Resistance Women by Jennifer Chiaverini

                                                            

Title: Resistance Women
Author: Jennifer Chiaverini
Genre: Historical Fiction


Other books that I have read by this author:
Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker: A Novel, The Spymistress: A Novel, Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule, Fates and Traitors, Mrs. Lincoln's Rival, Enchantress of Numbers

Synopsis: "After Wisconsin graduate student Mildred Fish marries brilliant German economist Arvid Harnack, she accompanies him to his German homeland, where a promising future awaits. In the thriving intellectual culture of 1930s Berlin, the newlyweds create a rich new life filled with love, friendships, and rewarding work—but the rise of a malevolent new political faction inexorably changes their fate.

As Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party wield violence and lies to seize power, Mildred, Arvid, and their friends resolve to resist. Mildred gathers intelligence for her American contacts, including Martha Dodd, the vivacious and very modern daughter of the US ambassador. Her German friends, aspiring author Greta Kuckoff and literature student Sara Weitz, risk their lives to collect information from journalists, military officers, and officials within the highest levels of the Nazi regime.

For years, Mildred’s network stealthily fights to bring down the Third Reich from within. But when Nazi radio operatives detect an errant Russian signal, the Harnack resistance cell is exposed, with fatal consequences." - back cover

My Thoughts

I loved everything about this book. The story was gripping, the characters realistic and relatable, and it's a WWII novel unlike any I have read before. It is set in Germany and is told from the perspective of different women living in Germany during Hitler's rise to power and during the war.

 I have often read WWII novels set in concentration camps or in England, highlighting the plights of the people being persecuted and attacked by the war. It is really intriguing to read about people living in Germany who did not condone or understand the support that the Nazis were receiving from so many of the German citizens, or why the League of Nations did so little to stop their rise to power. It shows just how easily a democratic country can slip into a fascist dictatorship if people stand by and let it happen. 

The four main women depicted in the story are all working to overthrow the Nazi regime. Mildred is an American ex-pat living in Germany with her antifascist German husband. Greta is a german-born student who studied in Wisconsin, having met Mildred and her husband during her time there. Sara is a native German whose family loses everything as the rights of Jewish people are taken away one-by-one. Finally, Martha is the daughter of the American ambassador living with her parents and brother in Germany while their father performs his duties. Three of the women are based on actual historical figures, and Sara is based on many Jewish women living in Germany at the time.

Reading about their resistance efforts in a time when being caught was treason and almost certain death is unbelievable. They believed in the good and beautiful Germany of their youths and were fighting against the horrific actions of the barbaric group allowed to take over the government.



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