The Angel of Vienna- by Kate Hewitt WW 2 fiction
It's wartime in Germany and Hannah is working at a maternity home. Many are having children “ for the fuhrer '' and there are even medals to be won for four or more children. Sadly any births with even slight defects will be shipped off to the orphanage, only the perfect children will be adopted by the SS. Hannah has a half brother and is surprised to receive a telegram from him asking her to come to him asap as they have only fairly recently met. It turns out he has arranged a position for her at a children's hospital in Vienna and she is to take his disabled son with her for him to receive treatment for his cerebral palsy. On arrival it appears that it is far more than just a children's hospital.
Oh my. Through modern eyes this is an eye opening read. We all know of some of the horrors of the second world war and this is part of them that I feel many won't necessarily know about. I quickly took to Hannah and her more modern outlook (for the era) and nursing, caring ethic to try and do the right thing despite putting herself and possibly others in danger at a time when you could be reported and then sent to a camp for a mere slip of the tongue. Of her tenacity to try and get others to see what was happening when most were frightened for their own lives let alone trying to save others. An inspiring memorable read.
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“These children, who the Nazis don’t even see as human, these children are innocent. And, Hannah, if you have the chance to save even one of them, you know what you have to do. Even if it puts your own life at risk.”
As bombs fall over Europe, Hannah Stern is a twenty-seven-year-old nurse, who is just trying to survive. When she takes a position at Vienna’s esteemed psychiatric hospital, Am Steinhof, she thinks it will take her away from the danger.
Her estranged half-brother has arranged the job for her on the condition that she must take his son, Willi there too. He insists it’s a place where Willi will be safe. And Hannah soon forms a close bond with the sweet, fragile child in her care.
At first the hospital seems like a safe haven—a beautiful, airy, spacious place of healing and recovery. But the hospital is a place of secrets. And they are darker than Hannah could ever have imagined. Children, ones just like Willi, are disappearing—not to be healed as promised, but taken somewhere else. Somewhere terrible.
And when Willi’s own life comes under threat—in spite of her half-brother’s position of power in the Nazi military—Hannah must overcome her own fears and act. Then she discovers one of the other nurses is also trying to help patients escape, and Hannah becomes determined to help in any way she can.
But she is only one person up against the enemy. And to save even just one life from the grip of the Nazis, she must risk her own…
The most unmissable historical fiction of the year, guaranteed to leave readers in tears. Perfect for fans of My Name is Eva, All the Light We Cannot See and The Tattooist of Auschwitz.
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