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The Midwife of Auschwitz
- Narrated by: Sophie Aldred
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
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Summary
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….
Inspired by an incredible true story, this poignant novel tells of one woman’s fight for love, life, and hope during a time of unimaginable darkness.
Ana Kaminski is pushed through the iron gates of Auschwitz beside her frightened young friend Ester Pasternak. As they reach the front of the line, Ana steps forward and quietly declares herself a midwife--and Ester her assistant. Their arms are tattooed and they’re ordered to the maternity hut. Holding an innocent newborn baby, Ana knows the fate of so many are in her hands and vows to do everything she can to save them.
When two guards in their chilling SS uniforms march in and snatch a blond-haired baby from its mother, it’s almost too much for Ana to bear. Consoling the distraught woman, Ana realises amid the terrible heartache there is a glimmer of hope. The guards are taking the healthiest babies and placing them with German families, so they will survive. And there are whispers the war is nearly over.... Ana and Ester begin to secretly tattoo little ones with their mother’s numbers, praying one day they might be reunited.
Then, early one morning, Ana notices the small bump under Ester’s thin striped clothing.
An absolutely heartbreaking WW2 novel of one woman’s bravery and determination to bring life and hope into a broken world. Fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Alice Network, and The Nightingale will be gripped.
Critic reviews
"An absolute must read. I devoured this book in its entirety… I am almost speechless… a box of Kleenex is mandatory. I absolutely loved this book, historical fiction at its best!… Definitely worth ten stars.: (Page Turners)
"Whoa! Don’t take those tissues away, I’m not quite cried out just yet! Happy tears, sad tears, who knows where one ends and the other begins!… Beautiful, heartbreaking, heart-warming, uplifting and inspirational." (Fiction Books)
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What listeners say about The Midwife of Auschwitz
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Christina
- 26-09-22
Heartfelt story
The narrator was brilliant and really made the story come to life. It was incredibly heartfelt and even made me cry at some parts. It’s quite long (11.5 hours) but worth the read.
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2 people found this helpful
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- GrandGennetay
- 14-09-22
Disappointing
The story is fascinating but sadly, in this book, seems incomplete. Assuming the tattooing is historically accurate why don’t we know more about the parents who adopted the babies and how they came to give them back? Or indeed why? One assumes they weren’t told where their babies had come from and giving them back must have involved a process that was heart breaking for some of them. What was their reaction when they found a tattoo? Who did they inform?
I also felt that the conditions in the camp were not grim enough - it’s hard to imagine that after two years of starvation, deprivation and ill treatment, a small number of women were strong enough to kick in a door. Maybe I’m wrong but it’s hard to believe.
The narrator did an ok job. Her voice was a bit irritating but she did manage to read clearly and her vocal characterization was not bad.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Chris Mc
- 19-03-24
Excellent
Highly recommend this book.
Absolutely compelling listening!
Very thought provoking and moving story
One of the best historical about the holocaust I’ve ever listened to!
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- KN
- 06-03-24
incrediblt moving
A very emotional and at times devastating story delivered powerfully by the narrator. Highly recommend listening!
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- Bev Waterhouse
- 06-03-24
Interesting concept and I have never considered labour and birth in concentration camps
Not my usual book, I felt writing was fairly weak and amateurish. Concept interesting but parts felt hurried and characters weren’t developed.
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- keith morgan
- 31-01-24
it had me gripped
it was emotional and shocking but was brilliantly written and showed how brave the characters were
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- Mrs S.
- 07-11-23
An emotionally charged story
A very poignant story of love and survival, especially with what’s going on in the world today. Thank you
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- Mrs Smith 2000
- 15-10-23
Disappointingly bad
This has such potential. But there were two main issues.
1. It's like it's been written by a 16 year old. Really basic and simple. Impossible to develop and emotional connection to the characters or storyline, despite the harrowing nature. There are parts that have obviously just been guessed at, that a simple Google search could have provided the facts needed. Such as Anna delivering 3000 babies in 2 years. This means she would have been delivering about 4 a day. Plus it's easy to find out that the realistic figure was more around 700 births. And the fact that she never lost a baby is ridiculous. The stillbirth rate in 1940 (in standard living conditions) was about 23 in 1000, so again, basic research wasn't done.
2. The narrator sounded like she was reading a cbeebies book at bedtime. Such a bad choice.
I finished this out of curiosity, but wish i hadn't even started it tbh.
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- Angel Smith
- 01-10-23
Narrator alert
The narrator completely ruined this book for me. She read it with a very British accent and her attempt at portraying humour or irony just blurred into the rest. I will reread the actual book because the story is poignant and horrific and worth a revisit. The characters are real and warm and brave and funny. I would recommend the book, just not read in a n upbeat way.
Just my opinion!
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- J Ruby
- 26-08-23
Great story but wrong narrator
The narrator had the wrong tone for this story - it sounded like she was reading a story to children.
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