The German Wife by Kelly Rimmer

The German Wife by Kelly Rimmer – 464 house 

ARC from Graydon House and Netgalley for an honest review

Book Blurb:

Berlin, Germany, 1930—When the Nazis rise to power, Sofie von Meyer Rhodes and her academic husband benefit from the military ambitions of Germany’s newly elected chancellor when Jürgen is offered a high-level position in their burgeoning rocket program. Although they fiercely oppose Hitler’s radical views, and joining his ranks is unthinkable, it soon becomes clear that if Jürgen does not accept the job, their income will be taken away. Then their children. And then their lives.
Huntsville, Alabama, 1950—Twenty years later, Jürgen is one of many German scientists pardoned and granted a position in America’s space program. For Sofie, this is a chance to leave the horrors of her past behind. But when rumors about the Rhodes family’s affiliation with the Nazi party spread among her new American neighbors, idle gossip turns to bitter rage, and the act of violence that results tears apart a family and leaves the community wondering—is it an act of vengeance or justice?

My Review: 4.5 stars

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The German Wife by Kelly Rimmer is yet another notch in this author’s literary belt. I’ve read all her books and she still continues to come up with new and powerful storylines. I often hear from readers that they are taxed from reading so many Holocaust and/or WWII historical fiction books, especially when many seem so similar. Honestly, I can completely understand your feelings, however as a Jewish person, I feel like I owe it to those who perished to read every single one of them. Oy…the guilt I put on myself.  

That’s why I like Rimmer’s books so much. Each has made me look at the war from a new perspective. In this book, the reader is exposed to what the Germans felt like in the US after Operation Paperclip was enforced. Rimmer also shines light onto the many Germans that had absolutely no choice than to become a member of the Reich, no matter how much he or she were against it. 

This book is written in two timelines that meet up in the 1950s. Prejudice became widespread when many Germans moved to Huntsville for the space program. I knew little about Operation Paperclip and was glad a story was drawn around it so I could understand it better. Usually I like both storylines equally, but in this one I happened to like Sofie’s timeline and story more than Lizzie’s. I’m sure book clubs will have plenty to discuss after reading this book. 

Quotes I liked:

Isn’t an adult just a child, shaped by experience?”

“No one survived Nazi years without moral compromise.”

“It’s not always the strongest tress that survive the storm. Sometimes it’s the trees that bend with the wind. And you, my treasure, find yourself right in a hurricane.”

“I had reshaped and remolded and reinvented myself to please other people so many times, I’d entirely lost touch with the woman I started out as.”