Emma's Review: The German Girl by Lily Graham

 Reviewed by Emma Crowley

‘Our parents were taken. And if we go home, the Nazis will take us too…’

Hamburg 1938. Fifteen-year-old Asta is hurrying home from school with her twin brother Jurgen. The mood in the city is tense – synagogues have been smashed with sledgehammers, and Asta is too frightened to laugh as she used to.

But when she and Jurgen are stopped in the street by a friend, her world implodes further. Her Jewish parents have been dragged into the streets by German soldiers and if she and Jurgen return to their house, they will be taken too.

Heartbroken at the loss of her parents, Asta knows they must flee. With her beloved brother, she must make the perilous journey across Germany and into Denmark to reach their only surviving relative, her aunt Trine, a woman they barely know.

Jammed into a truck with other refugees, Asta prays for a miracle to save herself and Jurgen. Crossing the border is a crime punishable by death, and what she and Jurgen must embark on a dangerous crossing on foot, through the snowy forest dividing Germany and Denmark. And when barking dogs and armed soldiers find Jurgen and Asta escapes, she must hold on to hope no matter what. One day she will find her twin, the other half of herself. Whatever the price she has to pay…

Book Link: Kindle

Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The German Girl to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.

There has been a bit of a wait between Lily Graham’s last book The Child of Auschwitz published in 2019 and this new book The German Girl but the wait was worth it. I have to say I much prefer the author’s books in the historical fiction genre compared to her earlier vastly different books. I feel she has really found her niche and it comes across in the writing, plot and character development. The German Girl is a dual timeline book. The story set between Sweden in 1995 and Germany and beyond in the war years. Both aspects of the story are very well told and held my attention throughout as we follow the story and repercussions of Germany coming under the control of a madman who decided Jews are not worthy of attention. They do not have any definition or place in German society. What follows is a tale of heartbreak, loss, separation and grief and it is one that will have you engrossed from the beginning to the end.

On a daily basis Ingrid navigates the cold, barren and frozen landscape of Northern Sweden to reach her grandfather Jurgen’s cabin. If she did not visit to care for him she can’t not bare thinking about what would happen to him. For many years he has lived alone surrounded by the wilderness and for that time he was very capable but now he is suffering from dementia. He often forgets the basics of life which he needs to do every day in order to survive. His personality can rapidly change from one where he is happy enough and open to one where he reverts back to the past and he can be argumentative, confrontational and refuse all help. But Ingrid persists, she needs to do this for herself. She has returned from the city of Malmo as there is nothing there for her and she views this task of carrying for Jurgen as something to keep her going. But she struggles as each day she does not know what frame or state of mind she will find him in. 

When he unexpectedly starts speaking in German one day Ingrid is surprised. When she was younger and started to learn German in order to help a friend Jurgen went mad and denied her the opportunity to learn it but she forged ahead. Why now has he suddenly started speaking German? Did something specific happen to him during the war to make him react so violently when German is spoken? So sets in motion a story of revelation, separation, loss and guilt. Ingrid could never imagine the story that Jurgen will tell but it’s an important one which tells so much about their family history that was kept hidden and now is the time for it to come out into the open after so many years buried under a mountain of emotions.

I loved the initial chapters set in Sweden describing the set up as to where Jurgen lived and what his relationship with Ingrid was like. I got the sense that at times she felt useless that she couldn’t help enough or reach out to him to get past the aggressive front he often put up. The discovery of a drawing by Ingrid forces Jurgen to open up and we are taken back to his past. A slip of the tongue when he calls Ingrid by the name of Asta reveals he had a twin sister whom the family never knew about. Jurgen takes Ingrid on a journey back to the past and a remarkable and heart-breaking story is revealed. I did want a little bit more from the present day in Sweden but I understand the more the book moved on the focus had to be on Jurgen and Asta’s past but things did tie together nicely in the present day towards the end. Jurgen is releasing the burdens which he has held so tight for so many years and by doing this he may allow others and Ingrid to care for and help him in the present day.

Sweden was neutral during World War Two whilst the world went made with starvation, mass persecutions and concentration camps where unspeakable things happened. Jurgen lived in Hamburg with Asta and his family and he confesses to Ingrid that they were Jews. The Nazi’s took away their citizenship like they did to so many other people be they gay, disabled , gypsies or simply for holding the wrong political beliefs. Asta and Jurgen go from an innocent childhood where they played tricks on the operator of a local water taxi to having their family torn apart as their parents are taken from their home and transported to a camp for refusing to change their documentation. Fortunately enough the twins were away from the house when the raid occurred and now they are left alone, homeless, frightened and scared and unsure of their next move. One can’t imagine having your world turned upside down in the blink of an eye to go from security, love and comfort to a life on the run. They are aware of an aunt in Denmark, Trine, but as to how they will get there they cannot comprehend. Through kindness and good luck they escape Hamburg and embark on a journey that will change their lives even further than they have already experienced.

Lily Graham details what happened to Jews and how their lives were changed with the introduction of the Nuremburg Laws. It’s clear she undertook extensive research to convey just what people experienced and suffered through at the time. At no point did this story read like a history book instead historical fact was blended with fiction to perfection throughout. The journey the twins undertake and the people they subsequently meet was riveting and packed full of unease and tension. They do their best to reach the Danish boarder. Their own goal was to get to Aunt Trine where safety awaits even if Trine did not know what had happened to the family. It really was edge of your seat stuff as you did not know with each turn of the page would bring. Horror and bloodshed or a successful escape to a safehold? 

The scenes set deep in the forest were tense and anxiety inducing, and it was almost as if the climax of the novel was reached halfway through with the worst occurring and separation ensuing. But still Lily Graham had a lot more up her sleeve and for a good section of the latter half of the book we follow Asta as she navigates trying to find her twin. To say anymore would give away far too much but suffice to say there were lots of twists and turns and we get to see a whole new side to Asta as she has to grow up fast. The story could have easily gone one way but I loved how the author really developed Asta as a character and showed how she was forced to change and then how she subsequently dealt with the changes that were thrown in her direction. You definitely want a positive outcome but as a reader viewing the overall picture you really aren’t sure if that is at all possible. The bravery, strength, courage, grit and determination of the characters are all so well highlighted. Your heart breaks for what happens to them because of the actions of one insane man but the story that is told here gives you hope and a belief that good things too can happen. Yes, The German Girl is a heart-breaking story and too often that word is used on the front cover of historical fiction and it doesn’t ring true but here it does as Lily Graham packs this story full of interlinking events and secrets alongside agony, anguish and distress. It’s a great read and a good addition to the genre.