The German Wife: An absolutely gripping and heartbreaking WW2 historical novel, inspired by true events

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Sofie tried to explain what they really went through and that they didn’t agree but had to. Lizzie and others didn’t want to hear it. I used to think that I would never show sympathy for an SS officer until I read this book. Hans's actions, his decisions to save himself and his wife, aroused in me a wave of worries and fear, and sometimes simply led to bewilderment. Gupta, Charu. "Politics of gender: women in nazi Germany." Economic and Political Weekly (1991): WS40-WS48 online [ dead link]. Complaints against Germany about mandatory sex education classes declared inadmissible" (PDF). European Court of Human Rights. 22 September 2011. Jürgen Rhodes is loosely based on Wernher von Braun who came to the US as part of Operation Paperclip and became a hero of the US space program.

Reagin, Nancy. A German Women’s Movement: Class and Gender in Hanover, 1880–1933 (U of North Carolina Press, 1995). Inspired by true events, Rix gives us a glimpse into the life of an affluent Nazi family. This story follows Annaliese, the wife of Hans, a doctor that is forced to work at Dachau labor camps. I found this perspective, through the eye of a Nazi family, to be very interesting because I have often wondered how those that worked at the Nazi camps and committed so many atrocious acts could live with themselves and sleep each night!! Did they have the capacity to show empathy, love, or any kind of emotional feelings towards another human being, showing that they cared in the least for the prisoners of Dachau. Abortion in Germany is legal during the first trimester on condition of mandatory counseling, and later in pregnancy in cases of medical necessity. In both cases there is a waiting period of 3 days. I really enjoy WW2 historical fiction, especially when it offers an unusual perspective that I don’t normally come across in this genre. Debbie Rix has blended fact with fiction, creating a plot that’s interesting. The story follows Annalise, married to Hans who is a Dr in medicine, but his passion lies in research. To promote his career, he sales his soul to the devil and joins the SS. Hans is assigned to Dachau, a concentration camp that is renowned for human experimentation.

some of the scenes truly made my jaw drop as i was listening… especially how the German children acted and what they were taught in school and how they changed. it’s just so sad. Once they become aware of the atrocities to which they are party, do Sofie and Jurgen become two of those good people who allow evil to triumph by doing nothing? This story shows that perhaps it’s not always so simple. Should loyalty to country outweigh loyalty to family and friends? A whirlwind pre-war romance filled with love and hope was dashed when Hans became a doctor for the Nazi Party. The total fertility rate (TFR) in Germany is 1.44 births per woman (2016 estimates), one of the lowest in the world. [31] Childlessness is quite high: of women born in 1968 in West Germany, 25% stayed childless. [32] Isn’t an adult just a child, shaped by experience? How does a person learn not to hate, when that hate has been imprinted upon them from such a young age?” The German Wife is essentially the story of two women: Sofie von Meyer Rhodes and Lizzie Miller. Sofie is the wife of a pardoned SS official who has moved to America after the war for a fresh start. Lizzie is one of Sofie's new neighbors; she is actively against any Germans moving into her neighborhood.

The German Wife is another exceptional read by Aussie author Kellie Rimmer which I thoroughly enjoyed. Heartbreaking with tensions high, the days of darkness were long and bitter. Rimmer's rendition of one German family and the years of torment they suffered is well done; her writing of an American family just the same. There is a lot in this book which a mere review can't give justice to - I admire this author more each time I read one of her books. Highly recommended.contained people who did not conform — then they became forced labor camps— until eventually the death camps were built: the gas chambers. The title might make you believe that the book is entirely about Annaliese and her point of view on things happening in Germany during the WWII. Again, the book surprised me. Quite a lot of the content is written through Hans’ perspective. This provides a superb first-hand account of the atrocities committed in the camps in the name of medical research. Having the omniscient narration from both Hans as well as Annaliese made a big difference to the impact of the story. Kelly Rimmer has this way of immediately enveloping you in a story, making you feel like you are right in Huntsville living alongside Sofie. I thoroughly enjoy the intimacy and emotional intelligence of her stories, and I am already eager for what’s next. Highly recommended for all hist fic fans.

This is an interesting but disturbing German perspective on World War II, both before, during, and after the war. Annaliese goes from a young woman in love with her husband, Hans, to someone married to a monster, a doctor at Dachau concentration camp. When she meets Alexander, a prisoner sent to work in her garden, she learns the horrific truth about Dachau and her husband’s role there. Dieter Martiny; Dieter Schwab (October 2002). "Grounds for Divorce and Maintenance Between Former Spouses" (PDF). ceflonline.net. One day Hans hires Alexander a Russian prisoner to work in the gardens at their home to make them nice for Annaleise to make her happier. Alexander tells her of the horrors of Dachau and the truth about the research being done there. Alexander and Annaleise fall in love with each other and when she becomes pregnant she must make a heartbreaking decision to save the life of Alexander and her child. Sofie and her family have been giving the chance at a fresh start after the nazi’s fell, something they wanted so badly. Her best friend is a Jew and she wholeheartedly does not believe in the Reich but Germany isn’t the place it was before. Even expressing a view is punishable by death and Sofie and her husband have to tread carefully or else end up like the Jews themselves.Reconciliation Policy in Germany 1998–2008, Construing the 'Problem' of the Incompatibility of Paid Employment and Care Work, by Cornelius Grebe; pg 92: "However, the 1977 reform of marriage and family law by Social Democrats and Liberals formally gave women the right to take up employment without their spouses' permission. This marked the legal end of the 'housewife marriage' and a transition to the ideal of 'marriage in partnership'." [1]