The Midwife of Auschwitz: Inspired by a heartbreaking true story, an emotional and gripping World War 2 historical novel (Women of War)

Auschwitz, 1943: As I held the tiny baby in my arms, my fingers traced the black tattoo etched across her little thigh. And I prayed that one day this set of numbers, identical to her mother's, would have the power to reunite a family torn apart by war...

Inspired by an incredible true story, this poignant novel tells of one woman's fight for love, life and hope during a time of unimaginable darkness.

Ana Kaminski is pushed through the iron gates of Auschwitz beside her frightened young friend Ester Pasternak. As they reach the front of the line, Ana steps forward and quietly declares herself a midwife - and Ester her assistant. Their arms are tattooed and they're ordered to the maternity hut. Holding an innocent new-born baby, Ana knows the fate of so many are in her hands, and vows to do everything she can to save them.

When two guards in their chilling SS uniforms march in and snatch a blond-haired baby from its mother it's almost too much for Ana to bear. Consoling the distraught woman, Ana realises amidst the terrible heartache there is a glimmer of hope. The guards are taking the healthiest babies and placing them with German families, so they will survive. And there are whispers the war is nearly over... Ana and Ester begin to secretly tattoo little ones with their mother's numbers, praying one day they might be reunited.

Then, early one morning, Ana notices the small bump under Ester's thin striped clothing...

An absolutely heart-breaking and page-turning WW2 novel of one woman's bravery and determination to bring life and hope into a broken world. Fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Alice Network and The Nightingale will be gripped.

Readers love Anna Stuart:

'An absolute must read. I devoured this book in its entirety... I am almost speechless... a box of Kleenex is mandatory. I absolutely loved this book, historical fiction at its best!... Definitely worth ten stars.' Page Turners, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Whoa! Don't take those tissues away, I'm not quite cried out just yet! Happy tears, sad tears, who knows where one ends and the other begins!... Beautiful, heart-breaking, heart-warming, uplifting and inspirational.' Fiction Books, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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366 pages

Average rating: 8.34

93 RATINGS

5 REVIEWS

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TexasPinesLady

Jul 11, 2024

7/10 stars

The horrors of a Nazi death camp, even worse for women expecting a child. Some things hurt so much to read but were in keeping with the reality of the time and place. This is very believable.

Courtneybell

May 19, 2024

9/10 stars

Based on the true events/story of Leszczynska , a midwife who delivered 3000 babies while held captive in Auschwitz-Birkenau for two years. The main character Ester is fictional and is inspired by Leszczynska’s daughter who was also imprisoned with her. They were of Catholic faith and sent there for aiding the Jewish to escape the ghettos in their small town in Poland. An incredible tail of courage and strength.

Karilappin

Feb 26, 2024

10/10 stars

Wow. Gut. Wrenching. Historical fiction book about pregnant women/babies during holocaust. There truly are no words to describe this book.

Andiejax

Mar 05, 2023

8/10 stars

Certainly a tear jerker but is beautifully told linked to true events and horrors of ww2

jenlynerickson

Feb 16, 2023

10/10 stars

“They are here to select babies for the Lebensborn…a programme instituted by the Third Reich to ensure that all babies of valuable stock are kept safe and brought up in solid, Fuhrer-loving homes…We take any baby put on the list for the Lebensborn programme and we tattoo them with their mother’s number–small and neat–into the crook of the baby’s armpit…where it won’t be noticed by the officers…Then, when this is all over, we will have a way of identifying them, finding them, taking them back into our arms…That is beauty in Birkenau…the tiny mark, known only to them, that would form a gossamer thread into a future of which they had to keep dreaming.” “Ana had birthed nearing three thousand babies in here…only six were still alive in the camp–five born in the last month to non-Jews and one hiding beneath Naomi’s jumper–but over sixty had been taken to be ‘Germanized’ and Ester had managed to tattoo most of them.” “Every baby that was born in the camp was a tiny victory–a bubble of air in the cesspool–and if it ended in heartbreak as the tiny life leeched away, at least there had been joy for a moment.” “If, together, they could get just one Jewish infant out of Birkenau it would be a tiny victory for nurture over neglect.” “That beautiful child was born in Birkenau, the darkest place on God’s earth, and ripped from her mother’s skeletal arms after only two days of love. But love cannot be ravaged by guns and tanks and evil ideologies. Love cannot be cut off by distance or absence, by hunger or cold, by beatings or degradations. And love can reach out across blood, whatever the Nazis believed, and make connections that are worth a million sick ideologies…Love would, somehow, triumph over hate. They just had to wait and to pray, and one day, surely, it would be the main gates that opened and let them out into the rainbow.” The Midwife of Auschwitz stands “testimony to the terrible suffering endured by so many in the Holocaust whilst also telling an individual story.” It’s a story of ridiculous resilience, “lipstick bright optimism” that stirs hope within.

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