The Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust is a memoir reflecting on Edith Hahn Beer's experience throughout the decade before, during, and after World War II. Born in Vienna to a middle class Jewish family, Hahn experienced more hardships before her 25 birthday than most people do in two lifetimes. The Nazi Officer's Wife has a unique twist obvious in the title: Edith Hahn actually married a Nazi officer and lived the duration of the war in a State owned flat, using State issued ration cards, and bearing a Jewish child in a State hospital. I personally had a knot in my stomach throughout the whole book. Even though I knew she would survive (well, she did write the book) I wasn't sure what challenges she would face next. I was attached to her from the beginning and felt her pain as she described her experience at a German work camp, being separated from her family, and falling in and out of love. As a 'character', Edith is easy to get along with and relatable.
I have read so many Holocaust books, fiction, memoir, straight- up history, etc. and yet I still learned new things from Edith Hahn's experiences. The book reminded me of another Holocaust memoir I read in high school: All But My Life by Gerda Weissman Klein, the major difference being that Hahn was never sent to a concentration camp and continued to live in the heart of Germany. Both women were incredibly strong and have plenty to teach their readers. I will spoil them by saying they both survived, but I'm not sure if surviving was easier for them considering the losses they faced in their young lives.
Not many people would read these books let alone anything else from the genre, but I recommend them both nonetheless.
Until next time... keep reading!
kh
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