anjreading 's review for:

Cradles of the Reich by Jennifer Coburn

4.0

---

3.5 stars, rounded up. A chilling novel that reads more like horror than the historical fiction it is. This story focuses on three women involved in the Nazi's Aryan supremacy breeding program, The Lebensborn Society. The Society provided maternity homes for racially desirable pregnant young women, groomed other young women as sexual partners for officers of the Reich, and kidnapped Aryan babies and children from other countries for adoption schemes. Gundi, a young woman active in the Resistance and pregnant with her Jewish lover's baby, is sent to a maternity home. The other two women in this novel are less likable and sympathetic. Hilde, pregnant by a high-ranking married SS officer, is slavishly devoted to the Reich and engages in horrendous behavior over and over. And finally, Nurse Irma, who is caring for the young mothers-to-be, is somewhat rehabilitated throughout the novel but it felt like too little, too late for my liking. Overall the history is fascinating (in a gruesome way), and it's clear Coburn did a great job researching. The writing is a little rough and the characters didn't really come to life for me, but I still think it's a book worth reading. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for a digital review copy.