A review by readingcavern
Auschwitz Lullaby by Mario Escobar

5.0

wow... just, wow. I’ve read many historical fiction books about the Holocaust and Auschwitz in general, but never one about the gypsies and their faith. While it is true that they got extensively better treatment than the Jews, it still makes a real impact reading about their terrible faith. It is hard to read about Dr. Mengele and the horrors those twins selected by him went through and although our main character in this novel has a somewhat “good” relationship with him, you really do feel for her. One might say she was naive and yes, knowing what we know today it is easy to think such, however I really do believe that Helene (and the other gypsies in the camp) could not (and probably did not want to) in the slightest imagine a man being so cruel to children. Therefore, I actually feel for Helene Hannemann. Although opening that nursery and school was a ploy made by Dr. Mengele, Helene did not know this. She believed she was doing something great for the children, which bottom line she did!!, and could not have known the real reason behind it being established.

All in all, an incredibly heartbreaking novel (that definitely made me cry!) that I would recommend especially to those with little to no knowledge about the gypsies’ faith during wwii and Dr. Mengele and his “experiments”.

5/5 ⭐️