Some books move you so profoundly that when you turn the final page, you must sit quietly, reflecting on the words you just read. Such is Mario Escobar’s painfully beautiful “Auschwitz Lullaby.”
A World War II era novel, “Auschwitz Lullaby” tells the based-on-real-life story of Helene Hannemann, a German nurse who was married to a Gypsy man at a time when bigotry reigned and evil attempted to conquer good.
When Helene’s husband and five children are rounded up to be taken to Auschwitz’s Birkenau camp for being Gypsies, she refuses to leave them even though she is of “pure Aryan stock” and could remain free. Although separated from her husband, she is able to remain with her children and fight for their very existence.
Because she was a nurse and of German breed, she is asked to run a Gypsy nursery school by the cruel Dr. Mengele, also a real-life figure. Through her strength, courage and fortitude, Helene is able to run the school, supplying brief relief for the children for a year. As she repeatedly finds the strength to stand up to Dr. Mengele, she is able to bring glimmers of hope to Gypsy children and their parents, bringing some positivity to a dark and deadly world.
“Auschwitz Lullaby” is terribly difficult to read on an emotional level, yet incredibly inspiring and moving. It is a story of man at its very lowest — the hatred exhibited by the Nazi party and the cruel conditions they forced those in the concentration camps to live in is so very difficult to absorb. Yet it also reveals man at its very best — the strength and self-sacrifice shown by Helene is amazing.
Readers will find inspiration from Helene to seek out ways in their own lives to help one another — to truly make a difference. Helene took her role at Birkenau very seriously, considering it a “sacred mission” to save the Gypsy children. If she can make a difference in her circumstances, surely we can each make a difference in our own lives.
Even through a difficult, almost panic-laced read, we can find inspiration from these characters. Helene reminds us that even in the horrific times she faced, the Nazis could never take their souls or steal their humanity, no matter how hard they tried. This story reminds us that no matter how difficult things get, we must always hold on to our dignity; and the necessity of loving our enemies lest we become monsters too. It also forces us to evaluate the true value of things. (“Sometimes we have to lose everything to find what is most important. When life robs us of what we thought we could not live without and leaves us standing naked before reality, the essential things that had always been invisible take on their true value.”)
Lovers of historical fiction, especially World War II and Holocaust stories, will love “Auschwitz Lullaby.” And because it is based on real-life characters, it reads both like a fiction story and an autobiography. It will move you, forcing you to face humanity in all its glory and all its cruelty.
Five stars out of five.
Thomas Nelson provided this complimentary copy for my honest, unbiased review.