The Midwife of Auschwitz: Inspired by a heartbreaking true story, an emotional and gripping World War 2 historical novel (Women of War)

Product Information

Heartbreaking yet also heart-warming … beautifully written … my favorite reads of 2022!!’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ She told TFN: “I felt compelled to make this film. She had the right to speak out about her oppressors because she witnessed their bestiality. Yet, she did not. She never said anything against them. Leszczyńska’s legacy lived on long after the liberation of Auschwitz—both in the memories of the survivors whose babies she attempted to give a dignified birth, the lives of the few children who left the camp alive, and the work of her own children, all of whom survived the war and became physicians themselves.

The Midwife of Auschwitz: Inspired by a heartbreaking true The Midwife of Auschwitz: Inspired by a heartbreaking true

This was a very difficult book to read. But while it was heartbreaking, it was also beautiful. Ana, a midwife living in Poland in 1943, finds herself a prisoner in the Auschwitz concentration camp. Alongside her is her dear friend and fellow nurse, Ester. Together they must face the barbaric cruelties inflicted by the Nazis. In the midst of pain and sorrows, Ana helps bring 3000 babies into the world. This to me was nothing short of astounding. Knowing that this is based on a true story, the account of these two courageous women is awe-inspiring. The Midwife of Auschwitz: Inspired by a heartbreaking true story, an emotional and gripping World War 2 historical novel (Women of War) Ana Kaminski declares herself a midwife and Ester Pasternak, her assistant when they arrive in Auschwitz. They are sent to the maternity ‘ward’ – a place like no other to welcome the gift of life. Her story of what happened here is a testament to the resistance of a small group of women who were determined to help their fellow prisoners. Offering medical care and friendship, they displayed courage and defiance in the face of atrocity.

Customer reviews

Absolutely heartbreaking … sobbed my heart out near the end of the book … AMAZING!! ’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Two friends, Anna Kaminski and Ester Pasternak enter the gates of Auschwitz. Anna proclaims that she is a midwife and Ester is her assistant. They are tattooed and sent to the maternity ward. Bringing new life into the world is a powerful thing but having to do so in such an evil place is terrifying. When healthy infants are taken from their mothers and given to German families, it is gut wrenching. Anna vows to do whatever she can, then she notices her friend, Ester's bump...

The Midwife of Auschwitz - Goodreads

Oh, and this is based on a true story which I still have to look up but I was intrigued by that as well! When the Gestapo discovered that the Leszczyńska family were forging documents they were arrested and she and her daughter were sent to Auschwitz. Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1992-101-026A / Wilson / CC-BY-SA 3.0 Todas las historias basadas en la Segunda Guerra Mundial, cuando Hitler intentó exterminar al pueblo judío, siempre son horribles, desgarradoras, angustiosas… y hay pocos autores que puedan escribir sobre esta época, contando detalles duros e inquietantes y que a su vez cree una historia de fuerza, de resilencia, de mujeres fuertes… y esta autora ha conseguido eso en esta novela.Several hospitals and organizations in Poland are named after Stanisława; the main road at Auschwitz concentration camp museum is named after her; and so is a street in the city of Łódź. [4] In 1983 the School of Obstetricians in Kraków was named in her honor. [1] Published works Y termina la novela con una tercera parte que nos relata cómo los judíos se organizaron para conseguir juntar a las personas de la misma familia, con la ayuda internacional. Ana Kaminski, a Catholic Pole, has worked as a midwife for two decades. Alongside her, her dear friend Ester Pasternak learns the art of birthing as together they bring new life into the world in the ghetto and beyond.

The Midwife of Auschwitz: Extraordinary life of heroine who The Midwife of Auschwitz: Extraordinary life of heroine who

After the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany at the onset of World War II, the Leszczyński family was forced to relocate to Wspólna 3 Street when the Łódź Ghetto was created for the Jews by the Nazi occupation administration. Żurawia Street, where they used to live, became part of the ghetto area. The Leszczyńskis began helping ghettoized Jews by delivering food items and false documents. [5] [6] [7] [8] However, Stanisława was caught red-handed, and brought to the Gestapo on February 18, 1943. Her younger children, Sylwia, Stanisław, and Henryk were also arrested. Her husband and son Bronisław managed to avoid capture and fled the city. The Nazis sent the two boys as slave labour to the stone quarries of Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp. [1] Leszczyńska never saw her husband again; he died in the Warsaw Uprising. [4] Auschwitz concentration camp Michael Berkowitz (2007). The Crime of My Very Existence: Nazism and the Myth of Jewish Criminality. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-94068-0 . Retrieved 2015-06-21. Iga Bunalska from the Auschwitz Study Group told TFN: “Stanisława Leszczyńska is very important in the history of Auschwitz for many reasons. Pregnancy in a concentration camp had to be terrifying and so was the camp itself, and Leszczyńska managed to look after all those women who were afraid. a b Simon Caldwell (2015). "The Polish midwife, Stanisława Leszczyńska. Cause for canonisation introduced in the Diocese of Łódź". Ten Catholic heroes of the Holocaust (8). CatholicHerald.co.uk. As International Holocaust Remembrance Day approaches, Simon Caldwell tells the remarkable stories of 10 lesser-known heroes . Retrieved 1 July 2015.Because of her physical similarities, Leszczyńska’s granddaughter Elzbieta (pictured) is playing her in the dramatised scenes of the documentary. Krzysztof Mordak When World War II broke out, the Leszczyński family was actively involved in the underground in Łódź. Her husband, a printer, and sons prepared false documents for Jews living in the ghetto, and Stanisława distributed food for them, taking advantage of her work as a midwife to gain access to the ghetto.

Books by Anna Stuart (Author of The Midwife of Auschwitz) Books by Anna Stuart (Author of The Midwife of Auschwitz)

The midwives put these women's needs ahead of their own, not knowing if they'd see their own families again. This didn't stop them from giving the women and babies the best possible chance at life. Well, what can I say but wow!!! This story is definitely not going to leave my head anytime soon. Firstly I must congratulate Anna Stuart for an absolutely extraordinary novel that seriously needs to be made into a movie which I assure would be best selling!!! It is 1939, in Lodz, Poland. Trainee nurse, Ester, meets and falls madly in love with apprentice tailor, Filip. As war breaks out they decide to marry, anticipating that, as Jews, they may either both have to flee the country, or that they may be separated for some time. Their parents are only too happy that the young couple should confirm their love for one another and grab whatever happiness they can, as they know only too well, what wrath is about to be heaped upon their people by the German Nazi regime. Also present at the marriage are the non Jewish, Kaminski family, as Ester and long established midwife, Ana have become firm friends, despite the difference in their ages, which make It was, though—thanks to a woman named Stanislawa Leszczyńska. During her two-year internment at Auschwitz, the Polish midwife delivered 3,000 babies at the camp in unthinkable conditions. Though her story is little known outside of Poland, it is testament to the resistance of a small group of women determined to help their fellow prisoners.Ambas coincidirán en este campo de concentración y ambas ayudarán a las madres del campo de concentración durante sus embarazos y el parto. Eso sí, siempre que estas madres puedan “escapar” de ese momento de selección y puedan ocultar su embarazo hasta el momento del parto. It is not often that wartime fictional stories, which are largely centred around Nazi labour camps, are narrated almost exclusively from a female perspective. A brave gambit by the author, which she has executed to perfection and with total empathy, highlighting a storyline which definitely needed to be told and that held me in thrall from the very first sentence, to the very final word. I had never really given any thought to the need for midwives in the concentration camps and the ensuing emotional agony of mothers who did, by some miracle, happen to survive childbirth, only to have their babies so cruelly snatched away from them. Some of the facts are so distasteful, that the cruelty is almost beyond belief or comprehension. She died of intestinal cancer in 1974. In 1982, she was featured alongside Saint Jadwiga the Silesian, Queen Jadwiga and the blessed nun Teresa Ledóchowska on the Jasna Góra Goblet of Life, to honour great women of the previous millennium. Her beatification process was initiated in 1992. No obstante, también comprobaremos como el Amor y la fuerza de voluntad, así como la confianza en la ayuda de los demás que otorga estar en la misma situación que otras personas, son pilares donde agarrarse para no perder ni la cordura ni las esperanzas. Es en este contexto donde hace aparición la resiliencia de las personas para, con una simple brizna de esperanza, mantener las ganas de luchar para conseguir sus objetivos. Igualmente, esa unidad crea lazos iguales o más fuertes que los de la propia sangre con las personas que te rodean. Y que la inteligencia y picaresca salen a relucir para ayudar a sobrevivir hasta en las peores situaciones.