A unique historical fiction that had a very interesting premise, but sadly fell short of my expectations.  

Synopsis -
 
We follow three young women - Gundi a student in Berlin and currently pregnant, Hilde, a firm believer of the Nazi principles, enthusiastic to do anything for the Fatherland & Irma, a middle aged nurse who is looking for a fresh start. It is in Heim Hochland, at the Lebensborn society of maternity - the Nazi breeding home that these women will meet to change the course of their lives.  

Review -

Initially the three different POVs worked very well providing insights into these women's backgrounds and the circumstances that lead them to Lebensborn.  
 
I really appreciate the author's efforts to spotlight a lesser known part of the Nazi regime. The very idea that this kind of a highly organized breeding program existed and managed to produce thousands of children that they considered "racially fit" makes us shudder with repulsive shock. Some of the information was just so unfathomable and gave me goosebumps.  
 
The author deserves credit for all the research surrounding this and has managed to create a great storyline around it.  
 
However, it is the writing that didn't work for me. It felt dull at times with unnecessary details and even some cringe-worthy wordings.  
 
While there was a lot of focus of Gundi, I felt the other two women weren't getting enough attention. Also, Hilde's thread seem to go nowhere and Irma's concluded a little too conveniently. I was also unable to really connect with any of them and that's very important for me with historical fiction. 
 
The ending was underwhelming and so many questions remained unanswered. As I mentioned, it could've been so much better, but unfortunately lost it's direction and momentum.  
 
Thanks Netgalley and Source books Landmark for the ARC in exchange of an honest review!

"I love reading historical fiction because it allows me to learn about history through the more intimate lens of personal relationships."

This quote by Coburn in her author's note at the end of the novel sums up my feelings perfectly. And this story was an excellent example of that experience. The people in her story were real, and flawed and varied, and while I couldn't like them all, they all helped me to understand the period and the program so much deeper. Her research was excellent as was her writing. Learning about the Lebensborn program and the extent to which the Nazis were willing to go to create their "master race" was chilling, and something that more people need to know more about so that it never happens again. Well done.

My thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark, the author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Title: Cradles of the Reich

Author: Jennifer Coburn

Release Date: October 11th, 2022

Page Count: 351

Start Date: September 25th, 2022

Finish Date: October 9th, 2022

Review:

Story: This book really threw me through all kinds of emotions. There are three points of view. Each from a different side in the events taking place. It takes place in a place where unwed women who were expecting were sent. One of whom was carrying a baby who was half Jewish. It’s raw and open about everything. There’s no glamorizing about this book at all. I think that’s what made me want to keep reading. I also really loved the cover.

Characters: The three points of view are Gundi, Irma, and Hilde. I believe those were the names and how you spell them. I really related to Gundi. I wanted to like Irma and Hilde, but there were just certain things they said and felt that made me so frustrated with them. I get that they were just basically accepting the information that they were wrongly given, but still.

Critiques: None that I can think of

Final Thoughts: I fully recommend everybody that reads this book take the time to read the Author’s Note in the back. It explains the full inspiration behind the book and some facts about the real events that took place during the time period this book was written about. It is very obvious that this author did her research before fully writing out this book. It actually made the book mean more to me because of it.

I was provided a free advanced copy of this book by @netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
I have read and enjoyed a lot of historical fiction stories and many of them are set in WWI or WWII. However, this one covers a topic I'm not sure I had ever heard about, the Nazi's Lebensborn Society and their maternity homes.
The Reich took qualified Aryan women (girls) during the war and if they were pregnant would take care of them and possibly adopt their babies out, but also held parties with SS Officers for those who were not pregnant yet. However, they also kidnapped children from occupied countries who looked Aryan and "Germanized" them.
This story steps into one of these houses with three women. Gundi has been working for the resistance, but when she becomes pregnant she is forced into one of these houses as a "perfect" Aryan specimen. But she wonders what will happen if her baby is born looking like the Jewish father! Hilde takes an encounter with an older SS Officer as an opportunity to get ahead in her life, and is excited when she finds out she is pregnant with his child. She views the move into the house as the next step to do her part for the country! Irma was a nurse during the Great War, and when she finds herself at a crossroads, is appreciative of the opportunity to use her skills to take care of the girls in the house. But will she be able to keep her feelings out of things and simply do her duty?
Following these three women and their different opinions we get a glimpse of what went on in and around the maternity house! The story is an informative one, horrifying to realize it really happened, but also one of hope as we see evidence of those who tried to oppose as they were able to.
I struggled a bit with the ending, thinking it ended a bit abruptly without a lot of closure, although if it has been tied up in a neat bow that would have been unrealistic as well, so not sure what could have been done to make me fully happy with it.
Overall, it was an interesting story of a very little known part of WWII history. It was published on Tuesday, so go check it out.

"That's part of the problem...
I don't want to be in a world where helping one another survive is remarkable."

"The resistance has gold?"
"We have bricks that bear a striking resemblance to gold. Our real cargo is people."

There is so much deep emotional gut wrenching yet uplifting moments in the WWll historical fiction Cradles Of The Reich by brilliant author Jennifer Coburn that I had to read it with a box of tissues next to me.

This incredibly well researched story is about the very real Nazi Lebensborn program to produce a master race of pure Aryan children. Taking place in the real Herm Hochland, a home were pure German woman are inseminated (not always by choice) by Nazi officers, and their babies are taken from them to be raised by elite Nazi families to be future leaders of the Third Reich.

We follow the lives of three very different women. Hilde is 18 and proud to be carrying an Aryan officer's child. Irma, 44, is a nurse at the home and naively, for awhile, unaware of the true horrors she is helping to facilitate . Then there is Gundi. A pregnant university student and the breeder home is unaware she is carrying a Jewish baby, which if found out would be death for her and the baby. Oh, and she bravely is part of the resistance.

The brilliance of this book is how despite their differences these women find a common ground not just in motherhood but their treatment by men in power. Sadly, in almost a hundred years not much has changed for women in society being told what they can and can't do with their bodies, minds and life.

This writer's immensely engrossing important work deserves and needs to be read by everyone. It is a testament to the resilience of women past and present.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via #netgalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was an incredibly well written and thoroughly researched story. It was difficult to read a times, but I think that's a testament to the quality of the writing. Coburn is a fantastic author and while this wasn't exactly an enjoyable story per se, it is an incredibly important one that I definitely recommend.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book; all opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and Source Books Landmark for allowing me to be an early reader.

As a fan of historical fiction, I was intrigued to read Cradles of the Reich by Jennifer Coburn, which is based on true facts and people of the Reich society. This novel explores the lives of three German women during the Nazi regime. Do you sympathize with Gundi, a college student, who falls in love with a Jewish boy; Irma who is rejected by her love and chooses to join a society that breeds children for patriotism for the Reich or Hilde who is a young girl who thinks that the love of a high decorated Nazi will provide her with the life she desires. Read this novel to find out their life stories. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book prior to its publication.

I thought I had read just about everything there was on WWII and BOY, was I surprised when I read of the "breeding" programs of the Nazi. I'd like to think that there is nothing like this in this day and age but where madness rules, anything can happen.

The fictional account of 3 women involved in the program, one by accident, one by design and one as an escape from her past. The story is told by all 3 of them and each POV brings out the horror involved. An all absorbing tale, Jennifer Coburn builds the story in layers, showing us the character development in each chapter. I'm definitely recommending this to me reading circle and then I'm going to look for more information on the Lebensen Society.

Book Review: Cradles of the Reich

I read this about a month or so ago, and as usual I’m late posting my review. This book published yesterday! Thank you to @netgalley and @sourcebooks for the free arc. If you are a fan of WWII fiction, then you’ll be interested in this story.

It’s about the Nazi breeding program called the Lebensborn Society, where thousands of babies were born to women who qualified as the perfect Aryan beauty. These babies were then taken and adopted by Nazi officers and their families to help build the new Germany.

The story follows three different women who all end up at the same Lebensborn home, under very different circumstances. Gundi is a member of a resistance group, Irma is a nurse, and Hilde is a true believer in the Nazi regime and cause.

I enjoyed the story for the most part, although I found Hilde to be very immature and annoying. The ending was a nail biter, and then ended rather abruptly. I would have liked a little more closure to the story.

If you haven’t read anything about the Lebensborn Society, then I’d definitely recommend picking this book up.

CRADLES OF THE REICH by Jennifer Coburn accomplishes incredible feats. Weaving together the stories of three very different women playing different roles within Germany during the early years of World War II, Coburn brings the reader to a little known reality of a nursery for the master race. Unlike any other story I've read about that time, CRADLES OF THE REICH brought me to the heart and soul of individuals caught up in the fervor, passions, and requirements of Hitler's Germany. From heart shattering descriptions of Kristallnacht through strong-armed handling and summary disposal of those who do not comply, I felt as if I had seen it for myself. Wonderful writing, terrific pacing. I received a copy of this novel and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

The topic of this book, the German/Nazi Lebensborn Program, is one that I knew had existed but had never really read much about. The author's approach to describing the horrors of that program by focusing on the fictional lives of three young women affected by it made for a very good read. The horrors perpetrated in Nazi Germany never fail to amaze me - that human beings can treat other human beings in such a despicable manner and feel that it is for the good of their nation. The three different story lines show how there were those who did not want any part of the program but were forced into it, those that wanted to be in the program, and those that learned it was not what was expected and were horrified by what they discovered. The author treated the subject delicately and yet was able to make the reader visualize the corrupt minds behind making the program work for them as they tore newborn Aryan babies from mothers to give to "better" German-faithful families. I felt the ending was too abrupt however, and wanted to read more about Gundy, Hilde and Irma. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read and review this advance reader copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Cradles of the Reich #NetGalley.

This was a hard book to read because of the content, but important to read. History can be hard, but hopefully we learn from the past. This novel is based on the Lebensborn Society maternity homes during WWII. Mothers giving birth to “racially fit” babies were being bred to be raised in Germany.

Coburn tackles the hard subject of the Nazi breeding program to create the “so-called master race.” Coburn research is meticulous and the subject matter is hard to fathom.

We follow three different women from different backgrounds. Their lives become intertwined at the program. Gundi is hiding a secret, but is considered the perfect German specimen. Irma is the nurse involved in these birth mothers lives. Hilda is a teenager seeing a high ranking Nazi but gets in trouble and the man is married.

How do these girls survive such horrific crimes and brainwashing?

he beginning of this book sucked me in. The topic was really interesting and heartbreaking to learn about. I actually really fell for Gundi and Irma’s characters, but could have done without Hilde. The middle of this book dragged for me and I felt like the ending was very abrupt - it left me with a lot of questions!! Overall, I really wanted more from this book.

I'm so grateful that Jennifer Coburn has told the painful, unbelievable (and yet true) story of the Lebensborn Society maternity homes of WW2. I can tell that a ton of research went into this novel, and fans of historical fiction are in for a treat with this one. Of course, it's a painful read. But it also focuses on the strength that women have in the darkest times of history. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the complimentary eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Based in the Third Reich Era in Germany, in the beginning of Hilter's dictatorship, three women have to navigate their way through a circumstances that lead them to a Nazi breeding home in Bavaria.

Gundi - an Aryan beauty who is secretly part of the resistance - falls pregnant with her Jewish boyfriend's baby, she is sent to the Lebensborn Society maternity home as the state is under the impression that the baby is of pure German blood.

Hilde, a true believer in the cause finds herself at the home after she fall's pregnant with a Nazi official's baby.

Irma, a middle-aged nurse looking to start over after she walked in on a Jewish women heading into her Fiancé's basement and assumes he has been unfaithful.

***Spoilers!!

As things unfold, Irma realises that not everything is what it seems to be and discovers that the head nurse condones soldiers using there "mothers in training" as sex slaves, babies, whose parents aren't engaged, get taken from them and put up for adoption and God forbid that a women gives birth to a darker skin child that could be misconstrued for a Jew! That baby would be "cleansed" by lethal injection. And all this for the name of Germany! Hilde ends up without a career or her status of being a Nazi Official's mistress and Gundi has to escape after her baby is born to save both their lives.

My thoughts:
What a heavy read! I'm still unsettled by all the things I have learned from this book. This was a dark time in Germany, where Nazis were killing and framing Jews, kicking them out their homes, throwing them in work camps, burning down their property and stealing their belongings. My heart aches for Jews who had to live through that.

Past the heavy stuff though, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was hectic but it was beautiful and hopeful. The women formed connections that saved their lives, and their souls. It wasn't a happy ending for everyone but those who got theirs deserved it. I'll say it again, this book was BEAUTIFUL😩

Although occasionally heavy-handed, this is an important historical fiction novel about a part of World War II history that not even history buffs might be familiar with (probably because it's a women's problem and who cares about those, right?) This is a novel about a forced-breeding program in Nazi Germany and a tight, subtle commentary on where 2022 post-Roe America is headed. Wouldn't read this one if you're not feeling hyper-realistic Handmaid's Tale vibes. A great novel that is worth a read.

I could not love this book more!! It tells about a part of Germany during WW2 that I had heard nothing about prior to this book. And I am a WW2 historical fiction fanatic. This one definitely goes on my recommend shelf! So well written and done!

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

I didn't think it was possible to read a unique story set in WW2 Germany that I hadn't already read a version of. Jennifer Coburn proved me wrong. This book tells the story of pregnant mothers, maternity homes and eugenics in Nazi Germany. Like most WW2 books, this book is emotionally heavy. However, I was quickly sucked into the plot and was very eager to see how it all ended. My only complaint is that the book ended abruptly and there are some unfinished plot lines. I would recommend it overall. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC of this novel.

This was one fantastic WW2 historical fiction book. I love when I read a book like this and learn about something I had no idea about. Historical fiction fans will definitely want to read this one. I have read my fair share of HF books and this one took be by surprise that. I still cannot believe that things like this actually happened.

The story is told through the POV of 3 women that were in the Lebensborn Society maternity homes, a Nazi breeding program. All of these women are there for different reasons. Gundi is pregnant and an Aryan beauty, but is also part of the resistance. Hilde is at the home, pregnant with one of the Nazi officers' babies, and is a believer in the cause. Then, there's Irma, a nurse who wants to start over after seeing a Jewish woman in her fiance's basement and thinks he is unfaithful. Irma learns about these babies of unwed parents that are taken from them and given up for adoption to Germans, to be raised as the new Germany , and the "mother's in training" being used as sex slaves.

This book was heavy, heartbreaking, and tragic, yet there were still parts that I felt hopeful for the women, mostly Gundi and Irma. I cannot even fathom what these women endured. So horrifying that they were forced to breed, and so traumatized and brainwashed that they actually thought it was a good thing. Ughhh! 😩😩 So many bad things happened during this time, and learning about more of these atrocities is just unreal. I definitely know alot of research went into this book. This is another reason I love HF.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

I have read many books in this time period. However, I am not familiar with Nazi-run breeding homes or The Lebensborn Society. Jennifer really did bring to life the story of these three women, Gundi, Irma, and Hilde. I truly felt for them and what they were going through.

Because Gundi was the first one introduced in this book, I felt an instant connection with her. It did not change, so you could say I had the strongest connection out of the three women with her. Although, this is not to say that Hilde and Irman did not play big parts in this book as well.

Once I started reading, I did find myself getting lost in a good way. This book was a fast read for me. Readers who enjoy reading historical fiction will want to pick up a copy of this book. Cradles of the Reich by Jennifer Coburn is not to be missed!