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A review by theliterateleprechaun
Cradles of the Reich by Jennifer Coburn
5.0
This is not ‘just another World War Two book.’
⭐ It’s a mini history lesson on a devious and traumatic top-secret Nazi policy.
⭐ It shows us that we have the ability within us to change the course of another’s life by forging connections that have the potential to carry another through dark moments.
⭐ It encourages us to dig deep and find the catalyst to enable us to act with heroism when we least feel like a hero.
⭐ It answers why civilized, ordinary people became seduced by a fanatic.
⭐ It warns us that a Hitler-style leader can be elected and subtly sow seeds of hatred for another race, group or religion.
Coburn transported me back in time and explored the experiences of those women who gave birth for Hitler and revealed why and how young German women became such willing participants. I knew that the Third Reich members were obsessive about race and racial purity and that it lead to two horrific policies; the Holocaust and Lebensborn. While I’ve educated myself more about the monstrous Holocaust, I’ve not made much of an effort to learn more about the mirror-opposite program and the lengths the Nazis went to increase the numbers of racially desirable. I knew that there was a breeding program, but was not prepared for what author Jennifer Coburn had extensively researched and presented!
In highlighting this barbaric program, Coburn crafted three women representative of each facet of the German population. Gundi Schiller’s response to Germany at war was to join the resistance. On the other end of the spectrum is Hilde Kramer, a highschool student who saw the prestige and eagerly supported Hitler’s movement. Somewhere in the middle was Nurse Irma Binz who decided to put her head down and go about her own business. When Coburn has them meet at Heim Hochland, the maternity home near Munich, readers get an opportunity to see how each woman reacts to her ‘duty.’ The beauty of this for me is a learning experience, especially crafted by an author who has spent dauntless hours delving into the written accounts of others who represented the same section of the German population as her characters. By exploring these girls’ personal relationships, with each other and with the Nazi officers, I gain insight into areas of history I’d never have had the opportunity to know about nor understand.
Coburn effectively placed me in a front-row seat as the policies of the state-supported program called Lebensborn unfolded, helped me see the relevance and importance of studying this event in history, and gave me a deeper and more lasting understanding of what really happened.
You need to pick up this eye-opening account and see for yourself why this isn’t just another historical fiction book.
I can’t wait to see what the author has planned for her next historical fiction novel featuring Nazi propaganda.
I was gifted this advance copy by Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.
⭐ It’s a mini history lesson on a devious and traumatic top-secret Nazi policy.
⭐ It shows us that we have the ability within us to change the course of another’s life by forging connections that have the potential to carry another through dark moments.
⭐ It encourages us to dig deep and find the catalyst to enable us to act with heroism when we least feel like a hero.
⭐ It answers why civilized, ordinary people became seduced by a fanatic.
⭐ It warns us that a Hitler-style leader can be elected and subtly sow seeds of hatred for another race, group or religion.
Coburn transported me back in time and explored the experiences of those women who gave birth for Hitler and revealed why and how young German women became such willing participants. I knew that the Third Reich members were obsessive about race and racial purity and that it lead to two horrific policies; the Holocaust and Lebensborn. While I’ve educated myself more about the monstrous Holocaust, I’ve not made much of an effort to learn more about the mirror-opposite program and the lengths the Nazis went to increase the numbers of racially desirable. I knew that there was a breeding program, but was not prepared for what author Jennifer Coburn had extensively researched and presented!
In highlighting this barbaric program, Coburn crafted three women representative of each facet of the German population. Gundi Schiller’s response to Germany at war was to join the resistance. On the other end of the spectrum is Hilde Kramer, a highschool student who saw the prestige and eagerly supported Hitler’s movement. Somewhere in the middle was Nurse Irma Binz who decided to put her head down and go about her own business. When Coburn has them meet at Heim Hochland, the maternity home near Munich, readers get an opportunity to see how each woman reacts to her ‘duty.’ The beauty of this for me is a learning experience, especially crafted by an author who has spent dauntless hours delving into the written accounts of others who represented the same section of the German population as her characters. By exploring these girls’ personal relationships, with each other and with the Nazi officers, I gain insight into areas of history I’d never have had the opportunity to know about nor understand.
Coburn effectively placed me in a front-row seat as the policies of the state-supported program called Lebensborn unfolded, helped me see the relevance and importance of studying this event in history, and gave me a deeper and more lasting understanding of what really happened.
You need to pick up this eye-opening account and see for yourself why this isn’t just another historical fiction book.
I can’t wait to see what the author has planned for her next historical fiction novel featuring Nazi propaganda.
I was gifted this advance copy by Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.