Powerful And Horrifying

The German Wife by Debbie Rix is a powerful historical novel that consumed me from the start.

As the title suggests, the reader follows the German wife from the 1930’s, through the war years and just beyond before leaping forwards to 1984. It is a powerful read as we witness a character whose goodness of heart never wavered. “It was a tiny act of kindness in a sea of inhumanity.” It was a time of mass cruelty and unspeakable horrors.

Married to a doctor who worked in Dachau meant freedom of speech was curtailed. Inner most thoughts of the horror of it all ate away at what had started as a loving relationship. We witness that many had their secrets.

We see a character torn between what he does and his conscience – to speak out? Or remain safe and keep quiet? Living in Munich under Nazi control was a dangerous place.