The German Wife

Review by Jean Side

Book: The German Wife by Kelly Rimmer

Every once in a while, I read a book that really makes me stop and think about the world we live in. The German Wife by Kelly Rimmer was one of those books. I really enjoyed it, although I have to say, parts of it were heartbreaking.

The story takes us back to Germany in the 1930s, when Hitler and the Nazi Party are coming to power. We meet Sofie Rhodes and her husband, Jürgen, a scientist who finds himself working on Germany’s rocket program. Although they don’t agree with Hitler’s beliefs, they soon discover that refusing to cooperate could cost them everything, including their lives and the lives of their children.

Imagine being put in that position. You don’t agree with what’s happening around you, but you’re terrified of what might happen to your family if you speak up. What would you do?

The story moves back and forth between Germany before and during World War II and Huntsville, Alabama, in 1950. After the war, Jürgen is recruited by the United States government to work on America’s rocket program. He is part of something called Operation Paperclip, a real program that brought German scientists, including men who had worked for the Nazi regime, to the United States.

Sofie hopes that coming to America will give her family a chance to leave the horrors of the war behind and start a new life. But things don’t turn out quite the way she imagined.

Instead of being welcomed with open arms, the family faces suspicion, resentment, and anger from people who question their involvement with the Nazis. And you can understand why some of those Americans feel the way they do. They had lost loved ones in the war and knew about the terrible things that had happened in Germany.

The book also introduces Lizzie, an American woman who has faced her own hardships growing up during the Depression and the Dust Bowl. Through these two women, we see how differently people can experience the same events and how difficult it can be to understand someone else’s circumstances.

What really got to me was thinking about all the ordinary people caught up in something they had so little control over. Families trying to survive, parents trying to protect their children, and people making decisions they never dreamed they’d have to make.

I couldn’t help comparing this book to The Lies They Told by Ellen Marie Wiseman. Although the stories and historical circumstances are different, both made me think about people coming to America hoping for a better life, only to discover that their troubles weren’t necessarily over.

And I couldn’t help thinking about what’s going on in our own country today.

We hear so much about immigration, deportation, and families being separated. Sometimes I think we forget that behind all the arguments and politics are real people. People with children, families, hopes, and dreams. People who may have left everything behind because they were frightened, desperate, or simply wanted a better future.

I know the circumstances aren’t all the same, and The German Wife also raises some very difficult questions about responsibility and what people were willing to overlook after the war. But that’s part of what makes this story so interesting. It isn’t always easy to decide who’s right and who’s wrong.

I kept thinking, what would I have done if I’d been in Sofie’s position? Would I have had the courage to stand up against what was happening, knowing my family might suffer for it? Or would I have done whatever I could to keep my children safe?

Those aren’t easy questions to answer when you’re sitting comfortably in your own home, never mind living through something so terrifying.

Kelly Rimmer does a wonderful job of making you care about her characters, even when you don’t necessarily agree with the choices they make. I found myself wanting to know what was going to happen to these families and how everything would work out.

I really liked The German Wife. It’s a good story, but it’s also so much more than that. It makes you think about fear, prejudice, survival, and how quickly people’s lives can change when those in power make decisions for everyone else.

If you enjoy historical fiction, especially books that make you think long after you’ve finished reading them, I definitely recommend this one.

Five stars from me! It’s a powerful story, and one that reminds us how important it is to remember the past and have a little compassion for what other people may be going through.

Read more from Jean at Bearly Hyde N’ Cabin Kronickles — Mama Bears Book Reviews.

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