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  • The German Midwife

  • Written by: Mandy Robotham
  • Narrated by: Julia Winwood
  • Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (257 ratings)

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The German Midwife

Written by: Mandy Robotham
Narrated by: Julia Winwood
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Publisher's Summary

The USA Today best seller. 

For fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Kate Furnivall comes a gritty tale of courage, betrayal and love in the most unlikely of places.

Germany, 1944. Taken from the camps to serve the Führer himself, Anke Hoff is assigned as midwife to one of Hitler’s inner circle. If she refuses, her family will die.

Torn between her duty as a caregiver and her hatred for the Nazi regime, Anke is swept into a life unlike anything she’s ever known - and she discovers that many of those at the Berghof are just as trapped as she is. And soon, she’s falling for a man who will make her world more complicated still.... 

Before long, the couple is faced with an impossible choice - and the consequences could be deadly. Can their forbidden love survive the horrors of war? And, more importantly, will they?

Published in the UK as A Woman of War Mandy Robotham’s highly awaited next book, The Secret Messenger, is out now. 

©2018 Mandy Robotham (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

What the critics say

"Incredibly powerful, harrowing but ultimately uplifting. I couldn’t put this down." (Katie Fforde)

"A fascinating story which had me forgetting it’s fiction! So well written, I was left pondering if the events could actually be true. Enthralling!" (Kitty Neale)

"The German Midwife is a book to harrow the soul and linger long in the mind. Anke, a German midwife sent to a labour camp for aiding Jewish mothers against Third Reich law, is whisked from hell-scape to eerie luxury when she is brought to Hitler's private mountain estate to care for his pregnant mistress Eva Braun. Mandy Robotham writes movingly of the eternal human struggle to preserve reverence for life in the midst of genocide and horror. A powerful, haunting debut." (Kate Quinn)

What listeners say about The German Midwife

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
  • Cat
  • 2019-11-09

Not as good as the critics’ reviews make you think

I did not enjoy this book at all. Started up promising, but it lacked any deep insight and character development. It was more a collection of graphic depictions of different child births than a narrative about the struggles of living during WW2. If you want to enjoy a good WW2 novel I highly recommend “the Alice Network”, or “The Nightingale”, or “the Room on Rue Amelie”. This one doesn’t come close.
And the narrator’s performance was tough, the whining was awful, exaggerated.

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5 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Absurdly far-fetched

If you're looking for a really great WWII story, keep looking... this isn't it.

I'm a lover of fiction, and I'm prepared to accept all kinds of implausibilities to enjoy a great story. But this book... no. It strayed too far over the line of absurdity to be enjoyed.

* * * SPOILER ALERT * * *

The astonishingly modern-minded Anke gets sent to a concentration camp where she witnesses unfathomable horrors, suffers extreme degradation, and is nearly starved to death. But then... crisis averted! She is plucked from the fire, hand-picked to offer her midwifery skills to Eva Braun. (There are apparently no skillful nazi-sympathizing midwives in Hitler's Germany.) You'd think that the trauma of the camp would have lasting effects on this poor woman's psyche, but no! After a few twinges of guilt she moves on, not only to assist Hitler's pregnant mistress, but to fall in love and start a sexual relationship WITH AN SS OFFICER. Again, you'd think that a woman freshly released from Ravensbruck would be unable to suppress a shudder of horror at those double lightning bolts, but not Anke! She can see right through the uniform to his gentle, tender, self-sacrificing SS heart. Neither of them have any misgivings about verbally criticizing the Reich while living in Hitler's Berchtesgaden retreat. The whole story was just so ridiculous and far-fetched that I found myself snorting with derision during scenes that were meant to be tense and exciting. What a waste of a good credit.

I will say that the author comes alive when writing about about labour & delivery -- those bits of the book were wonderfully written and absorbing!

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2 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

not what I was hoping

I found this book to be presented as being along the same lines as the Tattooist of Auschwitz.
It's not.
it's a fiction, and although the premise is extremely interesting, the story present several situations that are highly unlikely..
I do not read romance novels and that's pretty much what this was.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent book!

I strongly recommend this book. Very interesting. Narration was also excellent. Definitely worth your time.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Well written story

This book was well read, and a gripping story . Although it is fiction, the story was plausible.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A great book

This was a wonderful book! It held my interest to the very end. The story was interesting and well performed. I would recommend this book to anyone.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

I found this book to be excellent. Despite the love story being a little far-fetched, the great details about the differences in pregnancy and delivery between the two groups of women was astounding and teaches us so much about the realities during WWII. I enjoyed how the descriptions in the book made me feel an array of emotions, which is what I like when reading, as it feels more like an immersive experience than just reading words. Highly recommend.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Realistic WWII creative work

This book keeps you engaged and satisfied throughout. Well written and well performed. I enjoyed it very much.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good listen

I enjoyed the story, but did struggle several times with the narrator's whiny depiction of some of the minor character's voices. Overall, an enjoyable listen.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Gripping

This was gripping, suspenseful and powerful. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and the narrator was easy to listen to as well

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