• The Midwife of Auschwitz

  • By: Anna Stuart
  • Narrated by: Sophie Aldred
  • Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (778 ratings)

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The Midwife of Auschwitz  By  cover art

The Midwife of Auschwitz

By: Anna Stuart
Narrated by: Sophie Aldred
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Publisher's 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.

©2022 Anna Stuart (P)2023 Bookouture, an imprint of Storyfire Ltd.

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)

What listeners say about The Midwife of Auschwitz

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Wrongly represented as a midwife book

I got this book because it pulled me in being a story of a midwife who helps save Auschwitz newborns torn from their mothers by tatooing them with their mothers number, so they might be reunited later. The main characters Anna and Esther, are kindly enuf and nicely tell stories of thier familes and lives, but nothing special happens.
Then the war starts, they end up on trains to the camps, and nothing much is relayed that hasnt been before about the horrors of camps and the monsters that the SS were. People die, starve, mulilated, brualized, shot.....and its just relayed in a matter of fact, I have to love them because, What Would Jesus Do? attitude.
I was expecting with over 3000 babies safely delivered alive in a place of little to no medical care and no way to surgically deliver them, some kind of explanarion of ways she helped to deliver breech births, footling breech births, transverse babies, multiples, babies too big for mothers pelvis, etc. SO many emergencies that apparently just didnt happen. All the babies were head first, correctly alligned, just slid out without tearing the mother or maternal hemmorages....no babies needing CPR.
OK, after the 10k deliveries I have been a part of in the past 30 years, Id love to believe this, but I dont.
I wanted to learn more about the tattooing of the babies. How many? How many lived? How many were reunited after the war? That was about a 2 paragraph peice and done. No real answers. Just back to the characters and how they are happy to see their families when the war is over.
it could have been such a deeper book instead of skimming over so many topics.

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25 people found this helpful

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

I just can’t..

I would like to start off by saying the Holocaust and everything involved was absolutely despicable. I am not someone who turns away from the sufferings of others.

I wanted to finish this book but I just couldn’t. I got to chapter fifteen and got physically ill. I read a review that said the book isn’t awfully gut wrenching but I found that not to be true for me. (I do happen to be VERY in touch with my emotions though lol)

If you are a mother of young children, this book is probably not for you. I just so happen to have a 1 year old and it hit a little too close to home for me.

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24 people found this helpful

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

This book deserves your attention!

Listened as part of a book club, and not the type of book I normally am drawn to. But this book. It’s heartbreaking, inspiring, overwhelming, and disturbing. It highlights a time that most people don’t want to revisit, and to be honest I wasn’t sure I wanted to dive in but I’m so glad I did. The two main characters captivated me quickly causing me to desperately need to know their story. The details of their lives are so hard to imagine, but the author tells the story so well that it doesn’t leave you traumatized or uneasy. I also liked that I didn’t expect it to end the way it did. Oh, and the narrators performance was spot on.
It really was such a good book, and I will be recommending it to people I know.

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15 people found this helpful

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

The midwife delivered

The book was captivating and opened my eyes to concepts of the period I had not considered (ie babies). A tender love story during a horrific point in history. Well written and well read.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Felt like a run on book

It just dragged on and on. It could’ve been cut in half but she just kept repeating everything over and over. It’s an gripping story that could’ve been told better.

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6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Why a British narrator????

Great book, but a British accent for the narrator made it a bit hard imagining German Soldiers.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story!

This World War 2 historical story was a great read. Anyone who enjoys WW2 history will enjoy this book, based on true events. The characters & story will keep you engrossed throughout.

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3 people found this helpful

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

Beautifully written. Unimaginable content.

We must not forget how easily the people turned on their friends and fellow citizens over government propaganda.

This book should be required reading in schools.

Absolutely stunning and unconscionable to think that a society could be manipulated to believing that one group of humans is superior and the rest, unworthy of life.

Remember covid and those who said - the unvaxxed were unworthy of - anything.

While is isn’t a gas chamber there were containment camps, and those unvaccinated are still not permitted to come to the US.

History will repeat itself.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Couldn’t put this down

Part of Holly Furtick’s book club. Normally wouldn’t choose a book about WW2, but as our choice this month, I listened. Oh my, this will be on my favorites list. I highly recommend it.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Heartbreaking and devastatingly good

I reluctantly agreed to listening to this book due to it being a book club book. My own family history traces back to this time and event in history. This story is hard to listen to as it’s to easy to put myself in these shoes, the author did a good job putting the reader in that time of history without dwelling too much on all of the horrific tragedies of that time.. but still, the tragedies are gutting, be prepared to cry... there’s hope, love, faith and goodness even in the darkest of places and times..

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1 person found this helpful