The international bestseller based on a haunting true story that raises provocative questions about complicity, guilt, and survival. They called it the Wolfsschanze, the Wolf’s Lair. “Wolf” was his nickname. As hapless as Little Red Riding Hood, I had ended up in his belly. A legion of hunters was out looking for him, and to get him in their grips they would gladly slay me as well. Germany, … me as well.
Germany, 1943: Twenty-six-year-old Rosa Sauer’s parents are gone, and her husband Gregor is far away, fighting on the front lines of World War II. Impoverished and alone, she makes the fateful decision to leave war-torn Berlin to live with her in-laws in the countryside, thinking she’ll find refuge there. But one morning, the SS come to tell her she has been conscripted to be one of Hitler’s tasters: three times a day, she and nine other women go to his secret headquarters, the Wolf’s Lair, to eat his meals before he does.
Forced to eat what might kill them, the tasters begin to divide into The Fanatics, those loyal to Hitler, and the women like Rosa who insist they aren’t Nazis, even as they risk their lives every day for Hitler’s. As secrets and resentments grow, this unlikely sisterhood reaches its own dramatic climax, as everyone begins to wonder if they are on the wrong side of history.
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Historical fiction. I loved this book until it just ended.
This captivating book tells the story of the sisterhood of women who were tasters for Adolf Hitler during WWII.
This was a subject I knew little about although it certainly was no surprise that Hitler would have food tasters. Based on a real woman who was chosen to perform the frightening task and who survived, makes it even more horrendous. Although slow at first, it’s a book worth persisting with as more is revealed about the ten women unwillingly thrust together wondering if each bite of food will be their last.
5* Compelling Stars
When I saw the beautiful cover of, At The Wolf’s Table I knew I had to read what was written inside. From the first page you are swept into the story of Rosa Sauer and the nine other women who have been conscripted as Hitlers food tasters. The book is inspired by a true story and is very well written even though it has been translated into English.
The portrayal of the lives of the taste testers was so real and harsh and the tight friendships that were made under these fearful circumstances were still fraught with secrets and lies.
It was a compelling and engaging historical read and I absolutely loved every page read.
From 1941 through 1944, Adolf Hitler spent nearly 800 days in Wolfsschanze, his first eastern front military headquarters. The complex, hidden in the Masurian woods near Gierłoż, Poland, remained undetected by the Allies throughout the war.
Because the Führer was paranoid that his enemies would try to poison him, it was decided that everything he would eat would first be sampled by others. Fifteen women from the town of Gross-Partsch (whose mayor was a devoted Nazi) were selected to be the human “guinea pigs.” One of these women was Rose Sauer, whose husband was fighting in Russia. When her Berlin home was bombed by the British, she went to live with her in-laws in Poland.
For more, go to https://kindredconnection.wordpress.com/2018/12/15/at-the-wolfs-table/.
“ The past doesn’t go away, but there’s no need to dredge it up, you can try to let it rest, hold your peace. The one thing I’ve learned from life is survival”.
I was aware of the women who tasted food for Hitler to make sure he wasn’t poisoned from reading The Taster by VS Alexander earlier this year. What makes this version of the story even more interesting is that it’s based on a real person – Margot Wölk. . She was Hitler’s last living food taster. She had never told anyone about her experience until she was 96 and decided to tell her story. She died later the same year that she first told her story. You can read more about her and read her story if you goggle her name.
In 1943, Rosa moved to the town where her husband’s parents live. Her mother has just died in a bombing in Berlin and she hasn’t seen her husband since he joined the army the year before. Instead of the quiet life that she is yearning for, the SS arrive at the door and tell her that will become one of the tasters of Hitler’s food. They were very worried that the Allies would try to poison Hitler so they forced a group of women to eat his food before he did. If the tasters didn’t die of poison, then the food was safe for him. The ten women in the group become friends and enemies as the stress becomes unbearable.
This is a horrific story of women being forced into possible death with every bite of food that they ate. The stress of this time affected Margot for the rest of her life.
Thanks to Book Browse for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.