A wonderful, historical fiction about the Jewish refugees during WWII being shipped to Cuba before entering the United States and the harrowing events in which few were allowed to get off the ship. Anyone who liked All the Light We Can See will love this book. A blend of past & present!!!

On May 13, 1939, The SS St Louis sailed from Hamburg to Havana, with 900 passengers, most of then Jewish Germans fleeing the Nazis. They docked at Cherbourg to pick up an additional 37 passengers, also Jewish. All of them had landing permits for Cuba, however, the then Cuban President invalidated the permits and ordered the vessel off Cuban waters. Only 28 passengers were permitted to disembark. The Captain of the ship, Captain Gustav Schroeder tried his best to find a non-German port that would accept these refugees, but the US and Canada both refused. Eventually Great Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, accepted them. Shortly thereafter, Germany declared war, and except for the passengers taken in my Great Britain, all of the others suffered greatly from it.

It is this tragedy that forms the backdrop for The German Girl..

The plot follows two POVs--the first is of Hannah Rosenthal, a 11 year old girl in Nazi Germany. Hannah's parents are well-off financially, but her friend, Leo Martin and his father are not. When the pressure increases, the parents decide to leave Germany, and that is how Hannah, her family, Leo and his father come to be among the passengers on the St Louis. When Cuba reneges on its promise to let the passengers disembark, only Hannah and her mother are allowed entry into Cuba, and she loses some of the most important people in her life. Her life in Cuba, and growing up in the midst of the Cuban revolution are all part of the book.

The second POV is that of Anna Rosen, also a 11 year old living in New York. After her father's demise on the fateful attack on the Twin Towers, her mother becomes increasingly despondent and Anna often has to take care of her. Anna wishes to know more about  her father, who she has never met, but all her mother knows is that he was raised by an aunt who lives in Cuba, Aunt Hannah. When Anna receives a box of photographs from Hannah, she is intrigued, and she travels to Cuba to meet Hannah in the hope that she will find out more about her father.

So much of the beauty of this book comes from the exploration of relationships. Both Hannah, and Anna care deeply for their fathers, and have to deal with mothers who care, but are unable to overcome their personal pain. Hannah has a wonderful friend in Leo, as does Anna in Diego. But where Hannah is in the process of letting go of the past, Anna is eager for memories. Both our heroines are perceptive, sensitive beings, and one cannot help but be charmed by them. It is essentially a coming-of-age tale, of two girls, separated by time and geography.

It is to the author's credit that he has managed the write the delicate balance between despair and hope with such grace. The reader becomes intimately aware of the heartaches of both Hannah and Anna. And yet, he leaves us with a note of hope for both of them. What did break my heart was reading the story of the St Louis, and the complete list of passengers who were on it, which the author has provided at the end of the book. It is such a fitting tribute to these unfortunate souls, that their story, or at least a part of it, has been told.

I could draw comparisons to The Diary of a Young Girl or to The Book Thief, but that would be too obvious, and not exact. The German Girl has a strong identity and message of its own. However, those who enjoyed reading these books, may also find this book to their taste.

The German Girl raises questions about prejudice, hate and cruelty. When the time comes, will we be kind and accepting, or will be be swept up by the atmosphere around us and add to the suffering of those who are already bearing scars? History always repeats itself, and with the current political climate being what it is, The German Girl is a powerful reminder that there are consequences to hatred.

FTC disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for this honest review.
https://thereadingdesk.wordpress.com/2017/07/18/book-review-the-german-girl/

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Atria Books and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I'm always surprised when I read a book with yet another atrocity I hadn't heard of that occurred during World War II. This is a novel based on actual events when Jews were being rounded up and forced out of their homes in Germany. Hannah and her parents were well-to-do, lived a life of high society and were well-respected in their community. None of that mattered when the round ups started. Hannah's parents were lucky enough to obtain visas and book a passage on the ship St. Louis to Cuba, who was opening their doors for the refugees. Hannah's best friend, Leo, and his father also came on the boat with them, thanks to Hannah's parents. The ship was just an extension of their wealthy and glamorous lifestyle and Hannah and Leo had the run of the ship.

Then reports started coming in that Cuba was closing their borders. Eventually, only Hannah and her mother were allowed entry into Cuba along with a small number of others. The rest were turned away. They were also denied entry into the United States and Canada and were forced to return to Germany, where their fates were sealed.

This book is told in two different voices - Hannah's starting in 1939 and going to 2014. Anna's story begins in 2014 - Anna has lost her father and her mother is a shell of the person she was. Anna receives a letter from Hannah on her birthday - explaining that she raised Anna's father and wanted to meet. Anna and her mother travel to Cuba to meet with Hannah.

The contrasting yet similar stories of Hannah and Anna are at turns heartbreaking and hopeful. Such a horrible period in our history - stories like this make us think and hope that we will never repeat them. However, reading current stories of refugees barred from asylum in countries, including the US, make you wonder how much we've really learned.

The author's note and chilling list of real passengers on this fated voyage add to the horror of this story's background.

The German Girl written by Armando Lucas Correa is the story of the privileged life of young Hannah Rosenthal, growing up in Berlin. She is twelve years old in 1939. She has lived a charmed life, going to school and meeting with her friend Leo Martin. As the restrictions imposed on the Jewish citizens of Berlin her world is closing in on her. Her parents are secretive and her mother stops leaving the house. She sneaks out to hear their parents plans from her friend Leo.

Finally plans are made to leave Germany on the last ship sailing, the SS St Louis, a transatlantic journey to Cuba. Everything has been sold to obtain passage on this ship for Hannah, Leo and many other families. As history has recorded while the ship is our at sea, rumors start to circulate that Cuba will not be receiving the passengers, or the costs will increase to be able to land there. Though life on the ship has all the trappings of a luxury crossing, the refugees future is uncertain.

Juxtaposed with this story is the life of Anna Rosen, living in New York City, who on her twelfth birthday receives a package of photographs of people she has never met. Finally, after years of not having any connection to extended family, Anna is about to meet up with her father's past. Anna and her mother fly to Havana, Cuba to meet Aunt Hannah and find out about the mysterious past of her father's family.

Tying together Hannah's story of leaving Berlin during World War Two, with her life growing up in Cuba at the time of its revolution, until Anna Rosen comes to hear the story of her family's history in New York City, after the September 11th tragedy. All these events pulled together by the generations of one family, based on a true story.

Well written from the perspective of two young voices, really giving the reader the feelings of how young pre teen girls would interpret the deprivation they were experiencing and how it would affect their personal lives.

I was very interested in this book as it was connected to the Nazi occupied Berlin. Had a hard time figuring out what was going on with Hanna Rosenthal because it wasn't very clear that she was a Jew for quite a while. She was the point of view of Nazi occupied Berlin. Then you have Anna Rosen's point of view who lived in New York and is about 2014. It switches back and forth. I don't want to give much away but there were parts that were kinda story inside of a story as Hanna and Anna would never really know what happened but it was in the story as a "sub story". The emotions never really came through and were very flat. There was enough bad things happening to both Hanna and Anna but no one really stepped up to take control of their own lives and everyone lived in the past. I felt very let down with this book. It is based on a true story which were things that I didn't know happened with Cuba but the author didn't seem to know how to write it to engage the reader.

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are one hundred percent true and my own.

The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa was a great book. I am a huge fan of books like this because WWII is so interesting to me and this book was one of the better ones that I have read lately. I love that this book goes between Hannah’s time and also modern times as you follow along with Anna. I also love that this book talked about things I didn’t know had happened during WWII. I have read tons of books about WWII, and I loved that I was able to learn about some of the other things that people dealt with during WWII. I was sad when this book came to an end because I loved all of the characters in this book. This book is also the first book that I have read by this author, and after this book, I have added him to my list of authors that I want to read more books by in the future. If you love WWII books and are looking something different I would recommend this book to you.

I was not aware of the fate of the St. Louis ship. It left Germany with over 900 Jewish passengers, who paid to leave Germany in hopes of entering the U.S. They were to land in Cuba, and had already purchased visas to enter the US. When they landed in Cuba, only 28 were able to disembark.

This book is written by alternating views of two twelve-year old girls in the Rosenthall family. Hannah and Anna. Hannah was on the St. Louis ship and Anna is her grand niece, living in New York City. It is a good book, but an extremely sad read.

Thank you Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book.

Mr. Correa's debut novel, "The German Girl" is an endearing tale of survival, family, friendship, love and the horrors that people can intentionally inflict upon others (the Holocaust, 9-11). It is simultaneously tragic and touching, with a deft display of the great depth of good and evil found in humanity.

The novel follows the surviving members of the Rosenthal family, Hannah and her mother, on their escape from Nazi Berlin to Havana on the ill-fated voyage of the S.S. St. Louis, and the life of Anna Rosen, Hannah's grand niece whose father was killed during the 9-11 attacks. Anna and Hannah meet, and Anna learns about her father and the Rosenthals in Germany and Cuba.

Very nicely written novel, and educational as well. There are still many lessons to be learned and remembered from that era.

A fictional tale about the MS St. Louis, this book flits back and forth between the past and the present and how the lives of a young girl in New York City is connected to an elderly woman in Cuba in the most unlikely of ways. Reading even a fictional story about the ill-fated MS St. Louis and imagining all the lives that were lost because the US and Cuba wouldn’t take in the refugees wrenched my heart in an awful way. At times the story was a bit slow but it picked up a lot by the end and I couldn’t put it down.

Fabulous, Interesting and wonderfully written..this book is a gem and a must read. Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for the perusal...

This was an amazingly heart-wrenching read. I was drawn in immediately and overwhelmed by the emotion that this book allowed me to feel. I have recommended this book as one of my top reads of 2016 and think it was a great historical fiction read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an e-arc of this title, in exchange for an honest review. I've read many books about this period in history, and I am a hard sell. I really liked this title a great deal. It brought out many emotions, and I was hooked from the beginning. If you enjoy WWII historical fiction, this is a great title to add to your list. This rates up there, for me, with The Nightengale and The Commandant's Girl.

Twelve year old Hannah is a German Jew from a wealthy family. Her best friend Leo comes from a much less well-to-do home. Both families attempt to escape from Hitler's Germany aboard a transatlantic liner, but the countries that have promised to give the passengers asylum revoke their promise. Hannah and Leo's friendship blossoms into love during the voyage. Years later, Hannah is an old woman living in Cuba when she contacts her great niece who was ignorant of Hannah's existence. Anna travels with her mother from New York to Cuba to meet Hannah in hopes of filling in the blanks in their knowledge of her deceased father and his family.
This is fine historical fiction.

She never had a childhood, the Hannah in the photos from Berlin and on the magazine cover is another girl who died during the crossing.

A story that is not well known. Jewish refugees that set sail on the St. Louis running from the savagery of Germany to Cuba. You are introduced to Hannah's family. The only child of well to do parents that have lost everything. Hannah's mother a socialite and her father a well educated man are now treated without dignity. The fear of losing your dignity and identity is felt within these pages. Hannah herself looks like the Aryan German and has found herself on the cover of a German magazine is at odds of who she is and what she looks like.

The narration is done in two different times. Hannah and Hannah's niece Anna. Each of them searching for the same thing. Anna has lost her father at a young age. In looking at pictures of his family, she discovers her aunt Hannah is in Cuba and arranges a visit. The narration is geared towards the discovery of each other and the missing pieces of who they are.


Hannah as she leaves Germany and ends up in Cuba. Never coming home. Anna the loss of a father that she never knew.

On a personal note, I was attracted to the story however, it lacked on connection. I am not sure if it was because the girls did not revolve in character. They seemed the same in the beginning to the end. They were written as very mature and not as typical 13 year olds.

A Special Thank You Atria Books and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review

Compelling WWII novel. Good character development.
A nice addition to treasure trove of novels about that time period.