Title: Cradles of the ReichAuthor: Jennifer Coburn
Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark on Oct. 11, 2022
Genres: Historical Fiction
Pages: 320
Format: ARC, Paperback
Source: Sourcebooks Landmark
Book Rating: 8.5/10
At Heim Hochland, a Nazi breeding home in Bavaria, three women’s fates are irrevocably intertwined. Gundi is a pregnant university student from Berlin. An Aryan beauty, she’s secretly a member of a resistance group. Hilde, only eighteen, is a true believer in the cause and is thrilled to carry a Nazi official’s child. And Irma, a 44-year-old nurse, is desperate to build a new life for herself after personal devastation. All three have everything to lose.
Based on untold historical events, this novel brings us intimately inside the Lebensborn Society maternity homes that actually existed in several countries during World War II, where thousands of “racially fit” babies were bred and taken from their mothers to be raised as part of the new Germany. But it proves that in a dark period of history, the connections women forge can carry us through, even driving us to heroism we didn’t know we had within us.
Review:
Haunting, insightful, and affecting!
Cradles of the Reich is an absorbing, intense tale set during prewar Germany that takes you into the lives of three German women who all come from different backgrounds and with completely different motivations but whose worlds become uniquely connected and intertwined when they all find themselves residents of Heim Hochland, a secret Nazi breeding facility created and maintained specifically with the intent to create a pure Aryan race.
The prose is polished and expressive. The characters are vulnerable, intriguing, and strong. And the plot is a compelling tale of life, loss, love, family, sacrifice, courage, manipulation, motherhood, subjection, oppression, resistance, and survival.
Overall, Cradles of the Reich is a well-written, informative tale by Coburn based on real-life events that does an exceptional job of highlighting her considerable knowledge and impressive research into an unimaginable, narcissistic atrocity executed during one of the most dark, hate-filled, tragic times in history.
This novel is available now.
Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.
Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
About Jennifer Coburn
Jennifer Coburn is the author of Cradles of the Reich, a historical novel about three very different women living at a Nazi Lebensborn breeding home at the start of World War ll.
She has also published a mother-daughter travel memoir, We'll Always Have Paris, as well as six contemporary women's novels. Additionally, Jennifer has contributed to five literary anthologies, including A Paris All Your Own.
Jennifer lives in San Diego with her husband, William. Their daughter, Katie is currently in graduate school. When Jennifer is not going down historical research rabbit holes, she volunteers with So Say We All, a live storytelling organization, where she is a performer, producer, and performance coach. She is also an active volunteer with Reality Changers, a nonprofit that supports low-income high school students in becoming the first in their families to attend college. She specializes in college essay development, and interview prep.
Photo Credit: Killian Whitelock
