The Orphan's Mother by Marion Kummerow- WW2 (post) historical fiction
It’s 1945 Emma has had to leave her home as the Russians are advancing towards the town of Lodz. She has joined a caravan of people heading to a cousin of the organiser Agatha. Her husband is away fighting and the journey with two small children is traumatic and cold and debilitating. Her son Jacob takes ill and on arrival she rushes him to the already overcrowded hospital and isn't allowed to stay. The hospital was one which took the Polish. Now the Germans have cleared it of “subhumans” for their own “upstanding German citizens”. Emma returns the next morning to find the hospital has been evacuated as the Russians are almost upon them- her son Jacob having disappeared. She too has to leave and for the sake of her daughter Sophie must get them both to safety. How is she going to find Jacob and who would have taken him or looked after him?
I quickly got into this and found it interesting as it gives a different perspective on the end of the war era. That even facing defeat, the nazis still reigned with an iron fist and would quickly kill anyone defying their orders or beliefs. A wonderful, interesting read that absorbed me.
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“If you ever get lost, Jacob, you need to stay where you are and wait, because I’ll come looking for you. And I’ll always find you.”
In the icy grip of winter, Emma is trying to escape Poland, with her two young children and little more than the clothes on their backs. With the Russian Red Army advancing, she knows their safety relies on them crossing the border. She swears to herself that she’ll do whatever it takes to keep their family together.
But before they can reach the border, her little boy Jacob falls ill, his once-sparkling blue eyes getting dimmer with each moment that passes. And Emma knows she has to get him to a hospital, where she hands him to a kind nurse.
She feels sure they will be reunited the next day. But then the bombing starts. And when she reaches the hospital again, she finds it deserted, her darling son gone.
Though her heart tells her she has to stay and find him, she faces an impossible choice. She would risk her own life for Jacob in a heartbeat, but as her daughter Sophie’s cold, little hand slips into her own, Emma is forced to make a heartbreaking decision. Unable to find any trace of her beloved son, she knows she must at least get her daughter to safety.
But she can never forget the promise she made to her little boy. That if they were ever separated, she’d come looking for him. That she’d always find him.
Whatever the danger, whatever the risk. She knows what she has to do. Because there is nothing stronger than a mother’s love…
An utterly unforgettable and devastating story, perfect for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Stolen from her Mother and Sold on a Monday.
Author Bio:
Marion Kummerow was born and raised in Germany, before she set out to "discover the world" and lived in various countries. In 1999 she returned to Germany and settled down in Munich where she's now living with her family.
Inspired by the true story about her grandparents, who belonged to the German resistance and fought against the Nazi regime, she started writing historical fiction, set during World War II. Her books are filled with raw emotions, fierce loyalty and resilience. She loves to put her characters through the mangle, making them reach deep within to find the strength to face moral dilemmas, take difficult decisions or fight for what is right. And she never forgets to include humor and undying love in her books, because ultimately love is what makes the world go round.
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