The German Wife: A Novel
"Skillfully researched and powerfully written, The German Wife will capture you from the first page." --Madeline Martin, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Bookshop in London
For fans of All the Light We Cannot See and The Tattooist of Auschwitz--from the New York Times bestselling author of The Things We Cannot Say and The Warsaw Orphan returns with a gripping novel inspired by the true story of Operation Paperclip: a controversial secret US intelligence program that employed former Nazis after WWII.
Berlin, 1930--When a wave of change sweeps a radical political party to power, Sofie von Meyer Rhodes's academic husband benefits from the ambitions of its newly elected chancellor. Although Sofie and Jürgen do not share the social views growing popular in Hitler's Germany, Jürgen's position with its burgeoning rocket program changes their diminishing fortunes for the better. But as Sofie watches helplessly, her beloved Berlin begins to transform, forcing her to consider what they must sacrifice morally for their young family's security, and what the price for their neutrality will be.
Twenty years later, Jürgen is one of the many German scientists offered pardons for their part in the war, and taken to America to work for its fledgling space program. For Sofie, this is the chance to exorcise the ghosts that have followed her across the ocean, and make a fresh start in her adopted country. But her neighbors aren't as welcoming or as understanding as she had hoped. When scandalous rumors about the Rhodes family's affiliation with Hitler's regime spreads, idle gossip turns to bitter rage, and the act of violence that results will tear apart Sofie's community and her family before the truth is finally revealed.
"An unforgettable novel that explores important questions highly relevant to the world today." --Christine Wells, author of Sisters of the Resistance
Don't miss Kelly Rimmer's newest novel, The Paris Agent, where a family's innocent search for answers brings a long-forgotten, twenty-five-year-old mystery featuring two female SOE operatives comes to light!
For more by Kelly Rimmer, look for:
For fans of All the Light We Cannot See and The Tattooist of Auschwitz--from the New York Times bestselling author of The Things We Cannot Say and The Warsaw Orphan returns with a gripping novel inspired by the true story of Operation Paperclip: a controversial secret US intelligence program that employed former Nazis after WWII.
Berlin, 1930--When a wave of change sweeps a radical political party to power, Sofie von Meyer Rhodes's academic husband benefits from the ambitions of its newly elected chancellor. Although Sofie and Jürgen do not share the social views growing popular in Hitler's Germany, Jürgen's position with its burgeoning rocket program changes their diminishing fortunes for the better. But as Sofie watches helplessly, her beloved Berlin begins to transform, forcing her to consider what they must sacrifice morally for their young family's security, and what the price for their neutrality will be.
Twenty years later, Jürgen is one of the many German scientists offered pardons for their part in the war, and taken to America to work for its fledgling space program. For Sofie, this is the chance to exorcise the ghosts that have followed her across the ocean, and make a fresh start in her adopted country. But her neighbors aren't as welcoming or as understanding as she had hoped. When scandalous rumors about the Rhodes family's affiliation with Hitler's regime spreads, idle gossip turns to bitter rage, and the act of violence that results will tear apart Sofie's community and her family before the truth is finally revealed.
"An unforgettable novel that explores important questions highly relevant to the world today." --Christine Wells, author of Sisters of the Resistance
Don't miss Kelly Rimmer's newest novel, The Paris Agent, where a family's innocent search for answers brings a long-forgotten, twenty-five-year-old mystery featuring two female SOE operatives comes to light!
For more by Kelly Rimmer, look for:
- Before I Let You Go
- The Things We Cannot Say
- Truths I Never Told You
- The Warsaw Orphan
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Community Reviews
Author Kelly Rimmer says that inspiration for her books often strikes when she least expects it. In the case of The German Wife, the idea for the story came to her in 2019 when she visited an exhibit about the history of the U.S. space program at the Parkes Observatory, the site of the radio telescope that assisted in the broadcasts from the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969. She noted a reference to the contributions of German scientists, beginning in 1950, to development of the rockets that powered the spacecraft. She was “immediately struck by how unlikely” it was that German and U.S. scientists worked side by side so soon after the end of World War II. Her research soon revealed Operation Paperclip. Under the terms of the program, more than 1,600 German scientists and engineers from a variety of disciplines (chemistry, physics, architecture, medicine, rocketry, etc.) were brought to America and employed by the federal government. The truth about their pasts was obliterated, their stories rewritten. “Many were complicit in war crimes. Others were complicit through their silence.” Nonetheless, they were granted a fresh start courtesy of the U.S. government.
Thus, The German Wife opens in 1950 with the first-person narrative of Sofie von Meyer Rhodes, a German aristocrat who has just arrived in Huntsville, Alabama, with her two youngest children, Gisela and Felix. They will join her husband, Jürgen, a scientist and former professor who has been living and working in America for five years. Their older son, Georg, would be twenty years old had he lived, and Laura, their older daughter, was lost to them when she remained loyal to the Nazi regime. At last, Sofie will attempt to forge a new life with her family alongside other Germans granted a second chance by the U.S. government. Sofie is aware that Jürgen came to America as a prisoner of war but does not know the details surrounding his freedom and job at Fort Bliss. And soon Sofie will learn that many of her new American neighbors are neither forgiving nor welcoming. Adapting to life in a new country with unfamiliar customs among resentful residents will prove difficult.
But, of course, Sofie is a survivor. In a dual narrative beginning in 1930, Sofie relates her experiences in Germany as the Nazis come to power and increasingly impose their will upon stunned citizens. Having only married Jürgen a year earlier, Sofie is expecting their first child. But the results of the recent election have proven shocking and frightening, especially for Sofie’s Jewish best friend, Mayim, and her family, who have lost everything as a result of inflation and the 1929 stock market crash. Neither woman realizes how much more will be lost when war breaks out. Mayim and her family will be forced into hiding. And in order to protect them, as well as her own family, it will be necessary for Sofie to at least appear to shun her. Moreover, Jürgen will be conscripted into joining the Nazi party, and utilizing his knowledge and skills in a morally repugnant mission . . . or face the consequences.
Also commencing in 1930 is another first-person narrative. Lizzie and her brother, Henry, live in Dallam County, Texas, but times are hard. The rain has not come, but brutal dust storms have. Eventually, Lizzie and Henry also make their way to Huntsville. Lizzie describes her journey, including how she meets and marries her husband, Calvin Miller, who has transferred from El Paso and serves as the general manager of the rocket program. He refers to his coworkers as “our Germans,” a term that makes Lizzie want “to scream.” Henry served in Europe during World War II, but never speaks about it. Lizzie notes that he returned from the war -- at a time well before Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was a recognized and treated condition -- “a broken man. And now my brother did not need to be living in a town lousy with Germans.” Henry sees the influx of German citizens as a threat and, although he seems to be doing well, Lizzie worries about him. For good reason, it turns out.
The male German and American scientists have been working together for some time and have developed collegial relationships. Oblivious to history, the children immediately begin playing together. But as the German and American wives are introduced to each other for the first time, tensions are high. Many of the American women are only in attendance at the gathering because their husbands have demanded their presence, and they are stubbornly standoffish instead of welcoming, further bewildering the German wives who do not yet speak English. Lizzie is one of the most outspoken, her outrage on full display. “These people should probably be on trial at Nuremberg, not sipping champagne in Huntsville. . . . We don’t have to welcome them. We can take a stand. I mean, for God’s sakes, someone has to.” Lizzie expresses what so many Americans felt after the war: German citizens who stood by as atrocities were committed and “did nothing” were as guilty as the members of the Nazi party who ordered and carried out unthinkable deeds. But Sofie protests, arguing it is unfair to assume that all Germans knew what was happening or were members of the Nazi party. What she does not verbalize is that she and Jürgen did, in fact, know what was happening . . . but were helpless to stop it.
The German Wife is a riveting, often heartbreaking and infuriating modern morality play. Through her compelling and fully developed characters, Rimmer explores the complexities of war, particularly the most heinous conflict in history. She uses the four narratives to illustrate her characters’ experiences and reactions to events, many of which are beyond their control. In Germany, Sofie and Jürgen are horrified by the abuse of power and crimes being committed, and seek ways to evade being swept up into the Nazi party. But Jürgen possesses unique skills, and the party leaders are intent upon using his talents in ways that are repulsive and abhorrent to him and Sofie. They are determined to keep their family safe, and soon learn the cost of resistance. As violence escalates, Jews are rounded up and sent to concentration camps, and the government takes control of the press, spewing propaganda, it becomes evident that "the Nazi party had gone too far. But no one said it. No one could say it. We had so long been afraid of the consequences of dissent that even as the nation descended into madness, any moral call to rise up against the chaos went unheeded." Out of options, Jürgen tries to shield Sofie from the truth, but it haunts him. He knows the ways in which Hitler plans to use the rockets being developed. He also knows about the camps, the gas, and the certain fate of those who attempt to resist. "Those men buid rockets according to my instructions," he confesses to Sofie. "When the story of the war is written, the pages will be full of men saying 'I was only following orders' and the world will know that is fiction. Every single time I opted not to take a stand, I was taking a stand -- for the wrong side." Their story is absorbing, terrifying, and deeply moving.
Lizzie’s early life is beset by hardships and tragedy, and Rimmer describes how she ultimately resolves to forge a life that is solid and dependable, if not founded upon love and passion. She cares for and protects Henry who, as Rimmer demonstrates, is indisputably a victim of war. Her bitterness is credible and understandable, as is Calvin’s patient longing to soften her heart. As the narratives advance and readers attain knowledge about the characters’ histories and emotions, Rimmer accelerates the story’s pace and heightens the dramatic tension that results in a shocking and violent event. In the aftermath, her characters must come to terms with their pasts in order to face the future. Will they be able to finally see each other as human beings, rather than "Germans" and "Americans" on opposite sides of a war that has already ended?
Through the lives of her characters, Rimmer deftly examines PTSD and survivor’s guilt, the life-altering and lasting impacts of war, prejudice and bigotry, whether healing is possible, and, if so, how it can come about. The German Wife is a unique work of historical fiction in that Rimmer presents the troubling story of a German family who strive to escape being caught up in the evil and corrupt agenda of a madman and his followers. Rimmer challenges readers to ponder, along with Sofie and Jürgen, whether, in light of all they endure, they did enough. “Is there a point where we are morally obliged to take a stand, whatever the cost?” Rimmer asks.
Rimmer poses similar questions about Operation Paperclip. Her characters reference the Space Race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. As the two nations fought for superiority in spaceflight and to be the first to send an astronaut to the moon, that competition provided the impetus for the U.S. to overlook war crimes committed – often involuntarily – by German scientists in order to utilize their talents. America won the Space Race. But did the ends justify the means? Rimmer makes clear that Operation Paperclip was fraught from its conception and nothing about it “was simple – not the politics, the mechanics, or even the ethics.”
For fans of World War-era historical fiction, The German Wife is a must-read volume. Rimmer’s expertly crafted and thoroughly researched story is touching, complex, thought-provoking, and thoroughly engrossing, as well as remarkably contemporary and timely, given the current state of American politics.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.
Thus, The German Wife opens in 1950 with the first-person narrative of Sofie von Meyer Rhodes, a German aristocrat who has just arrived in Huntsville, Alabama, with her two youngest children, Gisela and Felix. They will join her husband, Jürgen, a scientist and former professor who has been living and working in America for five years. Their older son, Georg, would be twenty years old had he lived, and Laura, their older daughter, was lost to them when she remained loyal to the Nazi regime. At last, Sofie will attempt to forge a new life with her family alongside other Germans granted a second chance by the U.S. government. Sofie is aware that Jürgen came to America as a prisoner of war but does not know the details surrounding his freedom and job at Fort Bliss. And soon Sofie will learn that many of her new American neighbors are neither forgiving nor welcoming. Adapting to life in a new country with unfamiliar customs among resentful residents will prove difficult.
But, of course, Sofie is a survivor. In a dual narrative beginning in 1930, Sofie relates her experiences in Germany as the Nazis come to power and increasingly impose their will upon stunned citizens. Having only married Jürgen a year earlier, Sofie is expecting their first child. But the results of the recent election have proven shocking and frightening, especially for Sofie’s Jewish best friend, Mayim, and her family, who have lost everything as a result of inflation and the 1929 stock market crash. Neither woman realizes how much more will be lost when war breaks out. Mayim and her family will be forced into hiding. And in order to protect them, as well as her own family, it will be necessary for Sofie to at least appear to shun her. Moreover, Jürgen will be conscripted into joining the Nazi party, and utilizing his knowledge and skills in a morally repugnant mission . . . or face the consequences.
Also commencing in 1930 is another first-person narrative. Lizzie and her brother, Henry, live in Dallam County, Texas, but times are hard. The rain has not come, but brutal dust storms have. Eventually, Lizzie and Henry also make their way to Huntsville. Lizzie describes her journey, including how she meets and marries her husband, Calvin Miller, who has transferred from El Paso and serves as the general manager of the rocket program. He refers to his coworkers as “our Germans,” a term that makes Lizzie want “to scream.” Henry served in Europe during World War II, but never speaks about it. Lizzie notes that he returned from the war -- at a time well before Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was a recognized and treated condition -- “a broken man. And now my brother did not need to be living in a town lousy with Germans.” Henry sees the influx of German citizens as a threat and, although he seems to be doing well, Lizzie worries about him. For good reason, it turns out.
The male German and American scientists have been working together for some time and have developed collegial relationships. Oblivious to history, the children immediately begin playing together. But as the German and American wives are introduced to each other for the first time, tensions are high. Many of the American women are only in attendance at the gathering because their husbands have demanded their presence, and they are stubbornly standoffish instead of welcoming, further bewildering the German wives who do not yet speak English. Lizzie is one of the most outspoken, her outrage on full display. “These people should probably be on trial at Nuremberg, not sipping champagne in Huntsville. . . . We don’t have to welcome them. We can take a stand. I mean, for God’s sakes, someone has to.” Lizzie expresses what so many Americans felt after the war: German citizens who stood by as atrocities were committed and “did nothing” were as guilty as the members of the Nazi party who ordered and carried out unthinkable deeds. But Sofie protests, arguing it is unfair to assume that all Germans knew what was happening or were members of the Nazi party. What she does not verbalize is that she and Jürgen did, in fact, know what was happening . . . but were helpless to stop it.
The German Wife is a riveting, often heartbreaking and infuriating modern morality play. Through her compelling and fully developed characters, Rimmer explores the complexities of war, particularly the most heinous conflict in history. She uses the four narratives to illustrate her characters’ experiences and reactions to events, many of which are beyond their control. In Germany, Sofie and Jürgen are horrified by the abuse of power and crimes being committed, and seek ways to evade being swept up into the Nazi party. But Jürgen possesses unique skills, and the party leaders are intent upon using his talents in ways that are repulsive and abhorrent to him and Sofie. They are determined to keep their family safe, and soon learn the cost of resistance. As violence escalates, Jews are rounded up and sent to concentration camps, and the government takes control of the press, spewing propaganda, it becomes evident that "the Nazi party had gone too far. But no one said it. No one could say it. We had so long been afraid of the consequences of dissent that even as the nation descended into madness, any moral call to rise up against the chaos went unheeded." Out of options, Jürgen tries to shield Sofie from the truth, but it haunts him. He knows the ways in which Hitler plans to use the rockets being developed. He also knows about the camps, the gas, and the certain fate of those who attempt to resist. "Those men buid rockets according to my instructions," he confesses to Sofie. "When the story of the war is written, the pages will be full of men saying 'I was only following orders' and the world will know that is fiction. Every single time I opted not to take a stand, I was taking a stand -- for the wrong side." Their story is absorbing, terrifying, and deeply moving.
Lizzie’s early life is beset by hardships and tragedy, and Rimmer describes how she ultimately resolves to forge a life that is solid and dependable, if not founded upon love and passion. She cares for and protects Henry who, as Rimmer demonstrates, is indisputably a victim of war. Her bitterness is credible and understandable, as is Calvin’s patient longing to soften her heart. As the narratives advance and readers attain knowledge about the characters’ histories and emotions, Rimmer accelerates the story’s pace and heightens the dramatic tension that results in a shocking and violent event. In the aftermath, her characters must come to terms with their pasts in order to face the future. Will they be able to finally see each other as human beings, rather than "Germans" and "Americans" on opposite sides of a war that has already ended?
Through the lives of her characters, Rimmer deftly examines PTSD and survivor’s guilt, the life-altering and lasting impacts of war, prejudice and bigotry, whether healing is possible, and, if so, how it can come about. The German Wife is a unique work of historical fiction in that Rimmer presents the troubling story of a German family who strive to escape being caught up in the evil and corrupt agenda of a madman and his followers. Rimmer challenges readers to ponder, along with Sofie and Jürgen, whether, in light of all they endure, they did enough. “Is there a point where we are morally obliged to take a stand, whatever the cost?” Rimmer asks.
Rimmer poses similar questions about Operation Paperclip. Her characters reference the Space Race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. As the two nations fought for superiority in spaceflight and to be the first to send an astronaut to the moon, that competition provided the impetus for the U.S. to overlook war crimes committed – often involuntarily – by German scientists in order to utilize their talents. America won the Space Race. But did the ends justify the means? Rimmer makes clear that Operation Paperclip was fraught from its conception and nothing about it “was simple – not the politics, the mechanics, or even the ethics.”
For fans of World War-era historical fiction, The German Wife is a must-read volume. Rimmer’s expertly crafted and thoroughly researched story is touching, complex, thought-provoking, and thoroughly engrossing, as well as remarkably contemporary and timely, given the current state of American politics.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.
This book was good. It was a storyline I hadn’t read before about WW2. I thought the character development was pretty good, and I was very moved in areas. I did feel the ending was rushed and the punch they wanted felt forced.
Different aspect of the impact of the aftermath of WW2. Not solely focussed on the horrors of the camps.
A fantastic book about German scientists that were brought to the US to help with the space race in 1950's. The book time shifts a little more than I would have liked but the author made it work with the story line. The main character is a German woman and there is also a second main character that is a woman from Texas. I can't wait to read more of this author's books!
It was hard to keep track of time and characters in beginning. Good story and showed different perspectives
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