How do I begin to describe The Nazi Wives by James Wyllie? I have read many stories of the survivors of WWII, survivors of the infamous concentration camps and those who managed to escape the clutches of the Nazi’s. I have read stories of the experiments and the torture and deaths of so many prisoners. And unless you have been living in a cave the last several decades we have all heard the name Hitler and the men who clamoured to be instrumental in building the Third Reich. Men such as Hess, Goebbels, Goering, Himmler, Bormann and Heydrich, all men who jockeyed for position within Hitler’s inner circle.

What I didn’t know and I'm assuming others did not know as well, was the overly ambitious and fanatical wives of these notorious men. If the saying is true “behind every great man there is a woman” perhaps that same can be said for evil men in this particular situation. Ilsa, Magda, Carin and Emmy, Margaret, Gerda and Lina are names that should be marked in history. All these women, although married to different men in Hitler’s circle, were women who were educated and ambitious, most from middle class backgrounds and anxious for a change. They saw this change coming through Adolf Hitler and the men who supported and executed his vision for a New Germany. These women, like their husbands, were anti-semetic and supported all of Hitler’s ideologies, as well as their husbands' means used to accomplish their missions.

Like their husbands, these wives competed with one another for top position. Garnering Hitler’s affection and approval meant everything to these women. As these wives discovered and experienced at one time or another, Hitler’s disapproval could spell disaster, not only for the wives, but their husbands as well. Their social lives, daily routines and how they conducted their homes were constantly scrutinized by him. But despite their precarious positions, these women lived opulent lives. While Germany struggled financially and the common citizen grappled to put bread on the table, these wives and their families lived well. The sumptuous food, clothing, entertainment and dwellings (many of them owned several), were nothing but the best. These women thrived on their luxurious lifestyles and lived unapologetically. Notwithstanding, whether these women were happy or not still remains a mystery. Constantly trying to stay in Hitler’s good graces, their absentee and in some cases cheating husbands were a constant source of anguish and pain. In addition, wives such as Magda and Carin had serious health problems. However, all was endured for the cause. Everything revolved around and supported this New Germany vision.

As I finished the reading of this book, one thing was certain. There was little doubt as to whether these women knew of the atrocities that were being committed and executed by their husbands. I think this was the part I struggled with the most. How could you know the horror and be okay with it? How could you see the skulls, furniture made from human remains and not be moved. Hiding these items in the attic does not erase the crime or the knowledge of the act. Out of sight is not out of mind. I also found myself from time to time looking up photos of these women and their husbands. I suppose my morbid curiosity had more to do with a desire to recognize evil and greed if I saw it than anything else. In conclusion, I was happy to read many of these women (those who did not commit suicide) were arrested. Did they pay the price? Not really, not in my mind. Only history can be their judge now.

I want to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy of The Nazi Wives by James Wyllie. The “opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.”

This was unfortunately a miss for me. I'm really interested in Nazis because I think it's fascinating that a group of horrible people managed to come to power and convince others to exterminate people. Let's be clear - I said it was fascinating, not inspiring or worthy of idolatry.

We never hear much about the women in this hierarchy of madness so I thought this was a great premise for a book. However, it was kind of patchy, the women were often difficult to tell apart, and we never spent too long on one woman so I felt like I still didn't know any of them by the end of the book.

I did find some things interesting that I hadn't known before. For example, I had no clue that so many people connected to Hitler attempted suicide multiple times (and failed!). I also knew next to nothing about Geli so it peaked my interest to read some facts about her.

Unfortunately, the things that grabbed me in here simply weren't enough. I was bored throughout most of the book and realized that this is the kind of book that usually turns me off to nonfiction - lots of facts with no actual storytelling to weave together a cohesive narrative.

Overall, it was slog to get through with some interesting tidbits here and there.

I was provided a free advance copy of this from @netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
I am a fan of and have read many historical fiction books about WWII. However, almost all those books are almost solely set during the war itself, and very few are set in Germany. So this book was fascinating to me as I learned a lot about how the Nazi party came to rule, and the decisions and powerful players who made them! Although the focus is on the women (wives, girlfriends, mistresses, hangers on) of the Nazi party, obviously there is a lot about the men in their lives as well! There are a LOT of names, which for someone who struggles with remembering names made it difficult at times to not get them mixed up. But overall a really informative and interesting read.
This will be published 3 November, so if it's sounds like something you would enjoy, definitely keep an eye out for it next week!
#NetGalley #NaziWives

My favorite genre is historical fiction, and my favorite time period to read about is WWII. Therefore, I’ve read and digested a lot of fiction, nonfiction, biographies, ect. in order to learn as much as I can. This was my first time reading a book strictly dedicated to the lives of the wives of the men and officers that made up Hitler’s inner circle..

Goering, Goebbels, Himmler, Heydrich, Hess, Bormann—names synonymous with power and influence in the Third Reich. Perhaps less familiar are Carin, Emmy, Magda, Margarete, Lina, Ilse and Gerda...

These are the women behind the infamous men—complex individuals with distinctive personalities who were captivated by Hitler and whose everyday lives were governed by Nazi ideology. Throughout the rise and fall of Nazism these women loved and lost, raised families and quarreled with their husbands and each other, all the while jostling for position with the Fuhrer himself. Until now, they have been treated as minor characters, their significance ignored, as if they were unaware of their husbands' murderous acts, despite the evidence that was all around them: the stolen art on their walls, the slave labor in their homes, and the produce grown in concentration camps on their tables.

Can one say they enjoyed reading about the depravity, selfishness and ignorance of others without feeling guilty? Maybe I should say that I was captivated by James Wyllie’s ability and dedication to research as he told the story of each wife. I had already known quite a bit about Magda Goebbels and her ruthlessness in the way she used her own power and that of her husband’s to get not only what she wanted, but to advance what the party and Hitler wanted for the future of Germany. The other women were all brand new to me, and I definitely learned a lot about them and their roles and views. These women were not victims of circumstance as their husbands began to wield their power to further unimaginable horrors and then inflict them upon the world. Each woman was a dedicated Nazi, anti-Semitic, who was beyond enthusiastic about Hitler’s rise to power.

What truly stuck out to me (and where I found myself most captivated) were the post war stories. Even as the war came to its close, and the unfathomable atrocities were laid at their doorstep, these women were still faithful and dedicated not only to their husbands but to the Nazi party itself. Even more is divulged in this book about their disgusting actions after the war, but you are going to have to read it to find out and educate yourself further.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

***Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Expected release date November 3, 2020.***

⭐⭐⭐⭐

As a prior reviewer stated, I have mixed feelings about this book. The horrors that Hitler, Goering, Goebbels, Himmler, and others introduced into the world are well known and recorded. The girlfriends and wives of these men are generally lesser-known. I feel that the author did a good job presenting information on these women in a non-judgmental way.

I couldn’t put this book down. I felt like I was compulsively reading a trainwreck of the rich and famous, heading for their own demise while stomping on as many people as they could along the way. Sadly, nowhere near enough of them got the punishments that they deserved in the end. My main takeaway from this book is that white women can be bad enough in “normal” times, but put us in a situation where money, fame, and an ascension to a throne are all a possibility, and we become downright evil. Never for one moment did I doubt that these wives of top ranking Nazi men knew exactly what was going on around them. There is no way on earth that they didn’t know. And for some reason they all seemed to get away with it, serving little to no prison time, in much more comfortable quarters than anyone their husbands sent to concentration and extermination camps did.

As the title states, this Nazi Wives focuses on the lives of famous Nazi officials’ wives, but it also provides ample information on the husbands, as well as Hitler himself. We are introduced to the families and entourages of Hitler, Goering, Himmler, Goebbels, Hess, Heydrich, Bormann, as well as a few others, with the main focus on the wives and girlfriends: Carin Goering, Emmy Goering, Margaret Himmler, Magda Goebbels, Eva Braun, Ilse Hess, Lina Heydrich, and I have probably forgotten some. All of these women were absolutely despicable and vomit-inducing, but honestly not surprising. I’m sure they, and others, would do it all over again if they had the chance to. I could rattle off quite a few women like them who are alive right now… It isn’t surprising to me that those who survived the war and the aftermath maintained their innocence until their deaths, while continuing to promote the “greatness” of their husbands who were “just doing their jobs.”

James Wyllie obviously researched these individuals in great depth, and used all of this research to craft a highly readable book about their lives. Oftentimes these types of books end up getting bogged down in details, or a bit confusing, especially when they deal with multiple people over a long timeframe (over 20 years), but I never felt any of that reading Nazi Wives. I did jot down the wives full names at the beginning though, that helped me pair them to the correct husband, as the author does go by their first names for the most part of the book.

I love how the book is mainly timeline based and skips to different characters on a regular basis. It helped me map it all out in my head, and it also helped me to draw my own image of each woman, as well as my own conclusions on them. For the most part the author relies on existing documents (journals, interviews etc), to create portraits of these women and their lives, and we are left to make our own opinions about them.

What is quite chilling to me is that some of these people’s kids actually remained staunch Nazis/neo-Nazis for the rest of their lives, even after everything that their parents had been involved in was fully exposed to them. Gudrun, Himmler’s daughter, remained devoted to her father and his legacy right up until her death in 2018! How does one ignore genocide?!

Anyway, this is a very well researched and written book that will leave you with a sick feeling to your stomach, and a real yearning to ensure that real history is taught to our kids. These women should be exposed for who they were in the same way as their husbands have always been.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Reading about Carin and Emmy Goering, Magda Goebbels, Margaret Himmler, Lina Heydrich, Ilse Hess and Gerda Bormann was fascinating, disturbing and perplexing. These Nazi wives' rabid passion and devotion for Hitler and the cause (all but one) is mind blowing. It's as though evil permeated their very roots. Most said they would die for him and, in fact, some were more loyal to him than they were to their husbands.

It is difficult to imagine them enjoying theatre, fabulous food, pets and children, knowing what their husbands did. Most of the women despised Jews and furthered the cause or at least turned a blind eye. Another seemed oblivious and refused to believe it. Another was against it and didn't get involved. Early on in the courting phase some of the women pushed their men into pursuing Nazism.

Suicides and attempted suicides, poisoning, convenient amnesia, adultery and scheming were practically normal in their daily lives. These women had different personalities but they were all married to evil. Most were alone much of the time as Nazis preferred their women to stay at home. No amount of luxury or power can buy peace. These troubled and often conniving women did have their pressures, hardships and heartaches but their reactions to them revealed their character.

What happened to them during and especially after the war was interesting. Commonalities with most were their standing by their men and trying to save their names to the end. Their deaths are documented in this thoroughly- researched book.

History lovers, especially those of this era as well as those who wish to learn what went on behind the scenes and in these women's lives will find this book educational and informative. I liked it a lot.

My sincere thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this remarkable book in exchange for an honest review.

Nazi Wives // by James Wyllie

I've always found it important to learn about your country's history, especially the dark parts, rather than living in denial about it, so I try to read books about Germany, and especially the 2nd World War, regularly. Nazi Wives stood out to me when I first saw it because it looked at the events from a different angle that I hadn't previously learned from. It was interesting to read about, though rather dry in some places. This seemed to be a well-researched book (an extensive list of sources is available at the back of the book) and I liked that we were able to see what happened to the women after the end of the war as well. The pictures and many quotes from diaries as well as the descriptions of how women like Hitler and Himmler interacted with the leading Nazis' children was in stark contrast to the depictions we usually see of them. It made them more human and real than you sometimes think of historical figures, which made me very uncomfortable at times.

I was impressed with how nonjudgmental Wyllie was able to talk about the women and their actions, though - as another reviewer pointed out - he gives us plenty of reasons for us to be judgmental ourselves. I was blown away at how convinced of their righteousness several of these women still were post war! But I guess I shouldn't be too surprised after reading that one of them still believed they were on the side of Good and that Jews were Absolute Evil when she literally just said she was "stricken" after seeing the book Mein Kampf bound in human skin. I read this book much more slowly than I usually would one of its size because of its heavy subject. As a regular reader of books about this time period, you tend to think that you've read about the most disturbing parts of that war already but every book continues to surprise me (negatively) with the disgusting acts that were done to people.

I do have to say that I kept this book at 3 stars because it did not feel like its true focus was on the women. There was a lot of focus on the men, which of course is hard to avoid, but I feel that this book would have been better off named and marketed differently. Something alluding to the leading Nazi marriages or families would have been more fitting in my opinion.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a clear eyed and oddly non-judgmental (don't worry, you'll be plenty judgey on your own) look at the wives of Booman, Goebbels, Goering, Hess, Heydrich, and Himmler. If you think there might be one or two of them that didn't espouse the hate, you think wrong. This group of women to a one are nonapologetic. Wyllie's research, however, has opened an eye in the family lives of the men who wrecked such horrors on the world. Gerda, ilse, Margaret, Lena, and Carin existed in a very closed world and they played out their dramas with and against one another and their husbands. I found it impossible to like any of them but appreciated the insight and the cautionary tale they are. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. An intriguing read.

This collective biography of the women married to Nazi bigwigs was a little disappointing in that the women were still profiled mainly in relation to the famous Nazis they married. I wanted to know more about the women themselves, like whether they identified with the Nazi cause before marrying into the party. What were their childhoods like? How were they complicit in the atrocities? Did their Nazi fervor ever waffle? There are so many questions, and while Wyllie answers some of them, there weren't enough details for me to really feel like I understood these women. Instead of a book about Nazi wives, he could have easily called this a book about the bigwigs of the Nazi party since the men were largely featured. Famous Nazi Couples would have been an appropriate title that would better describe what I found in the book. I can't help but wonder whether a woman would have written this book differently, like with more attention to the women as individuals as opposed to wives.
In any case, the details in the book are as disturbing as one would expect. All the characters come off as deranged, insecure, and hypocritical. The Nazi husbands seemed not to care for the so-called sanctity of marriage one bit, and not a single couple appeared to have what one might call a healthy relationship. Not a huge surprise there.
One part I did take issue with was when the author described a wife who took enslaved Jews from a nearby camp to serve as her landscapers/gardeners. They were referred to as "workers," which is obviously an incorrect label for those who were forced to work for her or/and face death.

This book is a heavy read, but a very interesting one. The key players in the Nazi regime -- we all know their names. Himmler, Bormann, Hess, Goering...the usual list. We all know their actions, their beliefs....their fates. Books, movies, television shows, documentaries, school lessons....we've learned all about the men that were Hitler's henchmen.

But how much do we know about their wives? The women who followed Hitler....the women who were married to these famous, horrific men? Most sources I have learned from over the years only focus on the men involved. I knew a little bit, but not a lot about the women and families behind those men. The only wife I was really familiar with was Magda Goebbels.

How were people so mesmerized and drawn to Hitler? It just astounds me. This entire circle of people knew there were millions of men, women and children being murdered....and they did....nothing. Planned it. Agreed with it. Carried it out. Fine-tuned it. Not a pang of conscience or morality in the bunch. They thought it was right. Wow.....it's just horrifying. This book brought so many new facts into the light for me, but it did nothing to calm my astonishment and horror at the events the Nazis brought about.

And, the women behind the men are just a culpable as their husbands. It still chills me clear to the bone when I think about Magda Goebbels poisoning her six children....having them injected with morphine and then administering cyanide to each of them....herself. And the rest of them.....their fates vary, but they all paid a price for their allegience to the Nazis.

Chilling, but enlightening read.

This is the first book by James Wyllie that I've read. It was well-written and obviously Wyllie did thorough research into the topic. I would definitely like to read more of his writing.

I had mixed feelings reading this book. I was interested in the backstories of the wives who were married to prominent Third Reich men. I found all of them to be distasteful. My wondering what happened to those who survived the war was adequately answered. A couple were unapologetic and even proud to the end. One or two were dealt with very lightly, in.my opinion. It was difficult to keep them straight as the author often just used their first names and I had to flip back to remember who was married to whom. The book just illustrated how gullible these women were to buy into the facade of the Nazi regime.

this was an ok read, it was basically a flat biography about these women. It was a good read but it was missing something.

This is a group bio of:

Emmy, wife of Hermann Goering
Ilse, wife of Rudolf Hess
Magda, wife of Josef Goebbels
Margaret, wife of Heinrich Himmler
Gerda, wife of Martin Bormann
Lina, wife of Reinhard Heydrich

What’s ultimately infuriating and sickening is that these are not women who ended up being married to the wrong men. With the exception of Emmy Goering, these women were strongly antisemitic and enthusiastic Nazis, some joining the party before their husbands. Even after the war, when all was known about the horrors committed by the Nazis, they were still faithful to their husbands and to Nazism. The worst of them, Lina Heydrich, spent the rest of her life aiding former SS men. So much for any thoughts of women being tender hearted.

Like their husbands, these women jockeyed for positions of power in Hitler’s circle, and didn’t hesitate to stab each other in the back. They shared the delusion of Aryan superiority and were fine and dandy with turning non-Aryans into slaves and corpses. They enjoyed the privileged lives they led and didn’t care—or even welcomed—the costs to others.

Despite their being moral monsters in similar ways, they were individuals and Wyllie takes us through each one’s story. Though it’s occasionally hard to remember who is who, it’s an interesting read that includes information not previously available, in particular about the Himmlers’ marriage.

A worthwhile addition to scholarship about the personalities at the pinnacle of the Third Reich.

This book is very fact heavy, which it should be as it is a nonfiction account of the wives of top-ranking Nazi officials. I do love when nonfiction reads like a narrative, but I felt this fell flat for me. It was a lot of information just dumped all at once. It was hard to enjoy the book. I found several facts interesting, but I just couldn't follow the writing style. It jumped all over the place between plots and characters. I think this could use more editing. I think the premise is very interesting and well-researched. The writing just didn't work for me.

I was really excited when I saw the title of this book. I have not seen or read a book that highlights the wives of the Nazi's. This book is full of history and if you don't know who these Nazi men and the roles they played during World War II, you will get confused. Luckily I have read enough books on World War II that I knew the names of the men in this book. There is lots of information in the book, but I found it to be a slow read and kind of boring in the first half of the book. This book wasn't a bad read or book it just wasn't what I expected. I think it might have helped if in the beginning the author would list out everyone in the books name and give a little explanation of their roll and involvement.

This book is an interesting read. I have read a great deal about World War II and the events leading up to it, but never on the subjects that the author covered in this book. He provides biographies of the women at the top of Nazi Germany and not only their role with their husbands, between themselves and their relationship and interaction with Adolph Hitler. Among those covered are the wives of Goering, Himmler, Goebels and Bormann along with Eva Braun. Wyllie does a very good job of presenting an objective view of each. He also addresses what happens to each of them. This book will be of interest to those who want to learn more about World War II in Europe.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook page.

I really enjoyed this well researched and well written book about the wives of the top Nazis of the Third Reich. I read a lot of World War II books, both nonfiction and fiction, and I had never really even thought about the wives of these top officers. This book is a very interesting eye-opener about the women who loved their monster husbands.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this very informative book.

James Wylie has taken on a fascinating subject about the Wives of Hitler's inner circle. The book presents some revealing information as the reader is taken into the gossip and infighting of these women. The book is not well organized, and sometimes the reader is left lost in a conversation that was already addressed in another chapter.
Some of the information seems too trite, Unless you were there, it seems silly to expound upon some of the backhanded fights. as the information is so mundane; almost seems like filler. Of course, these women were not stupid and knew they were privileged.

These women all worshipped Hilter and were privy to a grand life all at the expense of the people of Germany and of all the people in concentration camps, all while the war raged on. I wanted to know more about what they thought. Were they really so blind to what was happening as they partied and sipped champagne? Where did all the art come from, the fancy food, and the clothes, while everyone was starving? Did Eva Braun ever think about where her dresses and jewelry came from, as she got new ones for each meal? These women had big houses, servants, cars, and prisoners for keeping their gardens and acted as though they were clueless as to the roles their husbands played in the war even as they sat on furniture made from human body parts and skin.

The book ends with some women going on trial and others escaping the Nuhrenberg trials and onto a life of nostalgia, longing for their glorious past. What did the author think of all this? I am glad I read the book, but it left thinking about how much more information I wanted to see.

Grimly fascinating reading. Reveals that it wasn't just their husbands who were murderous, degenerate monsters, their wives were no better. Really interesting to read this different perspective on the Nazi 'elite'.