The Watchmaker of Dachau by Carly Schabowski
Genre: Historical fiction, WW2, Holocaust
Read: 16th January 2021
Published: 20th January 2021
★★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
An unforgettable novel of human kindness, inspired by an incredible true story.
Snow falls and a woman prepares for a funeral she has long expected, yet hoped would never come. As she pats her hair and straightens her skirt, she tells herself this isn’t the first time she’s lost someone. Lifting a delicate, battered wristwatch from a little box on her dresser, she presses it to her cheek. Suddenly, she’s lost in memory…
January 1945, Dachau, Germany. As the train rattles through the bright, snowy Bavarian countryside, the still beauty outside the window hides the terrible scenes inside the train, where men and women are packed together, cold and terrified. Jewish watchmaker Isaac Schüller can’t understand how he came to be here, and is certain he won’t be leaving alive.
When the prisoners arrive at Dachau concentration camp, Isaac is unexpectedly pulled from the crowd and installed in the nearby household of Senior Officer Becher and his young, pretty, spoiled wife. With his talent for watchmaking, Isaac can be of use to Becher, but he knows his life is only worth something here as long as Becher needs his skills.
Anna Reznick waits table and washes linens for the Bechers, who dine and socialise and carry on as if they don’t constantly have death all around them. When she meets Isaac she knows she’s found a true friend, and maybe more. But Dachau is a dangerous place where you can never take love for granted, and when Isaac discovers a heartbreaking secret hidden in the depths of Becher’s workshop, it will put Anna and Issac in terrible danger…
A gorgeously emotional and tear-jerking read set during World War Two. Perfect for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, We Were the Lucky Ones and The Alice Network.
MY REVIEW:
I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Carly Schabowski's latest heartbreaking novel THE WATCHMAKER OF DACHAU.
I love historical fiction and, despite it being one of the darkest times in history, and I am always drawn to wartime stories surrounding the Holocaust. It was such a sad and a particularly brutal time for, not only the Jews, but whoever was deemed different to the ideal of the perfect race...blonde haired blue eyed Aryans. It makes my blood boil and my heart break as I read some of what was inflicted on them. I mean, they were human beings just like everyone else and yet they were shunned according to the propaganda spouted by Hitler and his national socialist party. How anyone could be so cruel to another goes beyond all understanding.
And yet in saying that, THE WATCHMAKER OF DACHAU is a beautiful tale that is based on a true story and yet it is not bogged down by historical facts or events that make for heavy reading, often taking away the beauty behind the story. This is not the case with this book. Although we are given insight into some of the heinous acts committed by the Nazis in these camps, it simply provides background, as the story is itself is one of love and hope.
Cornwall, England, 1996: Beginning with a Prologue set in England as an elderly woman prepares for a funeral, silently reminiscing as she takes out a beautiful watch decorated with gemstones...serving as a reminder of darker times. Her identity is unknown, but it is assumed that she is the much older Anna.
Dachau, Germany, January 1945: On his way home one evening, Isaac Schüller is captured by Nazis and taken to a train bound for the Dachau Concentration Camp. There he meets Elijah who informs him he is one of the lucky ones to have a much shorter journey as he has been on the train for days whilst others have been for weeks. The beauty outside their windows of the snowy countryside hides the terrible scenes inside where men, women and children are packed together, cold and utterly terrified. When the train suddenly halts and everyone is herded out into the cold, the bodies of those who had not survived the journey are left behind...bound for the pyres.
The prisoners are marched to the camp where they are stripped, deloused and showered in a cold spray of water before being given thin blue striped garments that serve as their uniform, barely enough to shield them from the cold. But upon arrival, Isaac is unexpectedly pulled from the crowd of other prisoners and questioned as to why he had such intricate instruments on his person when he had claimed to have had nothing. He explained that he is a watchmaker and they are the tools of his trade. The senior officer appeared interested before pocketing the tools and leaving Isaac to be processed.
When the prisoners are being allocated their work detail, Isaac is left standing in the freezing cold when his number had not been called out. Unsure why he has been singled out, Isaac is even more surprised when a guard takes him out of the camp to a nearby house where he awaits further instructions. He is taken to the study of Senior Officer Becher, whom he recognises as the man who questioned him with regard to his tools which now lay on display on the officer's desk. It seems with his talent for watchmaking, Isaac can be of use to Becher and he is installed in the outdoor shed where his spoiled and rather hysterical wife cannot be upset by his presence. His first task is to fix the grandfather clock that had been a gift from the Führer but alas has never chimed.
Twenty nine year old Anna Reznick from the women's camp at Dachau waits on and keeps house for the Bechers, who dine and carry on as if death is not all around them just a few hundred yards away. Trying her best to please the Bechers, Anna is constantly nervous and often dropping things causing great distress, albeit rather dramatically, to Madam (Leisl) Becher. She is often yelled at and ridiculed for her in-capabilities and the fact that she is a "dirty Jew". Leisl does not like her in the house contaminating her lovely possessions so Anna tries to stay in the kitchen with Greta, the cook, who takes pity on the girl often giving her food that her employers would not miss. When Isaac began work in the shed for Becher, Greta would also have Anna sneak food and coffee to him to help keep his strength up. She may be a woman from the village but Greta sees the skeletal frames of Anna and Isaac and does not condone starving them, aware that they need food and drink to be able to continue their work for the Bechers.
When Anna meets the much older Isaac the two become friends, sharing their stories, their memories and their dreams. And when Isaac comes across some papers beneath a floorboard in the shed he soon discovers the words he is reading are the private thoughts of another prisoner installed at the house as a gardener...with the initials J.A.L. But Isaac has met the gardener, a cheerful young man named Levi who looks for sunshine and happiness in everything, despite their imprisonment. He begins reading the diary to Anna and the two share the hopes and dreams and memories of someone just like them.
Then in the midst of everything, the Becher's 11 year old son Freidrich returns home from school and is informed he will not be returning. Instead he is to be tutored at home and must occupy himself in the interim without disturbing his parents who clearly do not want him there. Freidrich is bereft at having left his best friend Otto and is clearly lonely as he wanders the house looking for something to do. His father tells him to play with his train set in his room but the engine has stopped working, so Becher has Isaac fix it. With his father often in Munich and his mother either in bed or shopping, Freidrich soon grows bored and attempts to amuse himself by striking up an unusual friendship with Isaac. Despite being told by his parents not to engage with the Jews, Freidrich has little left to occupy himself and sneakily does the opposite. He has no idea what takes place at Dachau nor what type of place it is. But his friendship with Isaac could prove dangerous should his parents discover his visits to the shed.
Both Isaac and Anna know that they are only of use to the Bechers for as long as they need them. Each morning they are taken to the house and each evening they are walked back to the camp where they are often ostracised by the other inmates who believe they have been singled out for special treatment whilst they all slave away with hard labour till they drop. Isaac has few friends apart from Elijah and Jan whilst Anna has Nina, with whom she shares the morsels of food Greta has secreted to her. Every night as they lay in their bunks, Nina ponders on the fate of her brother Kuba for whom she has been searching. Anna claims that she is sure he is still alive, if not just to placate her friend.
When the scent of lemons begins to envelop him, Isaac knows his time is running out. He writes a letter to Anna and to Fredrich enclosed with the diary of the unknown inmate J.A.L. and a watch he crafted especially for Anna. As much as he wanted to survive Dachau, he fears that he will not. Though at the same time he embraces the thought that he will see his beloved wife Hannah and young son Haim again. Grateful for the friendships he has forged in his short time at the house, Isaac pondered how Anna showed him how to love again whilst young Fredrich reminded him on his own long lost son.
As the tides begin to turn and whispers of the Americans coming to liberate them, there is unrest in the camp as the guards become lax in their duties or hurry to evacuate the remaining inmates before they can arrive. Those who are too sick to travel are left to die or thrown into the pyres that have been burning day and night. Can Anna and Isaac survive long enough to be liberated?
A story written of a time in history of which many would rather forget, THE WATCHMAKER OF DACHAU is both beautiful and heartbreaking. It pulls at the heartstrings and is as breathtaking in its beauty as it is in its horrors. Told through the various narratives primarily Issac, Anna and Freidrich, there is also the diary excerpts by J.A.L. that Isaac and Anna share...and whose identity is a mystery until the very end. And then everything falls into place.
THE WATCHMAKER OF DACHAU is not about the plight or the suffering of the Jews or the inferior as deemed by the Nazis. It is not about Hitler's cruel regime or his rise to power on the backs of those below him. It is not your typical tale of the Holocaust. It is about finding the strength to rise above their horrible circumstances. And of survival, of hope and of love.
Nothing I can say in my review can possibly do the justice this book deserves. I can only say to grab yourself a copy and experience it for yourself.
A definite 5 star read and recommended for fans of historical fiction with an interest in WW2 fiction surrounding the Holocaust.
I would like to thank #CarlySchabowski, #NetGalley, #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheWatchmakerOfDachau in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Carly’s debut novel, 'The Ringmaster’s Daughter', was published by Bookouture in July 2020, while her second novel, 'The Watchmaker of Dachau' will be published in January 2021. These texts are both true, epic, moving historical novels centred around survival, human suffering, and the finding of love within the backdrop of the desperate and uncertain times of 1940s Europe.
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