In the shadow of World War II, one young woman must make an unthinkable sacrifice for those she loves.
Norway, 1940. Nazis pour into Oslo, a shroud of dread looms over the city, and eighteen-year-old Ingrid Solberg fears the worst. Under German rule, harsh rationing and the exorbitant cost of medicine threaten the lives of many, including Ingrid’s mother. And when Ingrid meets a young SS … young SS officer, she’s forced to make a desperate choice.
Seventy years later, after the death of Ingrid in her adopted country of Canada, her son, Arnold, finds a disturbing letter in her belongings. Though mired in his own personal problems, Arnold puts his troubled life on hold and embarks on a journey to Oslo to understand his family’s history.
As Arnold confronts the past, he discovers dark secrets and the long-lasting repercussions of decisions his mother made long ago. But as disturbing as his discoveries are, he has come too far to shrink from the ugly truth now…
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4 stars
In 2011, Arnold’s mother Ingrid passed away after a long illness. She muttered some very odd words just before she passed. Arnold ponders them almost obsessively for day after the funeral especially after discovering a letter from Norway amongst her things. It was a letter wanting to know what had happened to Ingrid’s son Ulrich. Arnold, now sixty-six, is greatly troubled by the letter, but his two grown daughters are not. Arnold contacts the writer of the letter named Merit and his relatives in Saskatchewan.
The story flashes back to 1940 in Oslo, Norway in 1940 when the Nazis overtook the country and a program called Lebensborn. It tells Ingrid’s story, her boyfriend Olav and her very ill mamma. It is a heartbreaking interlude.
Arnold decides to travel to Oslo to meet Merit. He invites Merlene, his mother’s nurse in her latter days and now a good friend of Arnold’s to go with him. To say that Arnold has an eye opening time is a gross understatement.
This is a good book and I enjoyed reading it. I knew about the Lebensborn Program but did not realize that the Nazis exported it to their conquered countries. It was a horrifying story that also had moments of hope and the proof of the resiliency of the human spirit.
I want to thank NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for forwarding to me a copy of this very good book for me to read, enjoy and review.
Desperate times call for desperate measures
This book takes place during the Nazi occupation of Norway. It is about how the Norwegian people were mistreated by the Germans during the occupation.
It is about the Lebensborn program started by the Nazis to breed a superior white race. The story is about a woman named Ingrid that was recruited to the program by Frank an SS Officer. She resisted but finally agreed to save the life of her mother that was very ill and medicine and treatment was not within the financial means of Ingrid and her husband to be Olav. Also Olav was working with the resistance and Franz would have him arrested if Ingrid did not agree.
This book is the story of the birth of the child called Ulrich. What happened after his birth, how he ended up with his mother and why they immigrated to Canada. How horrible life was for the family after the war because she had a child with a Nazi officer.
It is also the story of Arnold living in Montreal in 2011. His mother is very ill. Before she passes away she mentions the Norwegian town she once lived in. Thinking that Arnold was her husband Olav she said in her last words before she passed “Arne must never know the truth of his father”.
While going through his mother’s personal papers he finds an unopened envelope from Sweden. He reads the envelope and calls the lady that sent it. He ends up going to Norway looking for Ulrich he believes is his half brother. His friend a nurse he has been seeing goes with him. After talking to the lady in Sweden he finds out he is Ulrich. He meets Franz who is now 90 years old in a nursing home.
This is a story of a woman determined to give her family a better life and save them from the horrors of the past. It is the story of a man that loved his wife enough not only to forgive her for her part in the Lebensborn program, but raised the child as his own.
It is also the story of Franz who was so indoctrinated from an early age with the Nazi propaganda that he gave his life and his whole to the doctrine of the Nazi regime.
This book was interesting and thought provoking. What would any reasonable person due in a truly desperate situation? One more horrible program Put in place by the Nazi’s that I know little about.
I would recommend this book.
Thanks to Ray Kingfisher, Amazon Publishing UK, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review a advance copy of the book