Ellie Midwood

This is the story of Lore, an Austrian woman who was sent to the camps after she committed treason against the Reich by delivering secrets to the Jews. While in captivity, she was sentenced to be a woman catering to the needs of the SS and the inmates of the camps. She meets Wolf, a journalist, and they fall in love. They create a child, but have to hide the pregnancy from the SS, or the pregnancy will be terminated.
I enjoyed the first part of the book, but then I felt it got dragged down towards the second half. The book did do a good job of outlining the atrocities of the camps, even to citizens of Austria and Germany who went against the hard doctrine of the regime.… (more)

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The Girl Who Escaped from Auschwitz by Ellie Midwood is a historical fiction book recounting the life of Malka “Mala” Zimetbaum and Edvard “Edek” Galiński who escaped from the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Ms. Midwood is a best-selling, award-winning historical fiction author.

Inmate 19880, Mala is a bright young Jewish woman deep in the hell of Auschwitz. Due to her intellect and ability to speak several languages, Mala is put in a privileged secretarial position which she uses to help others and save many lives.

Inmate 531, Edek is a Polish political prisoner who is a member of the underground resistance, planning an escape. When Edek and Malka meet, they are convinced that their combined privilege, courage, and imagination will allow them to escape.

A particularly tragic story based on true events, memoirs, and lots of research. For me, it was interesting to read about the experience of two prisoners who were not explicitly marked for death since their arrival in Auschwitz. The author goes on to describe the horrible conditions as witnessed by privileged prisoners, the administrative office, or the political prisoner. Prisoners that altogether had access to a large portion of Auschwitz.

Mala was saved thanks to her fluency in five languages (Dutch, French, German, and Polish; other sources say she also knew English and/or Italian), she served as a runner and translator for the SS. Soon Mala became a legend at the camp, a person who was not corrupted by the harsh reality and did all she can to help other prisoners, risking her life often. We know this through collective stories of survivors. Standing up to evil, even as she faced certain death, elevated Mala from a local legend to a heroine for the ages.

I saw some other reviewers complain about the author’s soapbox speech about abortion rights. Regardless of my personal opinion, I agree that this very short section had no place in the book. Abortions in Auschwitz were a necessity. Getting impregnated was a guaranteed date with the hangman, there was no religious aspect to it – just a matter of survival.

The Girl Who Escaped from Auschwitz by Ellie Midwood certainly is an engrossing book, shining a light on brave heroes we should never forget. Even though it’s historical fiction, Mala’s bravery, as well as chutzpah in the face of pure evil shine through.
I hope I have half her courage.… (more)

Berlin mid-30’s till the end of WW11

We are taken into a fictional world base on true events where the characters faced evil and where love and courage were contagious and many voices could not be silenced. This is the story of Margo, an Aryan woman who stayed loyal to her Jewish husband, Jochen, even if their friends ignored them, her mother rejected it her and the Nazi were haunting them...even worst.

As always this story is heartbreaking and as we follow them through a life of hardship: after losing everything they were casted into the street, they needed wits to survive. The story tells us how Margo’s love for Jochen never wavered and refused to abandon him at any cost, even during air raid where Jews were banned from shelters. Eventually Jochen fell into the hands of the Nazis and was imprisoned with countless of other, Margot risked her life to protest outside the gestapo headquarters with hundreds of women gathered shouting “Release our men”.... Jochen was released with many other men..... I gave you a tiny sample of what this book is about. It is filled with terrifying and heartbreaking events you wished it would have never happened...

Of course this is a page-turner that brought life to a terrible era. The plot gradually migrated from a simple life during the early days of the Nazi regime and as time went by to the hard reality they had to face...Ms. Midwood is a master in this era and knows how to pen a story that will interest and captivate us from the opening page.

This is a gripping story told with sensitivity and great finesse. The style is perfectly balanced between realism and fictitiousness and the characters come to life with great care. Well said and well-done.

I received this book from Bookouture via Netgalley for my thoughts: this is the way I see it… (more)