Canadian Jen's Reviews > Lilac Girls

No matter how many holocaust stories I read, I still find them disturbing, shocking and heart wrenching. Surviving such a devastating experience brings with it a lifetime of horrors. For no one truly forgets and nor should we.

3 women from 3 different geographies as WWII erupts - Each doing what they can towards the war effort.
Caroline in NYC. Putting care packages together for orphaned children. Going one step further and helping rebuild the country. Falling in love with a foreigner who is forced to return to Nazi occupied France.

Kasia in Poland. The Nazis have invaded and she has been caught working for the underground movement. She's been sent to Ravensbrück and now is infamously known as one of the 'rabbits'. Even with liberation, the polish people were forced to live under communist rule with Stalin's iron fist -from one radical leader to another never experiencing freedom. The losses suffered and the pain endured would be enough to lose hope. But hope is all they had and gave them the strength to survive.

Herta in Germany. A medical doctor working at a concentration camp doing experimental surgeries on inmates. A doctor whose purpose is saving lives is practicing unethical surgeries and murder. Aka The rabbit surgeon. The nazi code so fundamentally f**ked up.

The structure of the narrative told from the 3 perspectives gives a global scope. I would have preferred locking onto one character, but overall this was beautifully written and an amazing story of character, courage, redemption and resilience. 5⭐️