For fifty years, Anna Schlemmer has refused to talk about her life in Germany during World War II. Her daughter, Trudy, was only three when she and her mother were liberated by an American soldier and went to live with him in Minnesota. Trudy’s sole evidence of the past is an old photograph: a family portrait showing Anna, Trudy, and a Nazi officer, the Obersturmfuhrer of Buchenwald. Driven by …
Driven by the guilt of her heritage, Trudy, now a professor of German history, begins investigating the past and finally unearths the dramatic and heartbreaking truth of her mother’s life.
Combining a passionate, doomed love story, a vivid evocation of life during the war, and a poignant mother/daughter drama, Those Who Save Us is a profound exploration of what we endure to survive and the legacy of shame.
more
On the crowded shelf of WWII novels, Those Who Save Us stands out. Blum’s achievement is singular; she writes with power and the story is fresh and utterly credible. I’m in awe.
The very best book our Book Club ever read. It was several years ago but I will never forget it!!! So deeply moving!
One of the most outstanding books written to capture the horrors of the Holocaust on both Jews and non-Jews in Poland. Heart wrenching. Beautifully written and researched.
I gave this book three out of five stars simply because the ending left me with too many questions, the way the author wrote the book, and the fact that it was disappointing. The story follows Trudy and Anna. Trudy is a woman in her forties who is divorced and a professor teaching history to unappreciative college students. Her topic is about …
At times quite emotionally difficult to read, but hard to put down, the book shares the story of Anna, doing whatever she must to provide for and protect herself and her little daughter in Nazi Germany. Her daughter, a professor of German history, has no idea what she went through to save her life, and Anna isn’t discussing it. The mother-daughter …
The cover alone on this book is a strong draw that tugged at my heartstrings. Disturbing and tragic, with characters who do what they can and feel they must in order to survive, Blum paints a powerful story of the conflict between the human need to survive and collaboration, and then living with the shame and secrets of those life and death …
This is a new perspective on WWII – from the viewpoint of a French woman used by an SS officer as his mistress. Its the kind of book that stays with you. The writing is thoughtful and the characters are believable in how they deal with the hauntings of their troubled past.
This was a heavy read for me about a mother and daughter both carrying guilt from their past. The daughter bearing the shame of her mother’s assumed past because her mother won’t speak the truth. It’s a compelling story and moved me deeply.
The title of the book has several meanings in my opinion, and I’d be curious exactly who the author thinks …
This book is unforgettable! The story is captivating and harrowing. The innocence, atrocities, heroism, sacrifice, resignation and determination of the characters left me in a “book hole”, unable to find a “good enough” book for months after it.
Jenna Blum is one of the greatest authors. This book, has made me laugh, cry, worry and love since page number one.
What I love about this books is the fact that Jenna, writes about other perspectives of WWII, and telling the other perspectives of history made me realize we can not only read one kind of book, we have to listen and read the other …
There’s a reason this book has been a bestseller off and on for many years. It’s one of the most realistic and haunting books about a citizen living and trying to survive in World War II Nazi Germany. The writing is superb, and the author has created an unusual and completely original main character in Anna. As Anna’s life worsens over time and …
What one will do to survive.
A fascinating book, intriguing and sweeping. Quality writing.
The chapters combine two periods: the Holocaust in Germany and the United States of today, in a desperate attempt by the daughter to verify her origin and the mother’s past and her decision to remain silent.
Although the plot itself is not a case that happened, the stories that appear …
I enjoy historical fiction. This book was well written on a subject that the world will never forget nor should it. For me, fiction like this seems to make the holocaust more real and terrifying than simply reading about it happening in classroom texts.
One of my favorite books. This book stays with you after reading it. It’s one of the very few books that I have read and cried while reading. Amazing
I enjoyed the book, but I felt like the ending left me hanging. I would still recommend the book because I enjoyed the story and the 2 strong female characters in the book.
I was about a quarter of the way through this book when I realized I was reading it for the second time. What I can’t figure out is how I had not remembered this book, as gripping as it was. Trudi, a professor of German History and especially interested in World War II is seeking answers to her own life as she completes a project to interview WWII …
Gripping in plot and detail. A bit slow-moving. Written so that the reader is sympathetic to all the characters and caught up in the drama and the horrific details of the Nazi regime.
Good story of how WWll effected a small town and it’s families. Makes you aware of the hard choices people have to make to survive and how these choices can haunt lives for along time until the truth is faced and dealt with. Realistic characters and heartwarming ending.
Loved it. Sad but informative! I learned so much! I highly recommend!