My Review: I feel a little guilty saying this, but I loved this book. There’s something that feels really wrong about saying that you enjoy a book about a concentration camp, but I found Ravensbruck absolutely fascinating.
After reading Rose Under
Fire (see review here), I wanted to know more about Ravensbruck. Because
Wein had so many great resources, I was able to totally geek out like I love to
do when I read a really interesting book, and I did all kinds of research about
Ravensbruck. This book was a gem. It changed my view on concentration
camps. Don’t get me wrong—they’re still
horrible (and I’m still hoping that Hitler is burning in hell), but I had no
idea the depth and breadth of what went on there, what it was like, and
especially how an exclusively women’s concentration camp differed so greatly
from a men’s concentration camp.
First off, this book is really well written. It’s
non-fiction and Morrison obviously did a ton of research (a lot of it firsthand
from writings and interviews of women who survived the camp), but the writing
isn’t so heavy or the language so dense that you have to slog through it. It
read very quickly. Admittedly, this may be because it was just so fascinating.
But I guess if that’s the reason, it doesn’t matter, right? Really, it’s
completely accessible.
Secondly, I loved the description of the culture of the
camp. I had no idea the humanity and caring, and also the prejudices and hatred
that existed within the camp—both between the inmates and the staff. It is just
so much more complex than I ever knew. I had no idea there were so many
nationalities and cultures represented. And
I loved the women’s camp perspective of a concentration camp. It makes sense
that a woman’s camp would function differently than a men’s camp, and this book
beautifully illustrates this very unique situation.
Another thing that I found so amazing about this book was
the art work and pictures. There were a few pictures of the camp, and the
author describes early on that these cannot be trusted as many of them were
taken by the SS to display to the Red Cross and various organizations concerned
with the well-beings of captors. The art
was drawn by some of the women inmates. Obviously much of this was destroyed as
it became clear to the SS that Germany was losing and the war was imminent, but
the surviving pictures are haunting and descriptive of what it was like. And
oh, was it horrible. But there were good things, too, and I loved that the
author not only gave you a sense of how horrible things were and how horrible
some people were, but also that many retained their humanity and generosity
even in the worst of times. It really is a testament to the strength of the
human spirit and the resilience of individuals.
This book was really a life-changing experience for me.
I’ve always heard about concentration camps, I’ve read some WWII fic and
limited non-fic, and I have been to the inspiring (and horrible) Holocaust
Museum in Washington, D.C., but I was not prepared for having my eyes opened to
what a camp was like—both the good and the bad. I felt like after all this time, I had just been viewing the people in the camps as inmates
as a whole, and hadn’t really considered the day to day living or the culture
that existed within the camp. I just can’t say enough about how amazing I
thought this book was and what it did for me and my knowledge of concentration
camps and the very tenor of the war. I highly recommend it.
My rating: 5
stars
For the sensitive
reader: This book is about concentration camps. There are horrible things, but
they are all true and not sensationalized. The author treats the people with
respect and dignity, despite them having experienced the worst atrocities one
can imagine.
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