did not like it very much as I felt there were a lot of cliches. But this book is excellent. Well researched and heartfelt, showing all the nuances of this difficult subject. Although the story is speculative it is quite believable.
June 19, 2019
What a brilliant book
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