Reviewed by Emma Crowley
1943. Fleeing Germany had been Edith Falkenstein and her Jewish husband Julius’s last hope, selling their remaining precious possessions to make the gruelling journey. But to their horror, they are turned away at the Swiss border. Devastated, they return to the tiny Berlin apartment they share with other Jewish families, with its peeling wallpaper and bare kitchen cupboards. It is a world away from the heady glamour of their lives before.
Edith’s worst fears come true when Julius is brutally arrested and imprisoned alongside thousands of other Jewish men, destined for the camps. When she hears the news, Edith feels her heart crack wide open with unbearable grief.
But then she hears of women gathering outside the prison in their hundreds—wives and mothers from every walk of life whose relatives have also been taken. They are united by a single, desperate wish. She links arms with the woman next to her and takes up the chant.
Standing among these brave women offers Edith a flicker of hope. But can they really save their loved ones? And as Edith faces the lines of German soldiers with cold savagery in their eyes, will she pay the ultimate price for this small act of courage?
Book Challenge: #24in24 24 countries in 2024: Book One - Germany
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Berlin Wife’s Resistance to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The Berlin Wife’s Resistance is the third in the German Wives series by Marion Kummerow and it follows directly on from the previous book, The Berlin Wife’s Choice. But don’t worry if you are if you have not read any of the other books as new readers are quickly brought up to speed with events in the first few pages. This book really sees the two main female protagonists, Edith and Helga, come to the forefront and in the last quarter of the book the word resistance as mentioned in the title becomes a very strong force and emotion when things go from bad to worse for the families that feature. I quickly became reacquainted with the story so far and I was glad that things began right from where we had left off.
Edith, a pure blood German citizen, is married to Julius who although German has Jewish blood in his family making him mixed race. The pair have been through the mill in the previous two books and there has been a fall from grace for Julius, thanks to the actions of one man’s greed, hatred and need for power. The pair travel through Germany having finally organised all the papers required to emigrate. As they reach the Swiss boarder in the hopes of reaching safety with his sister in England they are stopped by guards. A new law has been decreed Jews can’t leave the country but Edith is free to do so if she wishes. Here is where Edith’s steadfast loyalty, devotion and love for her husband instantly shines through. She will not leave him and continue onwards with her journey. The couple have no future in Germany as Julius is no longer head of the bank which his family owned due to the innumerable ridiculous laws imposed by the Reich. How can they turn back when they are so close to freedom? But Edith will always remain by Julius’ side and they are forced to return to Berlin to the apartment they share with the Goldman’s and another family.
When we first met Edith and Julius in book one they lead a rich and sumptuous life and wanted for nothing but over time and as the Nazi’s extended their reign of power and cruelty we have seen a total change in their living and personal situation. But what remains throughout is the strong and durable love they have for one another. But now it’s Edith who has taken on the mantle of provider and over the course of the book as we see Julius’ physical and mental state decline it’s Edith who never gives hope and vows to resist the government by any means possible. Julius had been powerful and a man with his wits about him but as the signs of Hitler’s rise to power and the laws that were emerging daily well for someone so sensible he choose to ignore everything. In a way he buried his head in the sand and thought his position was secure thanks to his place in the realms of Germany’s elite.
Edith could see what Julius refused to and it's not until the worst fate befalls him that he really starts to wake up and shake himself out of his stupor. He suffers from rheumatoid arthritis which makes working daily in a factory very much a struggle. He never thought he would be forced to do this kind of work or that his wife would have greater entitlements and freedom than he has and all because he has Jewish blood. Julius is the one character who I felt has done a complete 360 from book one and although no one likes to see someone diminished and broken, in a small sense I was glad because it afforded the opportunity for Edith to show what she was made of. That women are equals with men. Edith shoulders so many burdens and holds things together with grace and dignity. She battles everything on a daily basis and as the situation in Berlin deteriorates with new laws every day, rationing and the threat of bombs from the British she must remain true to herself and her husband.
Once the initial activity of the first few chapters subsided I felt the book became quite languid and nothing much occurred. Yes, the changes in the city and the circumstances for the family were detailed but I felt at times the chapters were just fillers in until we got to the last 40% or so of the book when things really began to happen and my attention was caught and it didn’t let go until the final page. I think the story needed something to occur much earlier on and therefore this for me wasn’t the best book in the series but yet I wouldn’t have missed out on it because I have become familiar with and invested in the lives of these characters during the war and am keen to see how things will eventually pan out for each and every one of them. Definitely for me the later parts of the book made up for slow chapters.
Helga is an old friend of Edith’s and the war has once again brought them closer. Little did she think, given their vastly different social classes, that she would end up sharing an apartment with the head of a bank who had given her husband Heinrich employment. Her husband is Jewish as are her children, David and Amelie, and we follow their struggles coping with new laws not and not knowing what each new day would bring. I think it is brilliant showing the contrasts between the two families which are now slowly starting to merge together and they are becoming on an equal footing demonstrating that the wrath and persecution from Hitler showed no graces for anyone. Helga grows in strength in this book as does Edith and it’s the event towards the end of the book which really highlights this. I had read of said event before but I was glad to read of it in more detail here as it tells of the one time the German people, specifically women, stood up to the tyrants destroying their lives. It makes you think why didn’t more people at the time do this? Yet, the same could be said for the situation we see unfolding today in Gaza. There are many comparisons between Gaza and this story and it is sad to see the same events are occurring decades later.
David, Helga’s son, features more prominently here and I found him to be daring and courageous in his actions. He puts himself on the line and as the families and so many others teeter on the brink of mortal danger he just keeps going and is selfless in his small but vital actions. I want to know more about David in the next book and Roxanna who makes subtle appearances. I sense there is a more dominant storyline to come for them in the future. The book ended not on what I would say was a happy note rather things as much as they can be are stable but there is an sense of the inevitable. That the worst is yet to come. The final book in the series will take us all the way to the end of the war as this one finishes mid 1943. At the moment, there are brief moments of happiness for the characters but they leave in a constant state of fear, terror and anxiety and as we all know things often get worse before they get better and I am eager to see in what direction the author will take Edith, Helga and their families in the concluding book.
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