The Rabbit Girls by Anna Ellory

Author : Anna Ellory
Title : The Rabbit Girls
Published : 2019
Publisher : Lake Union Publishing
Pages : 396
Genre : Historical Fiction

     Berlin, 1989. As the wall between East and West falls, Miriam Winter cares for her dying father, Henryk. When he cries out for someone named Frieda – and Miriam discovers an Auschwitz tattoo hidden under his watch strap – Henryk’s secret history begins to unravel. Searching for more clues of her father’s past, Miriam finds an inmate uniform from the Ravensbrück women’s camp concealed among her mother’s things. Within its seams are dozens of letters to Henryk written by Frieda. The letters reveal the disturbing truth about the ‘Rabbit Girls’, young women experimented on at the camp. And amid their tales of sacrifice and endurance, Miriam pieces together a love story that has been hidden away in Henryk’s heart for almost fifty years. Inspired by these extraordinary women, Miriam strives to break through the walls she has built around herself. Because even in the darkest of times, hope can survive.

     I have come to books of this nature so many times before and it is never an easy experience. And more than once I have questioned why I read such books. For me, I think there are two main reasons, firstly that it is a topic that we should never forget. It is becoming apparent that it is slipping out of the conscious mind. The things these people went through are being forgotten and that is what lead to our history so easily repeating its self. The second is that despite there bleak nature for me at least they offer hope. That people did survive and that no matter what took place evil did not triumph. When it comes to The Rabbit Girls it deals with a place that I have actually been to. A few years back having read another book about  Ravensbrück I felt I need to go and see it in the real world. I was curious to see how Ellory would tackle this place with all its horrors.

     The author decides to take on the story of the real rabbit girls in a different way than just going all out on the events that took place at  Ravensbrück. She splits her story between what took place back then and how those that survived went on with their lives. How can you ever relay this information to the families that exist because they made it out the other side? For me, this was a great way to bring her story to life. Much like a flower slowly opening its petals delving deeper into how events can echo down the years. I suppose in a way Miriam is us the reader, wanting to know more but being afraid to ask questions of her father that he would far regather leave buried deep down. It is a genuine love that seeps into my heart. No one wants to hurt someone they truly care for. On the flip side, Frieda is the beacon of hope from the past. Every day fighting to make it to the next, not just for her but those around her. A family built out of necessity, but that came to mean so much more. The Rabbit Girls showed me that love can come in so many different forms. 

     In both timelines I found that the story brings on a great many emotions, how could it not. This is a book that at its heart is about families and how we fight to not only keep them together but also better understand them. I realize that for a great deal of that generation, it was easier and better to leave these things in the past.  Nobody wants to relive the trauma. The way in which she delivers her story made it feel to me, a great deal more personal to me. I got to know these people like they were my own. They felt so real that I could connect with their hopes and dreams as well as the horrific things that were done to them. A subject Ellory does not shy away from. In giving us the story of The Rabbit Girls certain facts have to be talked about. I learned of the experiments that were conducted on them and how each suffered in the name of Nazi science. The author does this by revealing just enough to make you feel uncomfortable without just sending you into a very bad place mentally. What I'm trying to say is that she brings balance to her book, a story of both despair but also hope. 

     The Rabbit Girls is a great book for those interested in both history and that of a genuine human experience. After all, we all seek to know where we come from and how our families become what they are. It is about that fire that burns deep down in us trying to break free and live a beautiful life. It also gives you insight into Ravensbrück a place that most don't know the name of, but all really should.