Thank you to NetGalley and Anna Stuart for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback and review.

Ana is a midwife in Poland when the Nazis invade and take over. Her friend Ester, a nurse and a Jew, is forced into the ghettos with her family. Ana's family realizes things are getting very bad for the Jewish people of Poland forced into the ghettos and vows to help any way they can. When both women end up in Auschwitz-Birkenau Ana declares that she is a midwife and Ester is her assistant. Together they help thousands of women give birth even in the face of despair. When Ester's belly begins to grow they realize they have to come up with a plan so the children who are being taken to be "Germanized" can be reunited one day with their mothers.

This novel made me an emotional wreck. Even though this is historical fiction it is based on a true story. Reading about the very real horrors that Nazis imposed on people who didn't agree with them or were different from them brings all the emotions to the surface. It is such an important time in history that much be retold and remembered so we do not repeat these mistakes. I highly recommend this book to everyone! Readers of all genres need to read this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback!

The Midwife of Auschwitz by Anna Stuart is a fictionalized account of a real woman who helped her Jewish neighbors during WW2 and was sent to Auschwitz as a result. Stanislawa Leszczyńska was a midwife in Łódź, Poland, and although she was not Jewish herself, she and her family rebelled against the Nazis to help those that were imprisoned in the Polish ghettos. Once at the prison camp, the guards discovered that she was an experienced midwife, which became her daily job at the camp. Over her two-year stay there, she delivered over 3,000 babies and did not lose one mother or baby during delivery. This fact alone would make her a hero, but to think about the heinous conditions they were in with no medical supplies whatsoever wholly takes it to another level. Her commitment to serving these innocent women and their children is awe-inspiring and we should all strive to be more like her.

A couple of the quotes from the book that stood out to me were so beautiful on their own and even more poignant because they're still relevant to the current state of our world:
- One of the main characters Ana speaks to other resistance workers: "Thank you for your hard work. It is vital, vital. These Nazis think they have won with their tanks and their guns and their insidious brand of hate, but we will undermine them with patience, quiet strength and care."
- The other main character, Esther, reflects while in prison: "Her poor, weary mind had no idea anymore if God was watching over them in Birkenau, but she knew for sure that, if he was, he must be weeping."

I absolutely loved reading this story and knowing that most of it was based on real events made it even better for me. Reading about the Holocaust is not fun or enjoyable, but Anna Stuart was able to intertwine the historical and emotional components in a beautiful and thought-provoking way. This story will stay with me for a long time.

This historical fiction novel which took place in Auschwitz, although the novel did follow the traditional format of a World War novel. What makes this novel was that the content of true stories.
The main charters were Anna Kaminski and Ester Pasternak which were forced inside the gate of Auschwitz and Anna declared that she was a midwife and Ester was her assistant. Sadly, the women of the camp witnessed the removal of their newborns and gave them to a German family to raise. if the infants had nonJewish features,, Of course Jewish infants with Jewish features were put to death immediately after birth.
"Why are babies being murdered?""
"If the babies were blond, they cannot be Jewish", which the SS called this 'Germanisation. Klara the female guard, was a cruel female, and she had no nurturing traits in her body. One of Klara's tasks was to drown the infants after their birth with no regrets. According to the kapo, "I realize that killing babies was more lucrative than birthing them."
I want to thank Anna Stuart, Bookoture, NetGalley for the privlidge of reading this novel, which i wrote an honest review.
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This book had me hooked from the beginning. I’ve read a lot of books told from Auschwitz. Not one you can say you look f to reading. But I did enjoy it. If that’s the right thing to say. The book was very well written and flowed well. Great descriptive writing.

The Midwife of Auschwitz is inspired by a true story, of the courage of 2 women in their fight to attempt to reunite mothers and children after the war. Anna, a Polish midwife, and her friend Ester, a Jewish nurse end up being sent to Auschwitz. Anna and Ester were spared from extermination due to their careers in the medical field. They ended up delivering over 3,000 babies in the camp. Anna and Ester secretly come up with a plan to tattoo the healthy blonde hair babies that are sent out of the camp for adoption German couples. This book deserves more than 5 stars for the accurate, well researched depiction of the Jewish concentration camp life. This book drew me in from the first page. While this book was painful to read at times, I didn’t want to stop as I wanted to see what would happen next. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy in exchange for my honest review.

It took a while before I picked this book up, I was just not in the right headspace for it, but once I started reading, I had trouble putting it down.

This is a harrowing read, no doubt about it, and if you are of a gentle disposition, be warned, there are some graphic descriptions in this book! However, there were beautiful parts too.

Ana is a Catholic midwife, working in Lodz, Poland. She is happy in her marriage and has three strapping sons who are all forging their paths in the world. Ester is a Jewish nurse, who has a sweetheart called Filip. These two women are the main characters in this book, and considering the book starts at the beginning of WWII, you know that there is lots of drama ahead.

Yes, there are lots of graphic descriptions of what happens in a concentration camp. But one of the most amazing things that I had no idea about is that over 3000 babies were born in Auschwitz alone! I just didn't think about women giving birth under those circumstances and in those numbers, the mind just boggles. Goes to show how huge the numbers of people in Auschwitz were, actually, I can't even get my brain around it.

Anyhow, for me, it was more about the human spirit, the power of love and friendship, kindness, than anything else.

Ana and Ester are amazing women and I just LOVE that they are based on real people. The author did a lot of research into this book and I think that it pays homage to these champions of women and their babies.

5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.

The Midwife of Auschwitz is both difficult to read and beautifully written. The novel is about Ana, a midwife and member of the resistance in Poland in 1943 who becomes a prisoner at Auschwitz and her friend and assistant Ester. They go on to deliver many babies in the concentration camp and continue to fight for these women and their babies. Guards would take newly delivered healthy blonde babies and send them to German families. Ana and Ester would secretly tattoo the babies under their arms in hopes they would be reunited with their families when the war was over. The Midwife of Auschwitz is a story about motherhood, friendship, resilience, and faith. What an incredible story! I highly recommend this novel to everyone. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC.

So sad but so beautiful at the same time. I will be recommending this to my followers who are obsessed with historical fiction.

TRIGGER WARNING: Holocaust, graphic violence, infanticide.

Ana and Esther are two Polish women, one Jewish and one in the Resistance, who both end up in Auschwitz. And when it comes to light that they're both midwives, they're put to work helping the women of the camp give birth. But the children aren't given the chance to live, ripped from their mothers to be given to German parents if they look Aryan enough, or killed by the SS. Still, Ana and Esther work as hard as they can to save the children and their mothers.

This book wrecked me. Based on the true story of a midwife at Auschwitz, it made my heart ache, and I kept hoping for a happily ever after for everyone involved. But this wasn't a love story, and I don't want to say much more without giving spoilers, but I found this to be a very well written, very well researched, historical novel. I studied WW2 in college, and have been to Auschwitz, and can say that the author's descriptions of many of the places in Poland, and at Auschwitz, line up with what I have seen myself. 5/5 stars. Bring the tissues.

I was provided an ARC copy of this book through Netgalley. My thanks to the publisher and the author for providing it to me.

This story is based on true historical events. The book is beautifully written and is definitely heart wrenching. I think book clubs will enjoy discussing this one.

I loved this book. The introduction of the story sucked me in at once and the author was able to navigate a tough topic well!

This book was inspirational, heartbreaking, and gripping! I was pulled in immediately and the story that unfolded was beautiful. The story has short chapters from both Ana and Esters perspective ranging from 1939-1946 and it definitely pulled at some heart strings and was based on a true story!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and Anna Stuart for the advanced copy for an honest review!

TRIGGER WARNING: graphic Holocaust violence including infanticide
Ana and Ester are friends in Lodz, Poland when the Nazis invade. Both are forced from their homes as a ghetto is established and Ester is locked inside. Ana is eager to help the Jewish community but this brings her to the attention of the Gestapo. Both women are sent to Auschwitz where they put their nursing and midwidery skills to good use.
The Midwife of Auschwitz is an historical novel set in Poland during the Nazi occupation. It is based on a true story but the two main characters are both fictional.
Ana is a midwife and Ester is a nurse and their skills save them from selection for the gas chambers when they arrive. Together they tend to the pregnant women in Auschwitz but the babies are killed or taken to be Germanised. They tattoo the mother's number into the armpit of the babies in the hope that they can one day be reunited. There is hope and love in spite of the horrific ordeals in the camp.
The horrors that Ester and Ana witness and experience are explicitly described. I had to put the book down several times as the violence is so realistically recounted. Love for each other and for their families keeps the women going in the harshest of circumstances. The emotion and heartache are very raw and I was completely absorbed into the story.
The Midwife of Auschwitz is harrowing but a wonderful testament to the endurance of love.

I have been reading more and more faith based literature, and although this book does not necessarily fall into that category, it was a very inspirational nevertheless. The main character Anna struggled to understand how her God could allow such suffering and cruelty, but through her faith and strength managed to survive and even help others who so desperately needed her. This is a very emotional book that is uplifting despite its subject matter.

Breathtaking! This book is superior to The Tattooist of Auschwitz. I was drawn in and dedicated to the survival of these characters from the beginning. Anna Stuart approaches this book in a way that makes the story approachable even with the difficult subject matter. Readers should not shy away because of "Auschwitz" in the title. Well researched and realistic to the time, this story should be at the top of anyone's list of historical fiction list!

This book is inspired by a true story and you might want to bring your tissues - it’s a tearjerker!

I was completely drawn into this book from the very beginning. The story is so powerful as we follow the stories of Ester and Ana as WWII breaks out and they are sent to work for the Nazis with the horrific job of delivering and then disposing of Jewish babies. A heartbreaking story line but the harsh reality of the war.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for supplying me with an advanced readers copy of this book.

If you've read 'Night' by Elie Wiesel or 'The tattooist of Auschwitz' then this is the book for you or if you just want read about another aspect of the concentration camps, I recommend this!

Starting in 1939, the beginning of WWII, we're following Ester a Jewish trainee nurse and Ana a Polish midwife. When the Reich take over the city of Lodz, Ana and Ester are separated by patrolled barbed wire fences. Ester is trying her best to keep her family safe, whilst on the other side of the fence Ana is joining the resistance.
Both women end up in the concentration camp Birkenau tending and delivering babies of poor women that are being starved and abused to only have their babies killed or sent to German families. The only thing that can get them through this utter torment is hope! Hope for liberation, and hope to see their loved ones again.

This story is based on true events that occurred in the concentration camps. 3000 babies were born in the camps, either from already pregnant prisoners or victims of rape from the German officers.
This is such a harrowing and haunting story and it doesn't matter how many different versions of it I read..I will never fully comprehend the suffering and agony that these millions of people went through. The key to survival is hope and to lose hope is to die. Images and memories of loved ones is what gave people hope.
This is definitely a compelling read and has short chapters from both Ana and Esters perspective ranging from 1939-1946.

I love a historical read and anything nursey/midwifery so knew I would enjoy this even though heartbreaking as it was. Thank you so much for the chance to read this

This book was amazingly written, heartbreaking and raw, this story was delivered in a way that was needed. I have read many historical fiction novels set in WWII and I still learned so many things that I did not know. Amazing book about an anazing woman. 5 stars.

It was a courageous, heartbreaking story based on true events and it was hearttbreaking and gripping.
The hardship of doing what is right even in the midst of persecution and hardship of being in a concentration camp.
Its worth re-reading and you can remember that we said "never again" but it's happening now!