Resistance Women

As I finished the first section I can’t help but think this is a modern day description of the USA Today. The parallels are uncanny.

Recently I have been reading novels/books that contain events from WW II including the Holocaust, espionage books featuring women and others that increase my knowledge of that time period. As I age, I need to refresh my memory of those events from my classes in high school. This is a novel but it is based on factual events preceding WW II in Germany and also during the war. The novel itself is divided into four parts commencing in 1929 and ending in 1946. The characters are diverse in occupation and include teachers, students, authors, journalists….to name just a few. An American Ambassador to Germany is also added which allows for some interesting additional information. Imagine an invite to meet Thomas Wolfe as a guest at the Embassy? The protagonists are all ordinary people who sacrifice for their beliefs. Danger is inherent in many of their undertakings and the author has also added romance at the appropriate time. The antagonists are the Nazis….along with their \’brownshirts\’.,,that seem to be everywhere. The Resistance is formed bit by bit, piece by piece and members are chosen carefully. The name of the group is \’Rote Kapelle\’ which means Red Orchestra… In the author\’s notes at the end of the novel fill in some of the factual items about the group. I love the fact that one member decided to care for the Orphans of this group after the war. And, was glad to see those additional notes at the end. Several things appealed to my senses…one being the burning of the books and the quote from the play (Almansor) by Heines – \’Where they burn books, in the end they will also burn people\’. Incredible quote. And, In 1934, despite previous efforts, the few members of the group realized that totalitarianism had crept up on them. At that point, the Resistance decided to redouble their efforts. As a reader, I felt great empathy for the Jewish people thoughout. For some reason, the scene at the Synagogue when the Rabbi was being questioned by the Gestapo, really touched my being. Perhaps because I feared what may come next…not sure. All in all, a well written novel which will tug at your heartstrings throughout. As a reader, I kept wondering the \’what if\’ scenario. What if more people had resisted instead of being compliant? And, dear sweet Mildred translating Goethe into English….\’Hope is eternal\’… Most highly recommended and for multiple reasons, including the intense research done by the author to ensure the historical aspect was correct.

As an avid reader of anything WWII related, I certainly enjoyed this well researched and historically accurate novel. It is rare to find a book that so thoroughly describes life in Germany during Hitlers rise to power. It is chilling to note the comparisons of what is currently happening in the United States. My only recommendation is that there should be a page listing the major characters and their relationship to others as it was hard to remember who was who……..T. White

This book was so good! Reading about the Women who were inolved with resistance from the German perspective was interesting and heart breaking. No fiction could rival the real life day to day issues each person profiled in this book faced fighting the Nazis during WWII…I respect them so much and am proud of their contribution to the war effort. I would only hope that I would be that brave – if ever found in the same circumstance…and praying that I never will. Thank you for telling their story.

I have read so many World War II, Holocaust Books. This is definitely one of the very best —- a page turner and so well written. The resistance women as well as men were extremely brave and heroic. I loved this book and highly recommend it.

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