A review by weaselweader
The German Midwife, by Mandy Robotham
4.0
"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