Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Naomi Demetriou has survived three years behind the walls of Auschwitz. Torn apart from her family, every breath could be her last. She’s learnt to survive by secretly trading the clothes she’s forced to sort through in exchange for food. But when an SS officer singles her out, her life becomes even harder. And then she discovers she’s pregnant…
With the support of Ana, the kind midwife, and the other mothers in Barrack 24, Naomi does the impossible and gives birth to a tiny baby boy. Hiding in the shadows, Naomi vows to do whatever it takes to keep baby Isaac safe. With rumours circulating of an Allied invasion, Naomi holds onto the hope the camp will be liberated. And she dreams of returning to her house by the Greek sea with her son.
But the day comes when Naomi hears heavy footsteps and the harsh voice of an SS guard. ‘Out! Now! You can’t take anything with you!’ She’s shoved into a line of people being marched out of the iron gates. Thick snow falls around them. Tears sting in Naomi’s eyes.
It all happened so fast. And she was unable to grab the bundle of blankets containing her little boy. But Ana is still there, will she and the other brave women be able to save him?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Last Baby in Auschwitz to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The Last Baby in Auschwitz concludes Anna Stuart’s Women at War series. Reading her detailed end notes, she says she wished to give a voice to the Greek Jews whose story is sometimes over looked or else not given as much focus as other aspects of the war often are. The story opens with a very brief prologue set in 1944 which sets the scene for what is to come. A young woman is preparing for something monumental to occur to her, but the problem is she is incarcerated in Auschwitz where she has no desire to be. But due to her religion herself and many thousands of others have found themselves in hell on earth. What led to the loss of her freedom, dignity and basic humanity? What unfolds is an incredible but heartbreaking story of resilience, courage, bravery, love and loss. Yes, it’s a hard read at times with graphic descriptions but all are necessary to hit home with the reader the depravity of the situation which must never be forgotten nor should the all the people who lost their lives.
The book is split into three distinct parts with each part being extremely well written. The overall story focuses on two cousins Naomi and Lieke who live in the Greek city of Salonika. Chapters alternate between their two points of view and as the plot progresses their two different experiences in Auschwitz. It’s 1942 and the Nazi’s have taken much from the people of Greece. They live their lives in fear. A famine is raging across the country with people having little or no rations. They are wasting away. The Germans have taken their homes, their harvests and medicines but amongst the suffering there is love and hardship and Naomi has this in abundance for her boyfriend Christos. Christos was badly wounded whilst fighting and needs food and time to heal. Time is in abundance, but food is sadly not and Naomi does everything in her power to try and get Christos back on his feet. Naomi is in her mid-teens but throughout the book she came across as being much older. I suppose she had to grow up quickly and the innocence of her childhood rapidly dissipated as the Germans invaded Greece and brought with them many life altering rules and regulations.
Naomi is fiery, passionate, resourceful and opiniated and these traits will stand well to her as the Germans grip upon their lives intensifies. Their beautiful city is not what it once was and a horrific event occurs which leaves a very bad taste in the readers mouth and horrific images in one’s mind. Soon the family web is torn into shreds, and one wonders how much spinning of thread which constantly occurs can the family ever experience the life they once had? Throughout the book there is an analogy of the spider always spinning their web. Keeping going no matter how many times its web may be destroyed. The resilience of the characters is compared to that of the spider and the way this analogy was cleverly woven into the story was heartwarming and so apt. This is a wide ranging story where so much occurs that I felt I was taken on a rollercoaster of a ride so it is impossible to go into too much detail without giving away crucial plot points. Naomi finds herself separated from her family with some loss endured which she is aware of but regarding other family members their exact outcome is uncertain.
As the Nazi’s reign of terror strengthens Greek Jews find themselves rounded up and put in ghettos before being transported north. Many were promised new lands and riches but this was all pure fabrication and anger and injustice is aroused in the reader at these poor innocent people believing they were going to safety and instead they were taken to hell and back and in many cases they never came back. The descriptions of Naomi’s journey and her subsequent arrival at Auschwitz were hard to read about and I have read countless books set during this period but it never fails to make me angry or horrified. Sadly there is always something new to learn about World War Two and the camps and here Anna Stuart has undertaken careful and extensive research and allowed both Naomi and Lieke to share their stories in a real and visceral way.
Pain, humiliation, starvation, forced labour, violence and abuse all feature heavily in Naomi’s existence behind the wire fence of Auschwitz. But she is a plucky young woman and my admiration grew for her with each chapter. She was always on the go testing her ingenuity and although what she experiences working in the Kanada section of the camp was appalling. She turned a dreadful experience into something and I’m not sure many people could have done that. It showed her bravery, strength and fortitude but along the way she was helped by some remarkable women. Notably Ana and Ester who featured in the previous books along with a few other familiar faces who popped up every now and again. I enjoyed seeing this happen as I had already read their stories and it was great to see their stories from Naomi’s perspective. Love and family above all else is what keeps Naomi going through the most harrowing of times. Every woman leans on the other finding tenacity and stability the likes of which they would never have thought they would have needed in their previous life.
As for Lieke, I must admit I didn’t warm or connect to her quite as much as Naomi. Her experiences although just as tragic, chilling and agonizing as Naomi’s felt slightly different. She had her mother alongside her in the camp which in my mind made it ever so slightly easier for her. Loneliness for Naomi was a big thing and even though Lieke’s father and brother were in the camp also men and woman were separated and they only glimpsed them once or twice. Both Lieke and her mother endured awful suffering and torture. They worked in an office and having to write detailed death lists was not peasant. I will say I did admire Lieke for one action she took in relation to Naomi which had she not done so the story could have turned out very differently. Personally, I felt Naomi, was the driving force throughout the book and although interesting as I found Lieke’s chapters it was Naomi the spirited, bold, gutsy and passionate young woman whose story held me in its grip as her desire to live burned fiercely within her no matter what the Germans through at her and her fellow prisoners. They were trying to reduce the Jews to subhumans but she was determined that they would never achieve this and even more so when she has a new reason to keep pressing on in the hopes the war would one day come to an end and the camp would be liberated.
The Last Baby in Auschwitz was an excellent conclusion to what has been an eye-opening series in which different woman have been given a voice. Their struggles through conflict, persecution and misery are laid bare for all to see reminding us this should never be allowed to happen again. Naomi’s determination throughout the story proves that evil and hatred should never be allowed to triumph over hatred, alienation and malice. Overall, this was an impressive read with an important message expertly told and with characters that will long live on in your heart and mind.
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