Silver Medal Winner of the International Book Award contest Readers’ Favorite in the Historical Fiction category (2017)This story is dedicated to all the victims of sexual slavery in German concentration camps, who had to endure inhumane suffering under the Nazi regime.For many years after the atrocities had been committed, both sides – the abusers and the abused – still vehemently denied certain … denied certain aspects of the Holocaust, and even the victims refused to admit the ugly truth about their incarceration, some out of fear, some out of shame, until several women decided to break an unofficial oath of silence, and brought their stories to life. This book is based on one of those stories.
Emilia is a young Jewish woman, whose life slowly turns into a nightmare as she finds herself facing a dreadful choice: to secure her family’s very existence by offering herself to one of the men who had put her behind the walls with barbed wire, or perish together with the least fortunate ones. Only, the Krakow ghetto and her very first abuser pale in comparison to what is yet to come, as she’s being sent to a place that soon will turn into her own personal hell and that will scar her for life…
Book one in “Women and the Holocaust” series. Also in the same series:
“No Woman’s Land” (book 2)
“Auschwitz Syndrome (book 3)
more
Emilia is a very powerful book. It touches a difficult subject, the sexual slavery of young and beautiful Jewish women in the Nazi camps.
The protagonist Emilia starts out as a rather naive, well-sheltered girl from a good family, but she soon learns the cruelties of living under the Nazi occupation.
And as time passes and circumstances become more dire, she starts fighting with nail and tooth for the survival of her family.
For all the romantics of you, there’s the sweetest — and most unlikely — love story after her liberation from the camps.
This book will stay with you and you will find yourself thinking about it long after you’ve turned the last page.
Well, what can you say about the terrible atrocities that occurred during WWII that hasn’t already been spoken? Ellie Midwood has masterfully woven a tale that not only captures the imagination, but also transports you back in time to a dark time. The story revolves around Emilia, a 19 year old that has her and her family’s lives uprooted by German occupation. She learns just how brutal her captors are as she witnesses public executions, beating, as well as raids. She learns to keep her family safe by sacrificing her innocence to one of the commanders but this is short lived as she gets moved to other horrific camps and enduring many unspeakable acts in her body.
Survival is game and Emilia endures more abuse, mentally, emotionally, physically for more than a lifetime but ends up with a great end to her story, which I choose not to spoil. I will say that this story can be an emotional rollercoaster and be prepared to have the tissues handy. I’m not one that likes war stories, but Emilia had me captivated from the first few pages. I highly recommend this one! Bravo, Ellie!
“Emilia” is historical fiction at its best. It portrays the horrific events of World War Ii and life in concentration camps in a realistic and emotional way. Emilia, the main character, is a young Jewish woman caught up in the dramatic personal events as she is forced to leave her home, to lose her family, and to suffer physical and sexual abuse in concentration camps.
But the story is not all dark. Emilia is a strong woman, and she perseveres through the suffering. After her release, she rebuilds her life. I loved the ending: so hopeful, optimistic, yet without falsehoods. A great book! Highly recommended.
An amazing book by Ellie Midwood.
It touches a part of the war that isn’t often told. The story of what young and pretty women experienced during the war. It is a tale that is hard and very intense to read, but very beautiful done.
I also loved the fact that it tells the story of what happens after the war. How do you go on after everything you have experienced. How much does it change you and the hatred and anger you carry.
Excellent read!
Honestly, I was a little bit afraid of the subject matter of this most excellent book and as a result, put off reading it for quite some time. I am so glad that I got over myself and read this amazing story. So many persecuted people that were able to survive the holocaust must have had to show the strength of resolve that Emilia’s character showed in this fine book. If I could give it ten starts, I would.
To me, Ellie Midwood’s books are unique. Fascinating, horrifying, historically accurate, she never shies away from presenting the darkness of the Nazi regime. Yet I’ve noticed she also does something else. Without making excuses for this disturbing time and its despicable characters, she manages to pose the question and possibility of a few of those “villains” as having a human side.
In this book, in the midst of all the brutality imposed on Emilia and the other girls forced into sexual slavery, there is a glimmer of protectiveness, kindness, and hope among several of the inmates and even a SS captain and a commandant. Beyond that, when the book continues on after WW2 is over and the totally damaged Emilia arises from the ashes of war and her PTSD, she learns to trust again. Another page-turner!
I have just sobbed my way through the last 30-40% of this book and shall have the mother of all book hangovers now I’ve finished. The subject matter is a hard read, but told so expertly that it was impossible to put down. Both believable (in the attention to detail and the research the author has taken) and unbelievable (in that the inhuman suffering that was placed on this young woman cannot ever be full understood or imagined by outsiders) this story is going to be with you long after you close the book. The story triggers emotion while it is not emotional or full of drama, its told with a forthright style that I can only imagine is a way that someone who has lived through these horrors can tell such a story. An incredibly moving book that I highly recommend.
This book describes the horrors endured by a young Polish in Krakow and two concentration camps during WWII. It describes sexual assault, physical violence, abuse, along with the rest of the atrocities committed at that time. It will make you uncomfortable, but that is the point. You damn well better be uncomfortable with what happened, and that is exactly why this story needs to be told. That being said, the underlying driving force of the book is always love and humanity, as Emilia was forced to make hard choices.
The author does a wonderful job of highlighting the individuality of the characters, while demonstrating the sway that a role has over a person. She also emphasizes that there is life after horrid experiences, and that is the best message one could ask for.
I just finished this book last night, and am still having trouble articulating what I want to say about it. This is a book that, had it not been recommended to me from a friend, I may not have grabbed it. It definitely deals with some very heavy subjects (not only the Nazi treatment of the Jews during WWII, but also dealing with the issues of rape).
Ellie took such a difficult subject, got the point across, and yet handled it perfectly. There was no glorifying what happened – you knew what took place, and you knew how Emilia dealt with it and how she felt about it, but you weren’t forced to watch it happen. I applaud her for doing this.
A beautiful and soulful book that brings you to Emilia as you witness the events that shaped her life.
I have already been recommending this to friends, and if you enjoy historical romance, don’t miss your opportunity to check this one out!