A heart wrenching, sad, and yet triumphantly happy story of war, peace, love, torture, and ultimately the hard choices we have to make as humans. I’m not saying the experiments at Dachau or the enslavement of millions was right, that was the sad, torture parts. But the parts about the choices Annalise made to stay sane in a world gone mad, and ultimately find happiness made it hard to put this book down.

At first, I was into the story. I was loving the way the war was seen through a Nazi family because I didn't read that kind of book before.
I loved to see how it changed Hans and even if he didn't like what was happening in the camp he didn't do anything to help the prisoners.
But then it became a different story about a family that wants and needs a baby and what they have to sacrifice for it and they lost me and my interest to continue.

When the story shifted it became very slow for my taste. And many chapters didn't happen anything.

I tried to love it.

The writing itself was amazing and get me going. I would love to read some other books from this author

The German Wife follows the story of Annaliese and her husband Hans through their lives during World War II where Hans conducts medical research at Dachau Labour Camp. What starts out as a way to advance his career, Hans soon realizes the cruel and inhuman treatment at Dachau. By this time, it is too late to get out. Hans begins to plan. During this time, he has a Russian prisoner work to restore their garden. Annaliese is attracted and soon finds ways to spend as much time with Alexander as possible. It is through Alexander that she learns the horrors of Dachau.
Debbie Rix has created a captivating story from the first chapter to the end. Most historical fiction of World War II is centered on the victims of the holocaust. Ms. Rix shows a different side. It is impossible to believe that a whole country can be as evil and heartless as Hitler, Himmler and the Raschers. Through Annaliese, Rix shows a naïve side that seems to be unaware of the world outside her gates. Hans’s mother remains loyal to Hitler even as stories from concentration camps are being made known. Hans paints a picture of an SS officer who in attempt to further his career is placed in a no win situation and just like the Russian prisoner is forced to concentrate on survival. It was easy to sympathize with each character to a point. Annaliese lost my sympathy as she searches for Alexander. At this point in the war, she has to know that she is putting him and her family at risk. I wanted her to be a strong heroine and at this point it wasn’t happening. I had a totally different view of Alexander at the end of the war that lasted until the end. It was good to see the conclusion of the story in 1989. There were no what ifs or what happened to a character. Thank you Debbie Rix, Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

this book is based on a true story, it goes from 1939 to 1989. was hard to put down, loved the story, if you like books based on true events in the time of war you will enjoy this book

4.5 Stars

This is an entertaining and disturbing book in equal measure. The author’s writing style flows easily and kept me engaged from the first page. As one might expect from a WWII novel, there are elements of the story that address the atrocities perpetrated by the Nazi regime; I felt these were handled in a straight forward manner without sensationalizing them. I admire the author’s ability to blend factual information with fictional imagination to create a story that is a worthwhile, thought-provoking read.

At seventeen, Annaliese is a beautiful, rather naïve, young woman who is alone in the world after losing both parents. She meets Dr. Hans Vogel and after a rather brief romance they marry and settle into a lavish home in Munich. Hans has a modest medical practice, but his interest lies in research and academia. His ambition to achieve his goals leads him to enroll in the SS, the elite, military arm of the Nazi organization. Hans soon finds himself in an increasingly distressful ethical and moral dilemma as he is expected to use Dachau camp prisoners as subjects for cruel and even fatal experiments. He soon realizes that to survive and protect his wife he must comply with all the rules and follow orders no matter how repulsive. After years turning a blind eye to Hans’ activities, Annaliese discovers the horrible conditions at the camp and recognizes her own duplicity in the treatment of a Russian (slave) gardener. Her marriage deteriorates until Hans abandons her as the Allied forces are poised to enter the camp.

Compared to other novels I have read concerning WWI, this book stands out for its unique perspectives. The author explains in the “Historical Note” at the end of the book, she found documentation of an actual physician whose career mirrors that portrayed by Hans Vogel. As a reader it was fascinating to move back and forth between the doctor’s mindset and Annaliese’s self-imposed ignorance of, not only her husband’s work, but the war effort in general. Given the backdrop of the Nazi activities, it is interesting that this is basically a love story – one where actual physical survival drives the choices and the outcomes.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

I went into this with no expectations but found myself hanging on to every word and every plot twist. Rix spun up a story full of love, human flaws and the atrocities of war. There's no shying away from the horrors and unspeakable things, balanced out with the love and softer moments, this novel made for an incredibly emotional read. I loved Anna's character, full of mistakes and regrets and happiness. A brilliant historical fiction, I'm eager to read whatever Rix releases next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC. This WWII novel focuses on Annaliese, the German wife to Hans. Hans is a doctor at Duchau camp where he conducts science experiments, attempting to find a cure for maleria. He's a member of the SS and soon close colleagues to Hitler's right hand men. Hans has a desire to do well as a doctor and to do his duty to the Reich. But he soon realizes that Duchau camp is a horrific place and that the other doctors there performing experiments were sadists. He fears for his life if he disobeys. Hans hides the truth of where he works to Annaliese. She finds out the truth from their Russian gardener who is a slave that Hans "rescued". Their marriage begins to disintegrate. We follow the terrible Nazi regime through the lives of this couple beyond the end of the war and liberation from the Americans. The setting was detailed and the story flowed well and was easy to read. I just found the characters and love stories a bbit vapid. I vacillated between giving a 3 or 4 star but I just didn't like it that much, other than it being a WWII novel.

Rix is a good writer. This is a great example of a good story, but I had a hearty dislike for each of the main characters. The parallels between the novel and modern times is uncanny and scary. The book is also a good example of only having bad choices to select. The experiments were gut wrenching to read, but it was also sickening to read about the wheeling and dealings done after the war to obtain the biological experimental information. This book makes you think, hard, on many levels.

I love books based on WWII and I particularly enjoyed that this had a different take than most books. This story follows Annaliese who married Hans, a doctor who is forced to work at Dachau labor camp. I really enjoyed the chapters focusing on Annaliese but found myself mostly skimming the chapters with Hans. While some of it was interesting, I felt that it gave too much information and I found myself getting bored.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book!

A whirlwind pre-war romance filled with love and hope was dashed when Hans became a doctor for the Nazi Party.

Hans was forcibly sent to Dachau to do research and testing on the prisoners. This made him quite unhappy and made Annaliese, his wife, even more unhappy when she found out what he was really doing there.

Annaliese found out what he was doing from her gardener that Hans had brought to their home from the camp.

Annaliese couldn't confront Hans about what she had learned because she knew Hans would take Alexander, the gardener, back to the camp.

It was a tough time for Annaliese, and she was confiding in Alexander even though she knew it was wrong to treat him kindly and give him extra food. She had to tread lightly to not get him in more trouble.

We follow Annaliese before the war, during the war, after the war as her husband was hunted for his participation in the experiments at Dachau, and in America with her son as he asks about his father. He actually didn’t know his father because he was very young when his father disappeared a few days before the war ended.

THE GERMAN WIFE is well done, heartbreaking, based on true characters, and a book that revealed what went on during the time at Dachau Concentration Camp.

Historical fiction fans and women’s fiction fans will want to read this book.

Excellent read. 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was exceptional. It was truly captivating and gripped me right from the very start.
As with any stories from this time period it was heartwrenching, but this was on another level, it was so beautifully written with real moments of bravery and hope mixed in with heartbreaking moments that added extra depth to the story.
I loved this book and I wish I could reread it again for the first time as it truly is that special. Five stars just isnt enough.

Inspired by a true story, this is a heart-stopping, unforgettable tale of ordinary people fighting for survival in the darkest of times. The storyline kept me glued to my Kindle through the whole book! I definitely recommend reading this book!

I really enjoy WW2 historical fiction, especially when it offers an unusual perspective that I don’t normally come across in this genre.  Debbie Rix has blended fact with fiction, creating a plot that’s interesting. The story follows Annalise, married to Hans who is a Dr in medicine, but his passion lies in research. To promote his career, he sales his soul to the devil and joins the SS. Hans is assigned to Dachau, a concentration camp that is renowned for human experimentation.

I did question Annalise naivety at times; the reader is given the impression that German civilians were ignorant of what was happening around them, when in most cases the opposite was true. Although I didn’t always agree with the choices some characters made, I could summon up sympathy for most of them as they faced the most difficult choices in the most challenging of times.

I thought the descriptions of the experiments carried out on the prisoners by Hans and his SS counterparts felt matter of fact and lacked the emotional impact I normally feel when I’m reading about WW2. Inspired by a true story, I found the factual side of this book the more compelling. Although I enjoyed Annalise’s story, it wasn’t one that will leave a lasting impact, I’m afraid. If you enjoy WW2 fiction, you may love this book as there are lots of positive reviews, and it might just be me being picky.

Debbie Rix has, once again, written another engaging historical WWII story with her book “The German Wife.” This book is based upon a real doctor during WWII who became a member of the SS in order to (hopefully) gain not only recognition in his research field, but also funding. Unfortunately for him, he was assigned to Dachau, where human experimentation was performed. (Note - Ms. Rix covers this part with taste - being honestly descriptive, but not in a “splatterpunk” manner.) A number of infamous people make appearances - Hitler, Himmler, the Raschers, and Klaus Schilling. While the doctor tries to keep his wits about him (dealing with moral dilemmas), his wife is purposely kept in the dark as much as possible. In order to save a life (a former Dachau prisoner), the doctor hires him to be a gardener, which starts a chain of unforeseen events. I found this book very engaging and a bit heartbreaking. Any book that has me checking online sources for further information is always a winner in my book. Do read the Author’s Note at the end, as it includes notes about Ms. Rix’s inspiration. Ms. Rix had me feeling sympathy for all three of the main characters - even if I didn’t always agree with the choices they made, but all three had a certain amount of both grit and survival instinct. (Note - Reading the post-war part of this book reminded me of the movie “Judgement at Nuremberg,” with the doctor reminding me of Hans Rolfe.) A very high 4.5 star rating.

Annalise now lives in America with her grown up son. She tells him the story of how she got there and ner former years in Germany before , during and after the second world war. She married Hans, a doctor. In order to further his career and also having little choice he joined the SS and was then sent to do research work at Dachau. Staff in general life are in short supply and Hans sees a chance to perhaps show a little kindness and suggests Alexander as a gardener for Annelise who is keen to sort out their vast overgrown land. Annelise grows close to Alexander which could put them both in terrible danger as there are very strict rules about prisoners and even what Annelise can say or do under the nazi regime. This is the story of Annelise and her survival of that traumatic period.
This is based on a true story- what an inspiration. Annelise shows courage and determination to not only keep herself safe but to remain humane and help others as much as she can. She falls in love and realises the danger for both parties. Years later she sees a newspaper article that could threaten the secret she has kept all this time. Is it time to put the past to rest or to face it head on?
I loved this- there is a very real warmth of character about Annalise and I admired her tenacity. A “ true grit” determination for life and it's a compelling story based around fact which is explained at the end. One to make you perhaps think -as Deebie says about our own restrictions around covid- this book put this in perspective for me- however bad things were- the war and Germany were a very different matter. A stunning read I would highly recommend.
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This was such a compelling read that had me gripped. Debbie Rix has blended fact with fiction creating a devastating story of a young German couple falling in love just before WWII. The man was a doctor and had high ambitions to make a significant mark on the medical world . The whirlwind romance was soon brought back to reality as married life was proving challenging as Annaliese's husband, Dr Hans Vogel, was trying to gain recognition and funding for medical research. When the new Fuhrer takes an interest and offers Hans a position in one of the prison camps medical facilities Hans has high hopes for his research.

However, Hans doesn't anticipate the strict rules of the camp and as war loomed the medical trials became more barbaric making Hans question his work. Alas, Hans had now backed himself into a hole working for the Fuhrer and any thoughts of escape would be futile.

As the war progressed Hans mood changed drastically and married life became unbearable with Hans trying to keep his work life a secret from his wife.

This was such an interesting story set before, during and after WWII told from a German couples POV. I felt real sympathy for Hans and his predicament. He had a thirst of knowledge and felt he could help many but trying to ignore the harsh, deadly reality of the POW camps was a futile job. As a wife of a German SS Officer it must have been difficult to comply with the rules and I could sense Annaliese's anxiety when she was reminded of how closely her husband worked with the Nazis.

The story was full of heightened emotions, a family drama filled with secrets and lies and a devastating love and loss.

Wonderful story telling.