⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ (4.5 stars) rounded up to 5
Before reading this book, I wasn’t very familiar with Theresienstadt. The Nazis portrayed it as a “model ghetto,” but in truth it was a stage-managed prison where starvation, fear, and deportation loomed over daily life.
Jennifer Coburn tells this story through two women who once shared a childhood bond. Hannah Kaufman, a Jewish girl stranded in Prague with her grandfather, is swept into Theresienstadt and forced to survive inside the Nazi illusion. Her former best friend, Hilde Kramer-Bischoff, a war widow and German national, sees the Reich as her only chance at status and belonging. When their paths collide, both must decide whether to cling to ambition or act on conscience.
Coburn’s research is meticulous, but it’s the human drama that makes this novel shine. The book explores the sustaining power of family, faith, and art against crushing oppression, while also showing how personal ambition can fuel blind allegiance. I alternated between reading and listening, and the audiobook—brilliantly narrated by Cassandra Campbell—brought the story to life in a powerful way.
** Thanks to Edelweiss+ and Sourcebooks Landmark for a comp. Opinions are my own.