My Enemy's Cradle

This was a very easy book to read. And yet, it was a very difficult story to take in. The writing was exceptional, drawing me in from the beginning. The characters were very sympathetic and real and the situations in which each found themselves were harrowing.

I had no idea that there truly were Lebensborn facilities during the war; but it makes perfect sense, knowing what we now know about how the Nazi regime thought and worked. The fact that these women had a place to go for excellent care and safety was a good thing, but the fact that many of these children were taken from the beginning to be raised as potential soldiers seemed as cold as a munitions factory. I was also saddened by the lack of physical contact for the babies, and show more wonder how that affected those who survived the war into adulthood.

I liked the characters immediately. Of course, Anneke and Cyrla were irritating as almost all late-teen girls are. They were perhaps to little too naive and full of wanderlust for the tone of the story, especially given Anneke's mother and father's stern dispositions, and Cyrla's difficult past. I would have thought that, realistically, they would have been more subdued and in touch with the reality of war. I became irritated over and and over by Cyrla's persistent refusal to see the danger she was in.

Karl and Isaac were excellent characters on both sides of the spectrum. One loving and forthright, a Nazi soldier. The other a Jew, but very stoic and stiff with people.

This was a very humanizing story and intriguing part of history that I want to learn more about. A great read, and highly recommended. show less

I looked forward to reading this book, a part of WWII that I new nothing about. German women encouraged to have as many children as possible for the fatherland and women, pregnant by German soldiers who met certain criteria sent to a maternity home run by the Nazi's. It was called the "Lebensborn" program which amounted to "SS breeding nurseries." Babies were confiscated with or without the mother's permission. The author gave what felt like an authentic peek into another form of autrocity perpetuated by the Nazi's
Cyrla, a young girl, half jewish, has found this, through a series of relationships, to be the only place to hide and hopes to survive without being found out by using the identity of a deceased cousin. But there is no place show more that is safe for a Jew in hiding. There are many twists in this story with all the relationships, and nothing is as it seems. Therein lies the genuine fear which builds the tension for the impossible decisions to be made.
The background and premise of this book are strong, and the story itself, well done. I had a problem with the main character Cyrla, and her recklessness. Yes, she was young (18) and inexperienced in life, much less war. But the reason she had been sent to relatives in Holland three years prior was because of the building fear of what would happen to Jews. Despite the tightening restrictions, and escalating fear, she never seemed to understand how serious the situation was and many times took unnecessary, foolish, dangerous chances that could have cost others their lives had she been caught. One of these chances resulted in her own brutal rape. It was extremely frustruating to watch her make so many bad decisions, right up until the very end of the story. Often she was willful and would not listen to reason, even holding on to evidence that proved she was Jewish. I liked the story very much, and I guess we all make unfortunate decisions at times, but others lives are usually not at stake. A suspenseful story, full of intrigue, heartbreak, hope, and the uncertain knowledge of what one would do to survive, and how you live with what you have done. show less

Wow, what a story. I had read the review in the paper and was interested but I truly didn't imagine that it would be so gripping. I could hardly put this book down as I was so wrapped up in her story that I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. It was also heart-wrenching to learn about these "hospitals" where these girls were sent.

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 show more 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. show less

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 show more 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 show less

This is one of my favorite books in the world. I read it in three days. It's a story of a girl named Cyrla a half Jewish girl who lives with her aunt and cousin Anneke in the 1940's. Anneke is pregnant and one day kills herself when life wasn't turning out the way she planned. At the same the Nazi's are close to figuring out that Cyrla is Jewish so Cyrla's aunt comes up with a plan to tell everyone Cyrla died and make her pass as Anneke. The only problem is that Anneke is expected at the Lebensborn a maternity home for girls carrying German babies, and Cyrla isn't pregnant. A MUST READ!!

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 show more 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. show less