Can you share a brief summary of Cradles of the Reich and what readers can
expect when picking up this book?
Cradles of the Reich is a historical novel about three very different German women who
meet at a Lebensborn Nazi breeding home in Bavaria and change the course of one
another’s lives.
The Lebensborn Society was Heinrich Himmler’s top-secret plan to create two million
“racially valuable” children for the Reich. It operated in three ways:
1 – It arranged sexual liaisons between Aryan women and SS officers.
2 – It was a maternity home, mostly for unwed pregnant German women.
3 – When the war started in 1939, the Lebensborn Society expanded into a kidnapping
program. Nazi soldiers snatched blond-haired, blue-eyed children from countries they
invaded, then brought them back to Germany and “Germanized” them for adoption.
In the end, 20,000 babies were bred – and 200,000 children were kidnapped – through
the Lebensborn program. Half from Poland alone.
What inspired you to write this novel?
When I first learned that the Nazis had a secret breeding program, I was both horrified
and fascinated. It was especially compelling to me because the Lebensborn Society
existed in the same world as Nazi death camps. The program was part of the same
twisted plan to create a so-called master race – but by creating life rather than
destroying it.
I had so many questions about how the program worked.
- Where were these homes?
- How were the women selected?
- And why would a woman volunteer to have sex with a man she had just met for
the purpose of breeding “a child for Hitler,” as the Nazis called it?
So, I did what I always do when I want to learn about a period of history – I looked for a
well-researched historical novel that would answer all my questions but do so through
the intimate lens of women’s relationships.
What I found was that there were many non-fiction books, but no novels. I decided to
write the book I wanted to read with a book club.
How much research did writing this book require?
I read a great deal about the period and the Lebensborn program, but it was extremely
helpful to consult with subject matter experts, especially when going down rabbit holes
to understand mundane cultural details. It’s fairly easy to find information about the
nonaggression pact between Germany and Russia, or the Battle of the Bzura, and
invasion dates. What was more difficult were questions like: When men put on their
pants, did they button, snap or zip their flies? Why didn’t Nazi women wear makeup? Or
when is rabbit season?
I interviewed scholars of Nazi propaganda and German culture, a food historian, an
architectural historian, a former member of the Hitler Youth, and a renowned German
author, among others. I wanted to tell a good story with complex characters facing
harrowing choices, but I also wanted to ensure that the novel was historically accurate.
At the center of this novel are three women. Are these women based on real
historical characters?
My three protagonists are fictional, but the Lebensborn Society was real. Through
Cradles of the Reich, I aim to explore the three faces of Gentile German citizens in Nazi
Germany, so each woman represents different choices a Gentile woman could make in
this era.
There’s Gundi, the resister. She is a university student from Berlin who is pregnant with
her Jewish boyfriend’s baby. While most women volunteered for the Lebensborn
Society, Gundi is forced into the program. (The father of her child is assumed to be
someone else, and she dares not correct the Nazis.)
Then we have Hilde, a true believer, who is thrilled to be pregnant with the baby of a
high-ranking officer.
And finally, Irma, a nurse who works at the maternity home. Like many Germans at the
time, she is keeping her head down. But as she learns more about the Lebensborn
Society, Irma must choose sides.
What makes this a great book club book?
I was absolutely thrilled when Kirkus Reviews called Cradles of the Reich “a deep well
of book club discussion topics” because that is exactly what I hoped it would be.
Through this historical novel, book club members can ask how they might respond in
various circumstances that arise in the story. They can ask one another if they agree or
disagree with the three characters’ decisions in different scenarios.
In the back of Cradles of the Reich is a book club discussion guide as well as an
author’s note that provides background on the program and era. If book clubbers have
questions for me, I am happy to Zoom into their club meeting and spend time chatting.
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Photo by Killian