REVIEW: The White Rose Network by Ellie Midwood

The White Rose Network by Ellie Midwood

Genre: Historical fiction, WW2, True stories

Read: 4th February 2022

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 9th February 2022

★★★ 3 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Based on a true story, an unputdownable and utterly heartbreaking World War 2 page-turner

 

1943, Germany: “I won’t be able to live if anything happens to you,” she whispered into his ear as they said goodbye, not knowing if they would ever see each other again. The White Rose Network brings to life the incredible true story of Sophie Scholl––one of history’s bravest women, who risked everything to lead a revolution against darkness.

Sophie was born to be a rebel, raised by parents who challenged the brutal Nazi regime. Determined to follow in their footsteps, she leaves for university, defying Hitler’s command for women to stay at home.

On her first day in Munich, Sophie’s brother Hans introduces her to his dear friend. When she meets Alexander, with his raven-black hair and brooding eyes, she knows instantly that she isn’t alone. There are more courageous souls like her, who will fight against evil.

Together, and with others who also refuse to back down, they form the White Rose Network. In an underground vault, Sophie and Alexander conspire in whispers, falling in love as they plot against Hitler. Promising her heart to Alexander is the most dangerous act of all––with each risk they take, they get closer to capture.

As snowflakes fall on a frosty February morning, Sophie and her brother scatter Munich University with leaflets calling for resistance: “We will not be silent; we will not leave you in peace!”

But their lives hang in the balance, with the secret police offering a reward to anyone with information on the White Rose Network. It is only a matter of time before the Gestapo closes in… And when Sophie is imprisoned in an interrogation room, staring a Nazi officer in the eye, will she take their secrets to her grave? Will she sacrifice her freedom for love?

Fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Alice Network and The Lilac Girls will be completely gripped by this heartbreaking and addictive page-turner. This inspirational tale shows that, in the face of evil, giving up is not an option…

MY REVIEW:

I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Ellie Midwood's heartbreaking tale #TheWhiteRoseNetwork.

Based on true events, THE WHITE ROSE NETWORK is the fictionalised story of Hans and Sophie Scholl, resistance fighters campaigning against the Nazi fascist regime during Hitler's reign during World War 2. Raised on truth and justice, their parents instilled in them the courage to challenge the injustice which they then found themselves in. 

Hans, already in the Wehrmacht as medical aid (so he does not have to spill the blood of another human being), lives in Munich where his sister Sophie would join him as one of the very few women allowed to attend university. Upon moving to Munich, Sophie then meets her brother's friends who thus make up the White Rose network and is excited to join them in the cause, fighting for Germany's freedom. Amongst the friends is Alexander, half Russian and half German, with whom Sophie falls in love with despite being engaged to another away fighting at the Front. This is primarily her story.

Beginning in February 1943 after her capture for distributing a shower of leaflets at the university alongside Hans, Sophie is interrogated by KriminalKommissioner Robert Mohr who, as a vetran in the police, now works as a highly skilled interrogator with the Gestapo. His job is to elicit the truth and the wider expanse of their network. But what he experiences in her presence makes him question himself and his very reason for being there. Sophie is an extraordinary young woman, courageous beyond belief, and is not afraid to stand up for her belief in the injustice facing their country. Their tête-a-têtes in the interrogation room are some of the best scenes in the book as his truths versus hers are challenged creating something of an enigmatic contradiction in its place.

I had heard of Sophie Scholl and the White Rose network before picking up this book, but this story delves deeper into the lives of both Hans and Sophie and the depth of their involvement right up to the end. Although we know how the story ends, it doesn't stop the reader from hoping for the best whilst knowing without a doubt to expect the worst. 

An inspirational story of a time long since past but never forgotten, THE WHITE ROSE NETWORK is a tribute of sorts to those men and women who gave up their lives for the social injustices that shrouded their much-loved country through Hitler's fascism. They gave their lives so that Germany may have a better future...in freedom.

As thought-provoking and heartfelt as it was, I found the story itself a little too political...and yet, that is exactly what the White Rose were fighting against. But that is just a reflection of my own personal tastes. It was certainly inspiration and heartfelt, but yes...too political for my tastes. But don't let that dissuade you because it is an incredible story of bravery and courage in the midst of injustice.

However, my favourite part of the entire book is the very last page...revealing that the heart and soul of the White Rose truly lived on. 

I would like to thank #EllieMidwood, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheWhiteRoseNetwork in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Ellie Midwood is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning historical fiction author. She owes her interest in the history of the Second World War to her grandfather, Junior Sergeant in the 2nd Guards Tank Army of the First Belorussian Front, who began telling her about his experiences on the frontline when she was a young girl. Growing up, her interest in history only deepened and transformed from reading about the war to writing about it. After obtaining her BA in Linguistics, Ellie decided to make writing her full-time career and began working on her first full-length historical novel, The Girl from Berlin.' Ellie is continuously enriching her library with new research material and feeds her passion for WWII and Holocaust history by collecting rare memorabilia and documents. 

In her free time, Ellie is a health-obsessed yoga enthusiast, neat freak, adventurer, Nazi Germany history expert, polyglot, philosopher, a proud Jew, and a doggie mama. Ellie lives in New York with her fiancé and their Chihuahua named Shark Bait.

Social Media links:

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REVIEW: The Girl on the Platform by Ellie Midwood

The Girl on the Platform by Ellie Midwood

Genre: Historical fiction, True story, Wartime fiction, WW2

Read: 3rd October 2021

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Amazon

Published: 13th October 2021

★★★ 3 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Berlin, 1939: The inspiring true story of Libby Schulze-Boysen, a German girl who refused to back down to the Nazis. In the face of evil, she vowed to live by the truth––or die by it.

“Be brave. Don’t run. Fight.” With her eyes tightly shut, tears rolling from under her dark lashes, she felt his lips gently touch her burning cheek. The train on the platform whistled, and he disappeared into the steam.

Libby moves to Berlin to start a new life––as far away as possible from her family and their alliance with the Nazis. But in the city, there’s no escape from Hitler’s brutal regime. And when Libby’s friend vanishes into thin air, she decides she cannot stand back and do nothing…

After Libby makes connections with fellow anti-Nazis, she’s introduced to Harro. Instantly, she knows there’s a story behind his cornflower-blue eyes. The whip marks on his back, scars from the SS, tell his secret: he is a resistance fighter.

Harro draws Libby into the world of the resistance, and as they fall in love, their life grows increasingly dangerous. Becoming a double agent, Libby infiltrates the Ministry of Propaganda. By day, they smuggle classified documents. By night, they hold clandestine meetings by candlelight and plot Hitler’s downfall.

But in the frostbitten winter of 1942, Libby fears that the Gestapo is stalking them––their every move watched, their phone calls recorded. And one day, Harro simply disappears. Will they ever be reunited? Or will everything they’ve risked their lives for be in vain?

Fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Alice Network and The Lilac Girls will be utterly gripped by this heartbreaking page-turner. Based on a true story, this beautiful novel shows that even when our freedom is stolen, we still have a choice…

MY REVIEW:

There are a countless amount of books set within or around Germany during the rise and fall of Hitler and the second world war. Many are pure fiction whilst others are fictionalised accounts based on true events and people. Each of them are heartbreaking in their heartfelt recounting of life in Germany under Hitler's harsh regime or in the concentration camps such as Auschwitz. But THE GIRL ON THE PLATFORM is a little different in the fact that is based on the inspiring true story of one woman's refusal to live by the Nazi regime or to back down to them. Through her comes the story of a brave resistance fought to the bitter end as she lived up to her name - Libertas, a freedom fighter - for Germany's freedom.

She was just 19 years old when Libertas (Libs) moved to Berlin in search of freedom from her otherwise suffocating family. But what she finds there is a city under seige by the Nazis. A harsh regime that takes away freedom and liberties from those classified as sub-human - Jews, homosexuals, communists - and "deporting" or rehoming them to death camps or just killing them where they stand for the fun of it. Jewish books are burned, as are those who do not meet the Nazi propaganda requirements, shops are smashed and looted and innocent people disappear without a trace.

Libs gets a job working as a publicist for MGM studios, liaising with journalists and editors. She is horrified to see the stars and famous faces being pulled from the gallery and their nameplates removed only to be replaced with those supporting the new regime under which Germany now finds itself, simply for being or having Jewish ties. Libs believes in freedom but is quickly learning that in the new Germany there is no such thing.

Then whilst sunbathing on her friend's boat one day, wearing a two piece bathing suit made illegal under the new regime as it goes against the Nazi's personification of the good German woman, she meets Harro. Almost at once, the couple are dazzled by the other and begin an affair of sorts living a bohemian lifestyle, also frowned upon by the new regime. Libs know there is more to Harro than his dazzling smile and his blue eyes. The scars on his back, whipped by the SS, tell their own story. Harro is a resistance fighter. and together they will make Germany the people's again.

Working for the Air Ministry, Harro rises through the ranks, infiltrating Nazi secrets. He cringes each time he must laugh at their racist jokes and share in their combined thoughts unified to make Germany great again under the Nazi regime. His position is imperative to gain inside intel into government secrets which he can then move on through their resistance cell to stop Hitler's advance to power. Together, Harro and Libs smuggle classified documents and hold clandestine meetings with blackout curtains under the cover of darkness. And then, they begin to distribute leaflets exposing the Nazi's lies, sending them all over the city and beyond in the hope they will tear down the regime that now strangles their once beloved country.

But after nearly ten years of resistance fighting and three years at war, Libs begins to notice strange occurrences. The same man outside their apartment each night seemingly reading a newspaper, a click on their phone line, a prickling sensation that tells her they are being watched.

And then the unthinkable...Harro disappears. And Libs is frantic with worry trying to find out where he may be. Nothing else matters as long as she can see him again...and only then will they decide what is more important - to be free or to be brave?

THE GIRL ON THE PLATFORM is not what I expected, though I'm not sure what I did expect. After reading "The Girl in the Striped Dress" which I totally loved and bawled my way through, I guess I was expecting something similar, but this story is a different one. It is absorbing as you step into the past and live alongside Libs and Harro but I found it didn't engage me quite as much as "The Girl in the Striped Dress". It is slow to start as Libs begins work with MGM and I wondered what the significance of that was, and in some parts I did find the story drag a little. However, that being said, it is still a heartbreaking story where its end is inevitable, though I didn't find myself reaching for the tissues as I have in other similar tales.

Overall, THE GIRL ON THE PLATFORM is an eye-opening account of life as a resistance fighter living under the radar of the Nazi regime with the threat of death should you be caught. It is most certainly not a life I would embrace but it is one that I admire. They stood up for the truth, for the people and for the good of the Germany they loved and weren't afraid of the consequences. It was most certainly brave and very admirable.

THE GIRL ON THE PLATFORM is perfect for fans of historical fiction who enjoy stories surrounding the Holocaust and wartime Germany and readers of Suzanne Kelman, Lily Graham and Marion Kummerow.

I would like to thank #EllieMidwood, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheGirlOnThePlatform in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Ellie Midwood is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning historical fiction author. She owes her interest in the history of the Second World War to her grandfather, Junior Sergeant in the 2nd Guards Tank Army of the First Belorussian Front, who began telling her about his experiences on the frontline when she was a young girl. Growing up, her interest in history only deepened and transformed from reading about the war to writing about it. After obtaining her BA in Linguistics, Ellie decided to make writing her full-time career and began working on her first full-length historical novel, The Girl from Berlin.' Ellie is continuously enriching her library with new research material and feeds her passion for WWII and Holocaust history by collecting rare memorabilia and documents. 

In her free time, Ellie is a health-obsessed yoga enthusiast, neat freak, adventurer, Nazi Germany history expert, polyglot, philosopher, a proud Jew, and a doggie mama. Ellie lives in New York with her fiancé and their Chihuahua named Shark Bait.

Social Media links:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

PUBLISHER:

Stay up to date with upcoming releases from Bookouture by following them on these social media accounts.

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REVIEW: The Girl in the Striped Dress by Ellie Midwood

The Girl in the Striped Dress by Ellie Midwood

(previously published as "Auschwitz Syndrome")

Genre: Historical fiction, WW2, Wartime fiction, Holocaust

Read: 7th August 2021

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Audible
UK

US

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Published: 9th August 2021

★★★★★ 5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Auschwitz, 1942: This unforgettable novel, based on a true story, brings to life history’s most powerful tale of forbidden love. Set within the barbed wire of Auschwitz, a man and a woman fall in love against unimaginable odds. What happens next will restore your faith in humanity, and make you believe in hope even where hope should not exist.

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he whispered, pressing a note into her hand. Her entire body trembled when she read it: I am in love with you.

Helena steps off the cattle train onto the frozen grounds of Auschwitz. She has twenty-four hours to live. Scheduled to be killed tomorrow, she is not even tattooed with a prison number. As the snow falls around her, she shivers, knowing that she has been sentenced to death for a crime she didn’t commit.

When a gray-clad officer marches towards Helena and pulls her away, she fears the worst. Instead, he tells her that it’s one of the guard’s birthdays and orders her to serenade him.

Inside the SS barracks the air is warm, thick with cigarette smoke and boisterous conversation. After she sings to the guard, Franz, he presses a piece of cake into her hands––the first thing she has eaten in days. On the spot, he orders her life to be saved, forever changing the course of her fate.

What follows is a love story that was forbidden, that should have been impossible, and yet saved both of their lives––and hundreds of others––in more ways than one.

Fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Choice, and The Orphan Train will be utterly entranced by this unputdownable page-turner. This completely heartbreaking yet beautifully hopeful novel shows that love can survive anything and grow anywhere.

*Previously titled: Auschwitz Syndrome

MY REVIEW:

I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Ellie Midwood's heart-rendering tale THE GIRL IN THE STRIPED DRESS.

Where do I even begin to outline my thoughts the horrors that Ellie Midwood has recounted in this spectacular and beautiful story? How does one review such a telling and heartbreaking tale? THE GIRL IN THE STRIPED DRESS is a fictional tale based on the true story of an SS officer at Auschwitz and the young Jewish woman he fell in love with. 

"He was an SS man and she was an inmate and a Jew." 

Germany 1947: American psychiatrist Dr Hoffman is in charge of the Denazification process of former officers facing imprisonment for their crimes when a former inmate of the death camp Auschwitz has brought to his attention a guard who was brutal in his punishment of a particular inmate and even now continues his hold over her.

Now two years after the war ended, Dr Hoffman is present to witness former SS officer Frank Dahler brought to trial for crimes against humanity with his wife as his only defence. Is he innocent of the crimes for which he's been charged? Or is he a monster who has hidden his savagery well with a cruel hold over the woman who was once a prisoner and is now his wife? As he clasps her hand and gives it a squeeze, is it an element of control or a gesture of love? Those present at the trial have no idea of the torrent that is about to unfold as Dahler's wife begins to testify in his defence. The tangled web of love, dependence and heartache within the confines of Auschwitz of something so forbidden that could have seen them both shot.

Appearing pliant and incredibly timid, Helena Dahler leans heavily against her husband relying on him for support. Her eyes are downcast and she barely looks up throughout the court process. Dr Hoffman is puzzled by her demeanour and yet he finds her behaviour to be fascinating. Is she a victim of abuse being controlled by her husband? Is he a monster or was he a shelter from the storms that ravaged the death camp, keeping her safe from harm? Had she learned to seek him as her only source of strength and comfort? Did she marry him out of fear or repayment for his kindness? Did she truly love her husband or was she with him out of fear?

Helena is a Slovakian Jew who arrives at Auschwitz in March 1942 to be gassed the following day along with the many others with whom she has travelled. However, the night before she and a few other women are chosen to sing for an SS guard for his birthday. The officer, Franz Dahler, was enamoured by the young woman from the first moment he set eyes on her. Although she was scheduled to die in the gas chamber the following day, Franz had her seconded to his work detail in Kanada. Here life was not as harsh as in the rest of the camp. The inmates got to keep their hair, they ate marginally better and their lodgings were slightly improved. But they were still subjected to punishments from the whip if they so much as stepped out of line.

At first Helena rebuffed Dahler's kindness, believing him to be just another Nazi. He wrote her notes which she destroyed in anger, he hovered over her workstation which she found unsettling, he spoke to her with kindness which she saw as a trap. His behaviour toward her was disconcerting and she refused to be taken in by him. But then over time, she discovered that Franz Dahler was not like other SS guards. His kindness was not laced with malice. Nor did he have an ulterior motive. And not once did he force himself on her when other guards took their pleasures where they chose. 

Over the course of her imprisonment, Franz saved her not once but three times from the gas chamber and through their shared experiences they formed an unbreakable bond. And in a place where there is so little hope, love blossoms. This is one of the reasons that Franz finds himself on trial. An SS guard, a sworn officer of the Reich, who was taught to be a natural Jew-hater...finds himself helping inmates and in love with a Jewess. This only exacerbated his case. 

Brought to the attention of the court via Dr Hoffman by a former Auschwitz inmate, Andrej Novak who was also Slovakian, he fought against Dahler and Helena's supposed relationship and marriage believing Helena to be under duress and that Franz would forever be a danger to her. He presented evidence of many occasions in which Dahler had whipped or abused Helena in front of other guards and inmates, humiliating her. He also firmly believes that the couple were not in love and that Dahler forced himself on Helena with her timid behaviour currently evidence of his control over her. But as Hoffman listens and observes the actions of both Franz and Helena, he is not so sure.

Previously published as "Auschwitz Syndrome", THE GIRL IN THE STRIPED DRESS is a powerful tale of true love surviving against all odds. In a place where there is no love, no hope, no kindness...Franz and Helena defied those odds. And while it is a heartwrenching love story, it will not be the only memory you will take away with you upon turning that final page. I have read many books set in death camps like Auschwitz but this one is not like any of those. Yes, we see the brutality of the guards and overseers, the hunger, the sickness, the stench of incinerated bodies, the propaganda of lies and deception, the inhumanity of it all...but in the midst of it, is a love story like no other. A forbidden love that would have seen them both put to death. 

I cannot begin to describe the huge range of emotions that flooded through me as I read this book. Having not read Ellie Midwood before, the experience is such a powerful one that will have me seeking out further tales from the Holocaust that I know she has told. 

THE GIRL IN THE STRIPED DRESS begins with the Denazification Tribunals in which Dr Hoffman plays a part afterwhich follows Helena's testimony of her time in Auschwitz told in her first person narrative. Throughout the story, intermittent chapters from Franz's trial is inserted as Hoffman seeks the opinion of another psychiatrist. There are a couple of chapters told by Franz with which Helena was not privy before the verdict is handed down in the final chapter. The plotline was cleverly presented through the various perspectives that unfolded skillfully through Midwood's capable hand.

This heartwrenching tale of true love that is based on the true story of Franz Wunsch and Helena Citronova, with their surnames changed for the book, is one that will remain with me for some time. Amidst the horrors, the heartbreak and the unimaginable inhumanity, a glimmer of hope shines with the miracle of love found between two unlikely people.

This is an amazing read that I highly recommend. Pick it up. Read it. You won't be sorry.

*Previously titled: Auschwitz Syndrome

I would like to thank #EllieMidwood, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheGirlinTheStripedDress in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Ellie Midwood is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning historical fiction author. She owes her interest in the history of the Second World War to her grandfather, Junior Sergeant in the 2nd Guards Tank Army of the First Belorussian Front, who began telling her about his experiences on the frontline when she was a young girl. Growing up, her interest in history only deepened and transformed from reading about the war to writing about it. After obtaining her BA in Linguistics, Ellie decided to make writing her full-time career and began working on her first full-length historical novel, The Girl from Berlin.' Ellie is continuously enriching her library with new research material and feeds her passion for WWII and Holocaust history by collecting rare memorabilia and documents. 

In her free time, Ellie is a health-obsessed yoga enthusiast, neat freak, adventurer, Nazi Germany history expert, polyglot, philosopher, a proud Jew, and a doggie mama. Ellie lives in New York with her fiancé and their Chihuahua named Shark Bait.

Social Media links:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

PUBLISHER:

Stay up to date with upcoming releases from Bookouture by following them on these social media accounts.

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