Just when I think that I have a handle on how treacherous and dehumanizing Nazi concentration camps were during WWII, I find another perspective in a historical fiction novel that shows me differently.
I now believe that there will never be an end to the depths of the inhumanity of those camps. The inmates were tortured in every sense of the word, and as the cunning of the German leaders is revealed, so is their utter lack of humanity.
In the case of this book, I learned that one of the cruelest forms of torture was psychological. And the author did an excellent job of detailing the methods without being overtly obvious about it.
As mentioned in the introduction, the plot is based on a true story (for the most part). The Kanada work detail was tasked with sorting the meager possessions of the people who came to the camp on the transports.
It was a cushy assignment by all reports, and the author describes the “benefits” of working in Kanada. However, even if on the surface other inmates felt that working there was preferable, it is difficult to imagine the psychological impact of such tasks.
In Helena, we get a sense of just how infuriating and sickening such assignments were. On the one hand, a woman got to live and even got a few perks out of it – certainly preferable to forced hard labor or death.
However, they were also expected to sort the clothing and belongings of people who were just like them – taken to the camps with the intention of extermination. So, can someone truly enjoy being alive while being constantly reminded that it could end in a second?
The psychological impact is huge: some women started to believe that they were special, and embraced their bits of freedom, forgetting their place. Others kept their heads down and were just thankful to be alive, even as they had to sort the personal items of dead people.
Talk about existential crises of the largest magnitude.
Audible:
UK: zpr.io/9jjsB55b2V7j
US: zpr.io/HKw6ep3HHnk7
https://soundcloud.com/bookouture/the-girl-in-the-striped-dress-by-ellie-midwood-narrated-by-alison-campbell
The author writes thoughtfully about all of this but adds a twist that could have seemed hokey or contrived. An SS officer falling in love with an inmate working in Kanada detail? Preposterous!
But as I read the story of Helena and Franz, I realized that the author was using a familiar theme in WWII historical fiction (hope) and presenting it in a different manner.
To me, their story is an illustration that humanity does still exist even in the darkest of places and that the heart wants what it wants. I know that sounds trite, but if ever there was a situation where it applied this is it.
From the powerful descriptions of the Kanada detail to the odd (yet sometimes charming) courtship, I was totally taken in by Helena and Franz’s story. The interspersed chapters (set in 1947) were a good reminder of how complicated the immediate post-war years were.
Truthfully, you have to allow yourself to be immersed in this one. I can’t pinpoint specific events without giving away where the story leads. But it does present several aspects to consider, including the strength of survivor’s guilt, the complicated nature of the camp system, the psychology of the inmates and their oppressors, and many more.
But most importantly, I think it illustrates that people need to be looked at as individuals. Status, uniform, rank…none of those are what really make a person. Helena and Franz eventually realized that in each other – if more people had been like them, history would be different.
And so might our future.
Instagram: elliemidwood/
Website: http://elliemidwood.com/
Author Bio
Ellie Midwood is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning historical fiction author. She owes her interest in the history of the Second World War to her grandfather, Junior Sergeant in the 2nd Guards Tank Army of the First Belorussian Front, who began telling her about his experiences on the frontline when she was a young girl. Growing up, her interest in history only deepened and transformed from reading about the war to writing about it. After obtaining her BA in Linguistics, Ellie decided to make writing her full-time career and began working on her first full-length historical novel, The Girl from Berlin.’ Ellie is continuously enriching her library with new research material and feeds her passion for WWII and Holocaust history by collecting rare memorabilia and documents.
In her free time, Ellie is a health-obsessed yoga enthusiast, neat freak, adventurer, Nazi Germany history expert, polyglot, philosopher, a proud Jew, and a doggie mama. Ellie lives in New York with her fiancé and their Chihuahua named Shark Bait.
