Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Germany, 1939: Annaliese is trapped in a loveless marriage. Her husband Hans has become cold and secretive since starting a new job as a doctor at Dachau. Every morning she watches from her kitchen window as he leaves in his car. The sight of him in the dark uniform of the SS sends shivers of fear down her spine and she longs to escape…
When a tall, handsome Russian prisoner named Alexander is sent from Dachau to work in their garden, lonely Annaliese finds herself drawn to him as they tend to the plants together. In snatched moments and broken whispers, Alexander tells her the shocking truth about the camp. Horrified, Annaliese vows to do everything she can to save him.
But as they grow closer, their feelings for each other put their lives at risk. And Annaliese finds herself in grave danger when she dares to fight for love and freedom…
America, 1989: Turning the pages of the newspaper, Annaliese gasps when she recognizes the face of a man she thought she’d never see again. It makes her heart skip a beat as a rush of wartime memories come flooding back to her. As she reads on, she realizes the past is catching up with her. And she must confront a decades-old secret – or risk losing her only son…
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The German Wife to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The German Wife by Debbie Rix offers the reader a fascinating insight into life during World War Two for one woman married to a doctor who works in the Dachau labour camp. What really set this book apart from all the many others that continuously flood this genre is that at the heart of it is a basic human story. One filled with unimaginable decisions and choices that have to be made. The main character Annaliese tries to maintain some semblance of normality but deep down she knows she is caught up in something that will see her test her morals and conscience to their upper limits. This is a story where you really feel for the characters. Yes, we are told what is going on at the camp and lots of us have read about this before but not having the majority of the book set specifically in the camp itself but rather in the home of Annaliese and her husband Dr. Hans Vogel allowed for the author to really explore how those on the edges and those right smack bang in the centre of a desperate situation coped.
Did they stand by and just let unnatural things unfold? Did they believe in everything that was going on or did they wrestle with their own moral compass and try to do something against the injustice being meted out? What happens when love comes into the equation that perhaps will give you something you so desperately want and are really under pressure and obliged to fulfil? Can science be a valid reason for inflicting unmeasurable cruelty and suffering? All these questions and so many more arose in my mind as I delved deeper into The German Wife and I found myself more than keen to hopefully discover most of the answers. If definitive answers weren’t possible than there was certainly plenty of food for thought here to inspire discussion and debate and really have you thinking even more so than perhaps you have done before. Just how so many people suffered all because of the actions of one insane man and how so many followed him blindly but there were those rare few who knew what occurring was wrong but had they the strength to stand up for their own beliefs and opinions?
The book opens in October 1984 as Anna, now living in America, recollects her life in Germany. She left the country following the end of the war as there was nothing left for her there. The one she had at first loved was gone and all that she could cling to was her young son Sasha. Life in America seems to have been fruitful for Anna. She loved her job as an interior designer and made a good life for herself over all. Yet Anna still holds many secrets to her chest, the discovery of these would open an entire can of worms that once emerged into the light would be very hard to repress. But is now the time when the truth must be told and specifically for Sasha he may well learn a few home truths. The book is divided into three sections, the pre war years, the war and the aftermath. Each section is very distinct and informative and moves the story as a whole along very well. Part one gives us the background to Annaliese, how she was left all alone in the world aged 17 when her father died. She sold the family shop and began a secretarial course and got a job at a bank. She meets Dr. Hans Vogel and she feels a deep connection to him as both felt dominated by their parents and are searching for their specific niche in the world. They quickly marry as he makes her feel safe, secure and protected.
Hans was a character who on the one hand I felt was very led by the powers that be. Yes he had a keen interest in medical science and in particular in certain diseases and was always keen to enhance his career and joining the SS afforded him this opportunity. But at what cost? It was evident when he is sent to work at Dachau that although he prefers to remain in his lab researching, he is not immune to what is going on around him.The inmates are used as his subject matter and the descriptions of what other scientists did to innocent people was just horrific. You wonder did Hans at times forget about basic human rights and that there was a person behind the camp number and the skin and bones? Was he too caught up in progressing his career? He convinces himself that he is not a soldier working for an authoritarian regime but a doctor embarking on important work for the sake of humanity. This is what gets him through his research and what he is forced to witness. He plays the game for he fears what will happen to both himself and Annalise if he doesn’t.
I am still in two minds as to my opinions of Hans as a character. He has an integral role to play and undoubtedly has his good points but in all good faith and believing and doing what was morally right I don’t know did he always play on the right side. Pressure only mounts in his marriage when what is expected does not come to fruition and subsequently he is found to be at fault and so this strand of the story sets in motion a whole chain of events that form the core of the latter half of the book. I found the latter half to be far stronger than the first. I loved the tension, unease and suspicion that arose but also the moments of tenderness and real love that emerged at just the right points. Love bloomed and wilted but still struggled to remain ignited because Annaliese felt that what herself and Hans did was right.
Annaliese, I really connected with more so than Hans. From the time we meet her as a teenager she really does undergo a transformation. She doesn’t always make the right decisions but at least she holds herself accountable when things go wrong. I never felt like she was trapped in her marriage even though it does begin to crumble when she discovers the truth behind what goes on at the camp and how Hans is involved. I thought she was clever and knew that in the midst of a war it wasn’t the time to go running away from security and deep down she did have a love for Hans although a new kind of love came her way. She uses this new love to her advantage at first but then I could see it grew into something real and tangible. But can this last if the circumstances she finds herself in were removed and life was once again normal? I’m being purposefully vague here regarding what actually unfolds because to be too specific would certainly give too much away. Suffice to say Annaliese is a character you root for and you can see the internal struggles she goes through. She lived in extraordinary times where morality, duty and human decency were in short supply and because of this you judge every character on whether they lack these traits or have them in abundance.
The German Wife is another very good read from Debbie Rix and it was interesting to see that the story was based on some true characters. It made me appreciate the themes and the depth of the story even more. There is sadness and heartbreak throughout matched with moments of tenderness, love and beauty. Despite finding the start up to the midpoint quite slow I found things really picked up once I reached the midway point and I was rapidly turning the pages to uncover everything.Historical fiction fans won’t be disappointed in this read where a forbidden love and an impossible choice play such a vital role.
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