What a great historical fiction piece. I think this will appeal to many. It was enjoyable and heart breaking all at once. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review

Wow! Heartbreaking, inspirational, horrifying. Crying and sometimes cheering for the Jewish and resistance people held in camps like Auschwitz. Characters were so well developed and I hate to say it, but the atrocities so w ell written and researched. This one is sticking in my thoughts long after I finished the last page.

Made me Cry

This well-researched book, well, frankly, it made me cry. It is even more poignant given the current war in Ukraine.

Thank you to the publisher who lent me a time constrained e-arc via netgalley. This review is optional and my own opinion.

I have such conflicting feelings about this book, but overall it was just ok for me. On the one hand I can appreciate how historical fiction can help us access events, and people, and time periods of the past, to help us wonder and understand. In the case of the Holocaust, it was Lois Lowry’s book Number the Stars that helped me first access these events as a 4th grader. Perhaps I've just read too many Holocaust set historical fiction novels, because now I find that more and more I think centering the voices of the survivors is more important than these fictionalized accounts.

While I can appreciate Stuart’s attempts to bring one person’s story to life (and every single story from this tragic event has value in being shared) ultimately it fell short of what I hoped for. The writing itself was not of a quality that this would make a top recommendation for me. Reading these pages there was an emotional shallowness and detachment that was evident in the voice used by the narrator. There was lots of telling us sad things, but the emotional depth was lacking. I think Stuart has empathy for these events, but as someone who didn’t live through it, she was unable to really take me as a reader into the experience. I think reading nonfiction accounts of the midwife would have been just as informative and had a greater impact on readers than this fictionalized account.

I do appreciate the opportunity that NetGalley and Bookoture gave me to read this book for my honest review, and I wish that I had more positives to say.

Synopsis: “Being a midwife was the one thing she truly knew and the one thing she would do until they were all, finally, liberated.” World War 2 finds midwife Ana Kaminski behind the gates of the Auschwitz-Birkenau and with her, her young assistant Ester Pasternak who she promised to look after as her own daughter, a noble and near impossible task. But not nearly as difficult as saving babies born in this living hell. Attempting to cling to any sliver of hope, Ana and Ester lean on each other and others in the camp in a desperate attempt to save lives and survive.

Analysis: It’s been a really long time since I stayed up late devouring a book, but it was well worth the sleep deprivation. Written with heart-stirring emotion and excellent historical research, these characters and this story keep the pages quickly turning. My heart broke for Ana and Ester over and over again through the tragic events of their story. But the humanity, hope, and heroism displayed in these pages is so important for all of us to remember. Inspired by real people and true events, this is a historical fiction you don’t want to miss!

PS - this was my first Anna Stuart book, but it definitely won’t be my last!
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Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The midwife of Auschwitz is based on a true story. It is about Ana Kaminski and Ester Pasternak, at the beginning being pushed into ‘ghettos’ and treated disrespectfully, and inhuman ways. They eventually get taken to the Birkenau-Auschwitz camp and see the brutal ways people are treated there, and what they have to do to survive to hopefully see their family again. Being a midwife, helping mothers in labor, then see the horror afterwards.

Another brutal but important book about WW2. It was hard reading this book, and there were times it was a little too much so I had to pause it. This book has a perspective I haven’t read about before, because what happened to the women who were pregnant? I read about the horrible stuff happening with medical experiments, I just hadn’t read about the babies. Because babies were born. In a death camp.

The book was an okay read, and I got more information about WW2 than I had before reading this. It showed that the author had done their research. The brutality felt so real with all the descriptive scenes written in this book.

So if you like to read history novels, a novel based on a true story, or about WW2, then this is the book for you.

This novel will appeal to fans of historical fiction, WWII fiction, and strong female protagonists. The two main character's stories are very compelling.

A well written book inspired by a true story.
Ana knows she must find a way to make it to the right line in Auschwitz, and she declares herself to be a midwife. What follows is the heartbreaking story of babies and mothers in the most hellish of places.

The Midwife of Auschwitz is a story based on a true story. Ana, a catholic midwife, continues to help the women of Poland though it is against the law. Ana is sent to Auschwitz and continues help in the most horrendous of situations.

Anna Stuart has done a wonderful job with telling the story and her research is very evident. I would definitely recommend this book.

Thank you to #netgalley and #bookouture for allowing me to read the eARC of this book. All opinions expressed above are my own.

Every story about the Holocaust is heartbreaking. It’s a very dark part of the history of human kind. But still it’s important to tell the story in interesting way. The beginning was very dull and it took me along time to connect to the characters and the story but then it became very interesting and I couldn’t put the book down.

The Midwife of Auschwitz was an enthralling book that kept my rapt attention for the 24 hours that it took me to read it. It broke my heart to realize all over again that the events in this book happened to real people, and that people could be so heartless. But, some of the characters in the story also gave me hope for the kindness and resilience of human hearts.

Ana Kaminski, a midwife, meets a young Jewish woman named Ester Pasternak. At that time, she has no idea how their paths will intertwine for the rest of their lives. Both struggle to survive and save their families in a world that is crashing around them because of Nazi Germany. Eventually, they both end up in the hell called Auschwitz. Ana reveals that she is a midwife, and claims Ester as her assistant. The two of them begin working to try to preserve life in a place where death knocks daily. They keep overcoming the odds, but then Ester realizes that she is pregnant.

What future awaits these courageous women? Will they ever see their loved ones again? I loved to see the camaraderie between the women imprisoned at Auschwitz, and how they held each other up through impossible conditions. I highly recommend picking up a copy of this book, but make sure you schedule time to read it, because you will not want to put it down!

The Midwife of Auschwitz’s by Anna Stuart! Thank you to the author & Bookouture for my eARC of this beautiful beautiful book.

I don’t even know what to say here. You have to read this for yourself. It is absolutely heartbreaking, earth shattering but also absolutely full of love and above all- hope. The characters are beautifully written and Stuart truly went above and beyond in the raw emotion omitted from the lives of these characters. It’s heart breaking knowing this was a reality. So grateful this book made its way into my hands. As a mother this book hit differently then I think it would have before I had Zoey. It made it all the more real and made you realize how truly unimaginable becoming a mother and being a midwife in these times would have been.

“But love cannot be ravaged by guns and tanks and evil ideologies. Love cannot be cut off by distance or absence, by hunger or cold, by beatings or degradations. And love can reach across blood, whatever the Nazis believed, and make connections that are worth a million sick ideologies.”

Read it- now !

A gripping and emotional story that is based on a true story and will stay with you long after you finish reading. As it alternates between Ana and Esther, a tale of loss and hope emerges.

This is a book for the lovers of Tattooist of Auschwitz, and other Holocaust WWII novels.

The Midwife of Auschwitz is a novel based on an incredible true story. Ana Kaminski and her family are polish living in Łódź, Poland. Ester Pasternak is a young woman newly married to Filip living with her parents and sister. As the German's infiltrate the town, the Jewish are rounded up and moved into the 'Ghetto' where multiple families are crammed into homes. Ester realises the lack of Midwives in the Ghetto and approaches Ana on the outside to provide her with supplies and knowledge. There is hope as people start to resist and plans are made of escape.
In 1943, the inevitable happens, and Ana and Ester arrive in Auschwitz. Throughout their time at Auschwitz, they bravely birth thousands of babies into the darkest part of the world. With great courage, they tattoo the babies with the number of their mother's in the hope to be reunited in future. Will there be a future?

This would never be an easy read given the truly horrific and dark times in Auschwitz, but they are important. It is important to understand the events of history along with the heartbreak, courage, hope and the power of love. The strength it would have taken to survive such times in unimaginable, let alone using the time to help others. Thank you to Anna Stuart and Netgallery for providing me with a copy for a review. A full 5 stars from me!

Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture, and Anna Stuart for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, but I tend to avoid requesting WWII ARCs because sometimes it feels like there have been so many takes on that setting that the stories don't feel original anymore. However, when I saw this book on NetGalley, I had to take a chance on it, because I've never seen a WWII novel that centered specifically on the care of mothers and babies in concentration camps. I am so glad that I gave this book a try!

This story is told through the dual perspectives of Ana Kaminski, a Polish Catholic midwife, and Ester Pasternak, a young Jewish woman who was brought into the world by Ana herself. There's quite a bit of build-up leading to the main storyline of the book, but both women end up getting sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where Ana successfully manages to get assigned to the camp's maternity ward with Ester as her assistant.

The story was simultaneously heartbreaking yet uplifting. Ana and Ester find meaning in trying to provide care to women in hopeless, horrible circumstances, and while they're more often than not faced with violence and defeat, they manage to always act in love despite the hate they encounter. Sometimes, I found the timeline of events to be a bit confusing - time passes very inconsistently in this story and it was sometimes hard to line up the story timeline with the timeline of the war. Some readers may be frustrated that more characters survive than likely would in "real life," but as a reader who always appreciates a happy ending, I was relieved to see most of the story wrap up in a positive way.

I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to read this book. You will need your tissues ready, but if you have a passion for maternity issues and like historical fiction, I recommend that you read this book!

Inspired by the life events of Stanisława Leszczyńska – a Polish midwife who was imprisoned in Auschwitz-Birkenau, The midwife of Auschwitz is an applaudable fictional telling of the bleak and horrendous conditions found in the Nazi sanctioned Jewish ghettos of Poland, and makeshift ‘maternity ward’ at Auschwitz extermination camp.

Stewart’s extensive research has rendered a heartbreaking novel about the inconceivable atrocities endured by expectant mothers and the women who cared for them. This is a story that is a tribute to the strength of kinship, and the fleeting moments of hope that aided survival in the darkest of environments.

At times, I thought aspects of the storyline were a little too conveniently scripted, and that the dialogue failed to convey the intensity of the characters’ experiences. As a reader I felt emotionally disconnected, which is not something I expect when reading about the Holocaust. However, I appreciate that attempting to reframe the reality of an inhumane period in history into a fictional narrative is no easy feat, and despite the emotive disconnect, I can say, I was deeply engrossed and fascinated by the story of Ana Kaminski and Ester Pasternak.

The Midwife of Auschwitz is an eye-opening account of how 3000 babies came to draw their first breaths – and for most their last – under the ashes of immense death and despair.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Publishing for providing me with an e-arc.

This book was both heartbreaking and riveting. Each time I read a WWII book, I am put in a different experience by the author and I learn new things about the war and the horrific atrocities the Nazis put people through. This story was told from the view of two women, Ana - a Catholic, and Ester - a Jew. Both women enter Auschwitz-Birkenau together and are thrown into a world of filth, disease, death and despair. As self-declared midwives, they do everything in their power to help pregnant women survive, even as their babies are stolen days after birth to be given to German families. Through everything they faced, Ana and Ester refused to give up, proving that no amount of evil can kill hope.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

This is the most beautiful historical fiction story I have ever read. Amazing I loved it from the start to the finish. Although I went through a few tissues.

This is based on the real life of a Polish Catholic woman who was sent to Auschwitz when it was discovered her and her family are where members of the resistance. In this fictional account the main characters are Ana and Ester. The unique viewpoint of midwives during the holocaust plus the religious differences between Ana and Ester make this a captivating tale that has not been really captured before.it is well written and will have you hooked the from start.

Auschwitz, 1943: As I held the tiny baby in my arms, my fingers traced the black tattoo etched across her little thigh. And I prayed that one day this set of numbers, identical to her mother’s, would have the power to reunite a family torn apart by war…”

Heart-wrenching, harrowing, haunting and hopeful, The Midwife of Auschwitz is a story of love, strength and courage. Based on an incredible true story, we follow two women as they fight to survive one of the darkest times in our history. Opening the day Germany invades Poland we follow Ester, a young Jewish girl, and Ana, a Catholic midwife, as their worlds are turned upside down and even Ester’s wedding day isn’t safe from the wrath of the Gestapo. They are uprooted from their homes and later, in a cruel twist of fate, find themselves on the same transport to Auschwitz where they serve as midwives in a place where even the newest lives are far from sacred.

"The invaders had taken their city and now they were going to divide its people. Some fool man had decided that the baby Ana had brought into the world eighteen years ago, naked and innocent, was in some way less valuable than any other and was out to eliminate her and her kin from the earth. This was surely not just war, but the end of civilisation. "

Anna Stuart is a skilled storyteller. She takes us inside the hearts and minds of Ana and Ester, their sorrow, pain, terror and rage so palpable I was moved to tears. Her evocative imagery makes the barbaric inhumanity of Auschwitz and the Ghetto feel so vivid that I could almost feel the lice crawling on my skin. The Holocaust is a brutal, raw and heartbreaking subject, but Ms. Stuart also writes with compassion, allowing us to also see the characters’ resilience, their acts of kindness, and how they held onto humanity whenever they could. Ana and Ester are true heroines who are written so evocatively that I could feel everything they did. Their sorrow, pain, terror and rage leaps from the pages and they teach us about bravery again and again as they stand up against evil, risking their lives in the process. It is impossible not to be moved by the way some were so determined to bring hope to others even when everything around them seemed helpless.

"This is war and it isn't all fought on battlefields."

Powerful, poignant and moving, this remarkable story is one I’ll never forget. While it isn’t an easy read, it is an incredibly important one that I highly recommend.