4.5 stars. When I first read the publisher synopsis of Cradles of The Reich a few months ago, it quickly became one of my most anticipated reads of this year. Having just read it, I can say that it delivered! One of my favourite reads of this year.

This is fantastic historical fiction based upon the little known (to me) Nazi breeding program created to propagate the so-called ‘master race’. The story is told from the perspectives of three young women living at one of these breeding homes in Bavaria during WWII - one a beautiful, pregnant young German university student, the second a nurse who starts to work there when her life falls apart, and the third a believer in the Nazi cause who is the pregnant young mistress of a high-ranking married Nazi official.

Each character has a different perspective on the breeding program and a different experience at the home but share the common desire to gain control of their futures. I enjoyed seeing the story through these different viewpoints.

The story moves seamlessly between the three storylines and we get to see the inner workings of the breeding program, life at the maternity home (which also doubled as a brothel for Nazi officers) and the relentless drive of the Nazis to get rid of any “defects” from the German population, including murdering children with disabilities, stealing young children to raise them as Germans, and, of course, the genocide of the Jewish population. The author talks about the research that she did for this novel in the Afterword and it is very evident throughout the novel. I felt like I was there in the story with the characters.

The pacing of the novel was very good and the build-up to the ending was very tense and fast-paced. I found myself holding my breath and quickly turning the pages! I love historical fiction like this which shines a light on lesser known parts of WWII events all in an engaging, clear, easy-to-read style.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and Netgalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for a honest review.

This book was a struggle for me.

Overall I was really intrigued by the premise and was hooked quickly by the story, but that feeling petered out by the midway point.

Besides parts of Hilde’s story, I felt like a lot of the book was just waiting for things to happen. I wish the characters had more agency and helped to actively shape the plot, but they just reacted to situations that occurred.

The ending also felt abrupt. Hilde’s story felt incomplete. Irma’s felt rushed to conclusion over a revelation she has, but I didn’t feel like there was a lot of lead up to her having that relation. Gundi’s story was the most complete, but it still felt like it was missing a piece at the end.

I appreciate the history behind this story (that I wasn’t even aware of!), and I’m glad the author chose to shine a light on the topic. It’s worth the read if you want to learn about the plight of Germany’s women during the Nazi regime.

It has been a while since I’ve read a WWII story and this is definitely a chilling and disturbing part of history I did not know about ( and yes I fell down the Google rabbit hole ) .

✔️ the three POV - Gundi a pregnant resistance fighter; Hilde a young girl who believes in the cause and wants to have a Nazi official’s baby ; Irma, a nurse who is hiding from the truths around her while trying to find her place in the world - provided very different perspectives
✔️ although a difficult subject, the story is easy to read and keeps you engaged ; I was invested I these women and their stories
🔘 I would have liked an epilogue and find out what happened to these characters

This historical fiction is told through the POVs of 3 different German woman, each different ages and backgrounds and beliefs to tell a story about the Nazi breeding program. While the story itself is a work of fiction, the program it details was real. It always amazes me when I learn of a new horror from this time period. It is just shocking the depths to which the Nazi regime went to purify their country. I just can’t wrap my mind around the chilling horrors that occurred. I have never heard of this breeding program until this book, but I suppose it should not be surprising that they abused their own women and used their bodies for their own political agendas. It is interesting to read the German women’s point of views and learn more of the lengths to which the brainwashing was performed. Gundi was the perfect German female on the outside but had no ounce of hate in her, fell in love with a Jewish man, started working for the for the resistance, and discovered her secret weapon was her looks. Hilda was the brainwashed teenager who naively said and did whatever she could to climb the ranks in the Nazi party to try to gain the spotlight she was so deeply sought, but at what cost? Irma was the nurse that thought she could just keep her head down and ignore what was really going on until faced with such chilling realities and her eyes were finally opened. The book was very well written, fascinating, horrifying, and a must read for anyone that wants to learn more about this time period from different perspectives.

Cradles of the Reich by Jennifer Coburn is the intertwined story of three very different women who through a variety of circumstances find themselves at Heim Hochland , one of the Lebensborn centres where young Aryan women of good racial purity were used as "breeding stock" for the production of perfect children for the Fatherland.
Irma is a nurse and at the centre and sees her job as a way to escape from personal tragedy and difficult home circumstances. At 44 she is a mother figure to some of the young girls at the home, and over time begins to question her role and the management of the Lebensborn programme as a whole.
At eighteen Hilde is a true believer with plenty of ambition , and she is thrilled to be carrying the child of a powerful Nazi official, even if he is a married man. She is desperate to protect her future , and will do whatever it takes to get what she wants.
University student Gundi is also desperate, but for a very different reason. The last place she wants to be is at the centre , but her perfect Aryan beauty makes her an ideal candidate. Less than ideal is the fact that the father of her child is Jewish, and like her a member of the resistance. If the staff of the home discover this truth, the lives of Gundi, her baby and all her family will be at risk .
Through the eyes of these very different women the reader learns about one of the lesser known secrets of Nazi era Germany. It was good to see an author tackling a lesser known aspect of the war, something that helps the book stand out in an oversaturated market of WW2 fiction. I appreciated the historical details incorporated into the story and found each of the narrators interesting as characters, even when they were not particularly likeable.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I have read several WWII historical fiction novels, but none had touched on this subject before. I'm always transfixed by this period in time because I can't even fathom living during this gut-wrenching period in history. I really enjoy books that show multiple perspectives and how they handle the situation. I found this to be well-written and engaging, but was disappointed in the ending as I felt like it ended abruptly.

Different take on WW2 era book. I hadn’t read about the nazi breeding program or homes before, did find that part interesting and wish it would have gone into more details about that. Three perspectives are told, a nurse, a German girl who was helping the resistance and a hard core nazi girl all end up at one of the homes. The ending was abrupt for me and left me with questions/ still wondering about many things. Overall I did enjoy the read but felt some things could have been left out and better more information could have been added and definitely wanted a more solid ending.

Cradles of the Reich by Jennifer Coburn

I remember first learning about the Lebensborn Society maternity homes from the same television program that that author mentions in her afterward. I spent time researching what I could when I learned of it. The program was far reaching in the ways it intruded into the lives of others, all for the goal of "racial hygiene".

We follow three fictional women who become cogs in the wheels of this program. One young woman, Gundi, is pregnant by the Jewish man she loves but she hides that fact as she is whisked off, against her will, to bear what is supposed to be a "racially pure" baby. The other young woman, Hilde, is a pregnant zealot for the madman that is destroying lives and people, she is a true believer and willing to do most things for her country. The third woman, Irma, is forty two, has burned bridges in her current life, so takes a job at the same breeding home in Bavaria where the other two young pregnant women have been taken.

Gundi could lose everything if her secret is found out, she's already lost almost everything. Hilde soon realizes that her situation isn't the wonderful setup she thought it was and she has to make some desperate choices to even salvage undesirable solutions. Irma sees that no matter how low things have sunk in her life, that she wants to at least make the time the girls are with her as good as they can be. But she can dig even deeper when the time comes and give even more. I enjoyed her awakening and the way she sees the past differently than she thought it was before she found out about this program.

I do wish the story didn't end so quickly, with so much left unsaid and unknown. The ending felt rushed, with much left dangling, unanswered. But the story is a good one and I felt for each woman, even misguided Hilde.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for this ARC.

Cradles of the Reich by Jennifer Coburn

This story has an easy flow that will capture your interest from the first chapter. It’s 1930s Germany and three young women’s lives converge in Heim Hochland, a maternity home in the German countryside. Coburn’s fictional characters are very nicely developed.

It’s shocking to learn through this well written historical novel that this home was a real place during the reign of Adolf Hitler. It was where the powerful supplied babies for the Reich. The Lebensborn Society can be added to the list of Nazi cruelty.

This four star book is a perfect story for historical fiction readers interested in learning about another facet of Nazi domination with which they may be not be familiar. My thanks to #SourceBooksLandmark and #NetGalley for this ARC.

Three different women come face to face at Helm Holmand, used to nurture young women in the Lebensborn program in Nazi Germany. Gurdi, who physically fits all the aspects the Nazis desire, is actually pregnant by the Jewish man she loves. Hilde, daughter of an SS officer, sees the program as wonderful and will do anything to bear an SS officer's child. And then there's Irma, a nurse who lost her husband and a lot of her hope during WWI, who has taken a job working with the young women. The threads of their stories come together, most dramatically near the end (no spoilers from me). It's fine historical fiction that shines a light on a horrible program through three characters who are, if not entirely sympathetic (here's looking at you Hilde) are intriguing and well drawn. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Don't miss the afterword.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A home for unwed mothers who were to populate Germany with Aryan children. The fanaticism of the people is so disturbing and so familiar in our current climate.

4.5* WWII opened our eyes what the human race is capable of and the heartless acts of so many! The Nazi Regime wanted to perfect the “master race” disregarding the not “racially fit” and even disposing of newborns in the most inhumane ways. I had no idea there were Nazi breeding programs and homes for young pregnant girls, such as the Heim Hachland in Bavaria Belgium.

Gundi, a 20 year old Aryan beauty was sent to the home until the birth of her baby. She became the poster perfect example for the German bred. She had secretly worked for the resistance group and little did they know they were taking her in with a Jewish baby, which is immediate death for the baby if discovered.
Hilde is 18 year old pregnant girl loyal to the Nazi Regime and carrying a high ranking married officer’s baby. Her personality was haute and spoiled looking down on those around her.
Irma, a 44 year old nurse working at the Heim Hachland maternity ward. She becomes close to the girls and saddened by their hasty decisions to give their babies up so quickly to pledge their allegiance to the regime. The families adopting the babies are high ranking officers.
Other than the abrupt ending and leaving you wondering what happened to the families.
This was another part of history I was clueless to. Excellent researched information giving insight into the evil minded involved and the sad innocence of so many. The Nazi eugenics was a huge part of Hitler’s plan.
Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks landmark for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Cradles of the Reich was a great read. Coburn seamlessly wove historical detail into a compelling plot and painted a powerful portrait of the role of women under Hitler, their loss of autonomy over their own bodies, their conscription into motherhood. She created characters I cared about and kept me glued to the page.

The novel moved forward through the braided stories of Gundi, Hilde, and Irma, all of whom arrive at Heim Hochland, a maternity home for unwed mothers, each under different circumstances and with her own secrets and needs.

While the main characters are fictional, Heim Hochland was real. It was part of the Lebensborn Society program, a secret Nazi breeding and adoption program that was established by Himmler to populate the new Germany with Aryan babies. Until I read Cradles of the Reich, I’d not heard of Lebensborn. By the time I finished reading the book, the Society became something I will never forget.

Cradles of the Reich works wonderfully as a novel. It also stands as a stark reminder of how easily societal norms collapse into what would have been previously unthinkable, of what happens when human life is reduced to a commodity whose main purpose is to fuel a particular political narrative, and of how the obscene becomes commonplace when self-determination and voice are lost. In many respects, it could have be torn from today’s headlines.

Highly recommended.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is based on the true story of Heim Hochland, a Nazi breeding home in Bavaria. Though most of the characters in the story are fictional, the situation itself was very real. In the book, the story focuses on three women - a high school student named Hilde who is one of the ones that lives at the home and allows the SS officers to try to impregnate her for the cause, Gundi - a college student who is forced to wait out her pregnancy in the home all the while praying her baby doesn't come out looking like it's Jewish father, and Irma - a nurse who starts out believing in the cause, but the more she learns the more sickened she becomes, until she can no longer pretend to be fine with it all.
I had previously promised to give myself a break from WWII fiction for awhile, but when I heard about this book, I had to read it. This book was so good, while at the same time, utterly horrifying. I had never heard of the Lebensborn Society maternity homes. so I had no idea that something so twisted actually existed. If you are a fan of historical fiction, especially WWII fiction, then you definitely need to check this out. I highly recommend this one.

A harrowing account of true events. This is a terrifying a period in the not too distant past. How can this not have come to light before?

Congratulations to Jennifer Coburn for a meticulously researched story of events not found in our school history books.

Gundi joins a resistance group after falling for a young Jewish man she sees hiding in the shadows of a university lecture. After refusing to leave Germany with him because she doesn’t see the danger ahead of them, she discovers she is pregnant and must hide the identity of her baby’s father.

Hilde has ambitions of achieving rank in the social echelons of the Nazi Party; she wants to leave behind her tedious life. Hilde wholeheartedly believes and supports the propaganda for a better race. Her plan to seduce a married Party officer results in a pregnancy that she sees as her ticket to that coveted status. Hilde soon realizes that her plan may crash around her, so she manipulatively comes up with another way. Hilde never considered the consequences of her deceit.

Irma, unlucky in love and wanting to leave her presumably deceitful boyfriend, takes a position as a nurse in a home for pregnant women. Taking care of these young women; some who are waiting for their babies’ fathers to return from war, others who will give their babies up for adoption; promises to give Irma the purpose her life is lacking.

It doesn’t take long for each of them to discover that the Helm Hochland maternity home is not the altruistic gem that appears to sparkle with so much beauty. But instead, a baby mill whose sole purpose is to produce babies with genetic superiority.

Once the evil goals of the secretive Lebensborn Society come to light, they are all in so deep that the only way to survive the uncertainty of the future is to acknowledge what is truly happening and place their trust in complete strangers.

Thank you @jennifercoburnbooks @netgalley @sourcebooksfor this #arc

I truly enjoyed this book. There are so many World War II historical fiction books currently being written, and it is so lovely to find a book on a topic that I personally was not aware of, nor do I feel like many others would know about. While the idea of a home for Aryan mothers and a school to “teach” girls the art of motherhood should not surprise me, yet sadly it did. The three stories highlighted within this book I think did an amazing job of showing three different perspectives of how woman in this situation might feel or handle the idea of being part of breeding the next generation of perfect Germans. I was truly heartbroken during the adoption section where the woman didn’t want to take home the little girl because her foot curled. To think of living in a world where something so small could mean life or death for an infant is just heart breaking. I really think that a lot of people are truly going to enjoy reading this book. The characters are easy to enjoy and the personal growth they all go through be it for good or bad really resonates with the reader. I truly enjoyed this book and look forward to recommending it in the future.
Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

TITLE: Cradles of the Reich: A Novel
AUTHOR: Jennifer Coburn
PUB DATE: 10.11.2022 Pre Order Now

Synopsis:

Based on untold historical events, this novel brings us intimately inside the Lebensborn Society maternity homes that actually existed in several countries during World War II, where thousands of "racially fit" babies were bred and taken from their mothers to be raised as part of the new Germany. But it proves that in a dark period of history, the connections women forge can carry us through, even driving us to heroism we didn't know we had within us.

Thoughts:

Three German women’s story collide in this unique WWII read that I found intriguing, interesting, and compelling. The writing is so skillfully researched, that I was completely immersed into the story. This was certainly heartbreaking and powerful, one that I could not fathom to believe happened and of course this inhumane story did during the rise of the Nazis. I highly recommend this extraordinary book!

I appreciated the author’s research and quest to make this work of historical fiction as true to history as possible. It was well-written and hard to put down!

I will not be adding this book to my church library due to its descriptions of sexual encounters that went on as part of this program.

I received this book from the publisher via net galley in exchange for an honest review. Four stars!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. Cradles Of The Reich sheds light on a little known program during WWII. The characters are well written and the story will keep you riveted. This is a book you don't want to miss.

Thank you so much to the author for having a gifted ARC sent my way! I appreciate you so much! Also, thank you to the following wonderful ladies for the buddy read and chat (even though I slacked on the chat part because…well, life🤦🏼‍♀️) @welllreadbookclub @crystalzreads @jessisreadingbetweenthewines @bookshelf_taylorsversion @thisfamilyreads.alot @poetry.and.plot.twists


💭My Thoughts:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫4.25/5

This is a fascinating yet haunting story off the Nazi breeding program and wanting to create their ideal “breed” of children for the Reich. I have been fascinated with WWII History for as long as I can remember but have never heard of the Lebensborn Society until I read this book, and let me say that I am blown away at this concept.

During WWII the Lebensborn Society had maternity homes in many different countries where women would stay to have their babies whom the German’s specifically chose based on their Aryan characteristics. Once the babies were born, they were taken from their mothers to be raised and conditioned to become one of the children of Hitler’s Reich.

This heart breaking, fascinating, yet beautiful story is told from the POV of three different women, whose lives eventually intertwine. We have Gundi, who fits the ideal look of the Aryan race, is pregnant and who the Reich has chosen to birth her baby at one of the homes, yet she is secretly part of the resistance and in love with a Jewish man. Irma, who is a nurse and who works at one of the Lebensborn Society homes. Hilde, an 18 year old who is a support own the Reich and the Aryan race, falls pregnant and is honored to be chosen to stay at one off the Lebensborn Society homes to have her baby.

Coburn has done a fantastic job with doing her research, given the very little information that there is on this. Her writing, depth of research, character development, and story paint a horrifying picture and shed light on a dark and disturbing time in history that not many people are familiar with. This book would be a great book for discussion for a bookclub or buddy read! I highly recommend, especially for those of you who are as fascinated with WWII History.

✨Overall Verdict: Powerful, vivid, heartbreaking, yet a beautifully painted story of a dark time in history.