#Review - The Lost Book of Bonn by Brianna Labuskes #Historical #Holocaust #WorldWarII

Series: Standalone
Format: Paperback, 384 pages
Release Date: March 19, 2024
Publisher: William Morrow
Source: Publisher
Genre: Historical / Holocaust / World War II

From the author of The Librarian of Burned Books, comes a novel about a librarian's quest to return a precious book stolen by the Nazis to its rightful owner and the story of how that book united two very different sisters in their fight to survive World War II.

Germany, 1946: Emmy Clarke is a librarian not a soldier. But that doesn’t stop the Library of Congress from sending her overseas to Germany to help the Monuments Men retrieve and catalog precious literature that was plundered by the Nazis. The Offenbach Archival Depot and its work may get less attention than returning art to its rightful owners, but for Emmy, who sees the personalized messages on the inside of the books and the notes in margins of pages, it feels just as important.

On Emmy’s first day at work, she finds a poetry collection by Rainer Maria Rilke, and on the title page is a handwritten dedication: “To Annelise, my brave Edelweiss Pirate.” Emmy is instantly intrigued by the story behind the dedication and becomes determined to figure out what happened.

The hunt for the rightful owner of the book leads Emmy to two sisters, a horrific betrayal, and an extraordinary protest against the Nazis that was held in Berlin at the height of the war. Hundreds of brave women gathered in the streets after their Jewish husbands were detained by the Gestapo. Through freezing rain and RAF bombings, the women faced down certain death and did what so few others dared to do under the Third Reich. They said no.

Emmy grapples with her own ghosts as she begins to wonder if she’s just chasing two more. What she finds instead is a powerful story of love, forgiveness, and courage that brings light to even the darkest of postwar days.

Brianna Labuskes' The Lost Book of Bonn is a Historical fiction novel inspired by real events. This book focuses on three different women: American Emmy Clarke, German sisters Annelise Fisher, and Christiana Fisher. This turns out to be one woman's quest to return a precious book stolen by the Nazis to its rightful owner and the story of how that book united two very different sisters in their fight to survive World War II. But could it also be Emmy's path to finding a new beginning after a painful loss? 

Germany, 1946: Emmy Clarke is a librarian, not a soldier who lost her husband at Normandy. She works as an archivist at the Library of Congress recruited as a temporary volunteer archivist to head to Offenbach am Main, where the government had set up an archival depot that held the millions of books the Nazis had plundered from occupied nations. It was part of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives unit, better known as the Monuments Men which is a real group. Her co-worker/boss is Major Wesley Arnold who was one of the Monuments Men until he was injured. 

The Offenbach am Main Archival Depot holds millions of books that the Nazis plundered. Its work may get less attention than returning art to its rightful owners, but for Emmy, who sees the personalized messages on the inside of the books and the notes in the margins of pages, it feels just as important. On Emmy’s first day at work, she finds a poetry collection by Rainer Maria Rilke, and on the title page is a handwritten dedication: “To Annelise, my brave Edelweiss Pirate.” Emmy is instantly intrigued by the story behind the dedication and becomes determined to figure out what happened. 

The hunt for the rightful owner of the book leads Emmy to two sisters (Annelise & Christina Fischer), a horrific betrayal, and an extraordinary protest against the Nazis that was held in Berlin at the height of the war by a group called Women of Rose Street. Hundreds of brave women (including Christina) gathered in the streets after their Jewish husbands were detained by the Gestapo. Through freezing rain and RAF bombings, the women faced down certain death and did what so few others dared to do under the Third Reich. They said no. 

With Wesley's help, Emmy grapples with her own ghosts as she begins to wonder if she’s just chasing two more. What she finds instead is a powerful story of love, forgiveness, and courage that brings light to even the darkest of postwar days. There are two other storylines going on: Annelise in 1937-38 and Christina in 1943 with the Abwehr or German resistance. In 1937, Annelise is a 16-year-old living in Bonn, Germany. She is what's called an Edelweiss Pirate, a group that refuses to conform to Hitler's ideology. 

She dresses outlandishly and spends much of her time in the nearby mountains with other youths who share her views. She and her friends have become involved in prank-like behavior toward the Reich hoping to wake up the general population to the atrocities being committed by their own government. The question becomes what will they do as the tactics of government harden. Things become much more dangerous when she falls for Eitan Basch, a Jewish boy who is afraid he'll be deported, or worse.

Christina, who is my second favorite character, is the perfect Hitler Youth or Hitlerjugend. She likes order and deals well with rules. She joined the Bund Deutscher Madel, the group intended for all girls. She even goes as far as to follow Annelise and Eitan around and nearly gets them both killed. But 6 years later (1943) we discover that Christina has been living a double life. She's actually working with the Americans to help spy on Hitler's people hoping to end the War and to make up for the hurt she caused her own sister. 

One of the best scenes of the book was when Aryan women stood up to the Nazis under Goebbels and demanded that their Jewish husbands be released. As mentioned above, this actually happened. This made such noise in Germany, that even Hitler ended up backing down. It's too bad these same Germans didn't stand up sooner to Hitler and his Third Reich, instead of allowing him to put fear into their hearts when it came to the Jewish people, gypsies, and anyone else who was not considered Aryan including gay people. 

My favorite character was Annelise. She and her friends actually tried hard to change people's minds. While the Hitler Youth worked to promote the Nazi party's agenda, the Edelweiss Pirates opposed Nazism and engaged in activities to undermine the Nazi control. An increasing number of teens and their parents became outraged by the use of the Hitler Youth organization to train children for combat and brainwash them into the Nazi ideology. Members spray-painted anti-Hitler messages on walls and buildings, threw bricks through munition factory windows, and even dumped sugar into the gas tanks of Nazi cars. Most of the group were between 14-18.

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#Review - The Light in Hidden Places by Sharon Cameron #Historical #Holocaust

Series: Standalone
Format: Paperback, 400 pages
Release Date: September 7, 2021
Publisher: Scholastic Inc
Source: Publisher
Genre: Historical / Holocaust

The extraordinary story of Stefania Podgórska, a Polish teenager who chose bravery and humanity by hiding thirteen Jews in her attic during WWII, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Sharon Cameron -- now a Reese's Book Club YA Pick!

One knock at the door, and Stefania has a choice to make...

It is 1943, and for four years, sixteen-year-old Stefania has been working for the Diamant family in their grocery store in Przemysl, Poland, singing her way into their lives and hearts. She has even made a promise to one of their sons, Izio -- a betrothal they must keep secret since she is Catholic and the Diamants are Jewish.

But everything changes when the German army invades Przemysl. The Diamants are forced into the ghetto, and Stefania is alone in an occupied city, the only one left to care for Helena, her six-year-old sister. And then comes the knock at the door. Izio's brother Max has jumped from the train headed to a death camp. Stefania and Helena make the extraordinary decision to hide Max, and eventually twelve more Jews. Then they must wait, every day, for the next knock at the door, the one that will mean death. When the knock finally comes, it is two Nazi officers, requisitioning Stefania's house for the German army.

With two Nazis below, thirteen hidden Jews above, and a little sister by her side, Stefania has one more excruciating choice to make.

This remarkable tale of courage and humanity, based on a true story, is now a Reese's Book Club YA Pick!

Author Sharon Cameron's The Light in Hidden Places is the remarkable story about a true heroine named Stefania Podgórska. Stefania Podgórska (June 2, 1921 – September 29, 2018) and her sister Helena Podgórska (born 1935), came from a Catholic farming family near Przemyśl in southeastern Poland. During the Holocaust, Stefania and Helena harbored thirteen Jewish men, women and children in the attic of their home for two-and-a-half years. Both were later honored as the Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem as well as by the Jewish and Polish organizations in North America, for their wartime heroism.

The story in this book takes place between 1936 and 1944. Stefania was one of nine children. She really had no voice. On a whim, when she was 13, she decided to leave home and stay with her older sister Marysia. Soon thereafter, she found a job working for Leah Diamant and her families grocery store in Przemysl, Poland, singing her way into their lives and hearts. She has even made a promise to one of their sons, Izio -- a betrothal they must keep secret since she is Catholic and the Diamants are Jewish. Stefania fell in love with the Diamant's, and couldn't understand the hatred that was thrown at them for being Jewish and believing in Moses rather than Jesus.

 

In 1939, the bombs fell on Poland, and the Germans invaded. Stefi's family scattered across Poland. Soon after the arrival of the Nazis, her mother and brother were taken to Salzburg for forced labor, while the Diamants were forced into a ghetto. The city she now calls home is divided by Russia and Germany and will remain that way until 1941 when Germans gain the upper hand and start on their mass murder spree of political adversaries, Romanovs, Ukrainians, and of course, Jews. On a trip back home, Stefania discovered that her younger sister Helene was left alone, and nobody was watching her or feeding her. 

 

So, she decided that she would try to take care of her sister. The two Podgórski sisters lived in Przemyśl alone in an apartment rented by Stefania, who was 17 at the time, as well as a roommate who was in and out. Stefania and Helena make the extraordinary decision to hide Max, who had escaped a death train, and eventually twelve more Jews. Then they waited, every day, for the next knock at the door, the one that will mean death. When the knock finally comes, it is two Nazi officers, requisitioning Stefania's house for the German army. 

For years they had to worry about getting caught. They even had an SS officer living next door! The rules were: Death to anyone who aids Jews; Death to anyone who harbors a Jew; Death to anyone who feeds a Jew; Death to anyone who provides transportation for a Jew; Death for anyone who takes money from a Jew; and Jews weren't allowed to keep their homes, or their businesses, or their bank accounts. Things got progressively worse in Poland with food shortages and people being taken from the Ghetto to trains and concentration camps where they would never been seen from again. 

 

For 8 months, the Jewish fugitives begged the sisters to flee for their safety. They refused. After an intensive 8 months of worrying when the other shoe would drop, and wondering when she and her sister wold be deported to Germany with her mother and brother, Germany flees Poland the the 13 Jews find themselves scattering to the wind. Except Max who would later become Stefania's husband. Cameron apparently used Stefania's bibliography to fill in holes while also knowing that she couldn't write a 1,000 documentary. There was also a movie made about Stefania called Hidden in Silence.

It is fair to give Stefania a whole lot of accolades for what she did. But never, and I mean, never forget Helene who could have destroyed the entire setup up if she had told the wrong person. I am grateful that Sharon Cameron did so much work to gather all the information and put it in this book. It was utterly beautiful. I believe she did a good job with what she had to deal with and the fact that she took time to travel to Poland to walk in Stefania's shoes.

  

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