My Enemy's Cradle

My Enemy’s Cradle by Sara Young is a book that I probably shouldn’t have liked as much as I did. I had to swallow some very big coincidences and set-ups in order to let the story work, and more than a few times I had to shush my inner voices that were saying “Huh? That couldn’t have happened!”. But I totally got caught up in both the story and the romance and the pages flew by.

The story is of a half-Jewish girl, who in order to keep herself and the family that has sheltered her safe during WW II, gets herself impregnated, impersonates her cousin, and enters a Nazi Lebensborn. The plan being that she will be rescued and taken to safety well before the baby is born. Of course, as with all war-time plans, things change.

Although this story tends to romanticise the period, I found the author’s descriptions of the Lebensborn to be fascinating. Touted as a safe haven for girls who get pregnant (either willingly or by rape) by German soldiers, in fact, this was one more institution that the Nazi’s carried to the extreme. Only girls with “pure” bloodlines were allowed this refuge, only healthy babies were accepted, the girls had no rights over their child (although the German fathers had first claim). Most of these babies were adopted into a Nazi home in the hopes that they would be reared to be future soldiers and solid citizens of the Third Reich.

My Enemy’s Cradle offers intrigue, suspense and romance in a very readable package but at no time did I ever feel I was reading anything but a fictional piece. Good escapism with a flawed ending that was too pat and too abrupt. ( )

The Netherlands, 1941. Cousins Anneke and Cyrla are identical in every respect but one: Cyrla is half-Jewish and in hiding, and her neighbors have started to whisper. Anneke, carrying a German soldier’s child, is destined to move to the maternity home which houses the Lebensborn programme. But Anneke’s death and the danger Cyrla is in just by being Jewish push Cyrla into a terrible situation as she takes on Anneke’s identity and place in the Lebensborn. She will need to fool everyone around her – both doctors and fellow mothers-to-be – if she and her unborn baby are to survive.

It took a few chapters for me to get into this story, but once I did I was totally engrossed. When reading about a Jewish character in the Second World War, often a stay in one of the Holocaust camps is included in the book. Those scenes are always horrible to read. But the understated horror of the Lebensborn and all it stands for – all it did and the consequences that are still felt today because of it – are much less known and hit me quite hard. This story hit something deep inside of me, right at the core of my womanhood – I simply cannot describe it in any other way. It were sometimes the most simple things that chilled me to the bone in this story. It’s very good, story-wise, but I think it’s even more important history-wise. Highly recommended – I wish this was mandatory reading for everyone. ( )

Yes, another WWII novel! My Enemy’s Cradle is a highly readable account of Himmler’s brainchild, the Lebensborn program: German maternity homes for the racially pure women who would give birth to future soldiers for the Reich.
Ms Young places a fictional heroine, Cyrla (does that look Welsh to anyone else?) a half-Jewish Dutch woman, in one of these institutions and through her we hear the stories of the other expectant mothers and staff as well.

As I read, I checked the spine to see if this was a YA book. Officially it’s not, but the tone and pace give it that feeling. Just as well; the whole scheme is so creepy that I don’t think I could have handled a graphic/gritty telling.

I researched a bit more on the web and found that the Nazis did not stop at inseminating willing or unwilling women. They also kidnapped children from the countries they occupied and “Germanized” them.

In 1946, it was estimated that more than 250,000 were kidnapped and sent by force to Germany. Only 25,000 were retrieved after the war and sent back to their families.

During the ten years of the program’s existence, at least 7,500 children were born in Germany and 10,000 in Norway. from Jewish Virtual Library ( )

I love when I learn things about history that I was unfamiliar with, or in this case totally oblivious of. The Lebensborn Organization was a home for girls who had gotten pregnant either by accident or on purpose, and their children were going to repopulate the Third Reichs future. I enjoyed the protaganist Cyrla and her journey, the fears she faced being half Jewish, and her resiliance in this time of atrocities. It was interesting to follow her as she matured from the start of the novel to the end. One of my favorite Holocaust fiction stories is Jenna Blum's, Those Who Save Us, and I must say this one did not meet those expectations, but it came close. I did feel it was a bit predictable, but moved along at a nice pace. The story kept me interested. For those readers of Holocaust fiction this is a good choice because of the little known subject matter. A good title for book group discussions as well. ( )

I had a goal this year to read 100 books by December. And so as I reached book 99, I started to look for a book in my shelves to be number one hundred. You see I wanted my goal to end with a bang. And while some of the books I read this year were mere disappointments, I didn't want book 100 to end up being one of those. So, I picked My Enemy's Cradle from my shelf. It killed two birds with one stone. Being my 100th book and satisfying one of my other goals which was to diminish the pile of books that I have had for more than a year.

My Enemy's Cradle didn't disappoint. I thought it was utterly amazing! I found myself feeling terrified for Cyrla with the danger she was in. This book had me enthralled and kept me turning the pages in record time. I was surprised that I actually liked the romance in the book. Usually I find myself not liking the romance in most adult books because it either comes out as cheesy or terribly contrived, but I thought the romance was intriguing and I found myself rooting for these two characters to make it through.

I actually had no idea about the Lebensborn Organization. And I love it when historical fiction books tell me about some part of history that I didn't know about, so that was a plus with this book. Anyway, if anyone is thinking about picking up this book, don't hesitate and just read it. It's a beautiful book with a fast pace and an intriguing main character that you root for until the end. This is definitely staying on my keeper shelf. No swapping for me. ( )