Publisher: Harper Collins UK
Release date: 9 December 2022
Back cover blurb: Rumours of the Nazis coming for Czech children swept through the villages like a breeze through the trees, and the story was always the same… They wanted our children to raise as their own. Since her husband, Josef, joined the Czech resistance three years ago, Anna Dankova has done everything possible to keep her daughter, Ema, safe. But when blonde haired, blue-eyed Ema is ripped from her mother’s arms in the local marketplace by the dreaded Brown Sisters, nurses who were dedicated to Hitler’s cause, Anna is forced to go to new extremes to take back what the Nazis have stolen from her. Going undercover as a devoted German subject eager to prove her worth to the Reich, the former actress takes on a role of a lifetime to find and save her daughter. But getting close to Ema is one thing. Convincing her that the Germans are lying when they claim Anna stole her from her true parents is another…
A Child for the Reich is the first Andie Newton book I've come across, but I hope it won’t be the last.
A harrowing account of a Mother’s fight for to keep her child safe during the atrocities of WW2.
As a Czech living in occupied territory, Anna is always on her guard, particularly as her husband is part of the resistance.
There are rumours that the infamous brown shirts are taking the local children for the Reich, and Anna is determined not to let her child or her sisters be captured.
Until one day the unthinkable happens and Ema is snatched from almost right under her nose
Her search leads her to a nursery in Dresden, which as well as holding children that have been taken from their homeland, is also hiding another secret. It is 'looking after' beautiful young women who have agreed to be part of the liebensborn programme.
Despite the many (many) historical fiction books I’ve read, I think this is the first that explores this programme, and the stealing of children for the Reich in any depth, and whilst horrifying, it’s important that we never forget this amongst the many other atrocities committed.
A Child for the Reich is a beautifully written novel of great importance. A must read.
A Child for the Reich is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.
Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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