Review: The German Mother by Debbie Rix*

*I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity.

Title: The German Mother
Author: Debbie Rix
Genre: Historical Fiction

Trigger warnings:  War, Antisemitism, Violence, Death Of A Parent, Death Of A Spouse, Cancer, Prostitution, References To Abortion, Miscarriage, Eugenics, Suicide

Rating: ★★★★★     

A missing child. A mother’s heartbreaking journey.

1941, Germany: I stroke the blonde curl away from my daughter’s face and my heart swells. I never imagined having children and I never thought I’d love someone this much. Clara is the most precious thing to me. I whisper to her I will do everything I can to keep her safe.

Before the war began, I had everything – an attentive husband, three adorable children, and the perfect house. But all that changed in an instant.

My beautiful Clara, with her blue eyes and porcelain features, started having fits. I haven’t been able to sleep properly since they started, because I know children with illnesses like hers are being stolen away in the night.

I refuse to give my little girl up. She should be with her family. I can’t bear the thought of her being taken from me.

My husband, influenced by his connections high up in the Nazi Party, says we have to tell the truth and follow the rules. I beg him to help me protect her, but I don’t trust him. He’s changed so much from the man I once loved.

Then I see a man in uniform outside my door. They’ve come for her.

My child is wrenched from our home, and I sink to the floor as she’s carried away.

But I vow to find her… no matter what it takes.

The German Mother is a heart-wrenching novel from historical fiction author Debbie Rix. This was my first time reading anything from the author, despite many of her books sitting on my TBR list for many years, but her compelling writing absolutely captivated me from very first page right through the emotional narrative until the very last page.

This is not an easy read, particularly as one of our protagonists Minki sits very close to the heart of the Nazi party through her husband’s role within Goebbels’ propaganda department. But it did make the story particularly interesting as we get to see that not even high-ranking Nazi party members were immune from their policies against disabled people. The exploration of the politics of the journalism sector in 1930s Germany was also really interesting, particularly as we follow the introduction of increasing censorship.

This is a longer novel, of just over 500 pages long. Although this is longer than the novels I tend to gravitate towards, I was really glad the story was given this amount of page space as it really allowed the long-timeline narrative to be explored in the depth it deserved. We first meet the characters in 1920 and follow their lives right up through to the immediate aftermath of the Second World War in 1945. Although there are jumps forward in time between each part of the novel, having such an extensive timeline meant that we got to follow Minki and Leila through many of their key life events such as completing university, starting their careers, meeting their future spouses, getting married and then becoming mothers. Following these characters on their individual journeys over twenty-five years of their lives, and also seeing how their friendship evolved over time, really helped us as readers to build a strong connection to both women.

Both Minki and Leila were courageous and strong female protagonists. It was not always easy to follow Minki’s story as she develops quite a complaisant attitude to the Nazi regime until the potential impact on her family becomes apparent. But over the course of the book she opens her eyes to the reality of the regime and the wild, headstrong Minki we’d met at the beginning of the book started to return. I really connected with Leila as a character too and she had her own really emotional story which was really powerful.

Including such an extensive timeline also meant that the story features many key events in the rise of the Nazis and then the Second World War. This included the Beer Hall Putsch, the 1930 German federal election, Hitler becoming Chancellor in 1933, the introduction of censorship laws in Germany, the Reichstag Fire and subsequent Reichstag Fire Decree, book burnings and the opening of Dachau (one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany). As a true twentieth century/ Second World War history geek I absolutely loved how much history was packed into The German Mother and it was all clearly impeccably researched by Debbie Rix.

Overall, The German Mother was most definitely one of my favourite Second World War historical fiction novels I’ve ever read. Although it is not an easy read, and one which completely captured my emotions and had me sobbing on regular occasions, it’s a definite must-read for fans of the genre and a story which will stay with readers for a long time.