Auschwitz Lullaby by Mario Escobar

Author : Mario Escobar
Title : Auschwitz Lullaby
Published : 2016
Publisher : Thomas Nelson
Pages : 304
Genre : Historical Fiction

     On an otherwise ordinary morning in 1943, Helene Hannemann is preparing her five children for the day when the German police arrive at her home. Helene's worst fears come true when the police, under strict orders from the SS, demand that her children and husband, all of Romani heritage, be taken into custody. Though Helene is German and safe from the forces invading her home, she refuses to leave her family-sealing her fate in a way she never could have imagined. After a terrifying trek across the continent, Helene and her family arrive at Auschwitz and are thrown into the chaos of the camp. Her husband, Johann, is separated from them, but Helene remains fiercely protective of her children and those around her. When the powers-that-be discover that Helene is not only a German but also a trained nurse, she is forced into service at the camp hospital, which is overseen by the notorious Dr. Mengele himself.

     Books about the Holocaust have drawn me time and time again. Up until a few years ago, I had no real interest in the subject. But a dear friend of mine introduced me to a few books and I found myself gaining a greater understanding of what really took place. But for me it was always in the abstract, trying to get your head around what took place I feel is a hard thing to do. So at the tail end of last year, I embarked on a journey to a place I had read so much about.  For me, It brought everything home to me, so when I now pick up a book such as this I see the places I saw with my own eyes. For me, it makes reading such books both a struggle and a necessity. We read to remember what took place and to remind our selves to fight for what is right so such things can never happen again. But I have often wondered if there is only so much we can read about the horrors of what took place. It wasn't until I picked up this book that I managed to find an answer to this question. I feel we do so to remind our selves of the human spirit. For everything that happened to them, they still had hope that one day the light would shine on a world where they could be free.  

     As I said I have read many books on this subject, but for me, this was the first one to deal with the lives of Romani in Auschwitz. Some times whilst reading this book I felt that they are some of the forgotten victims of the Holocaust. And while we remember all the Jewish people who perished and rightly so, there was also a great many others who suffered at the hands of the Nazi's. But this is also a book about a mother's boundless love for her children. As an Aryan German she could have escaped the fate that was waiting for her.  But how can you look into the eyes of your children and say so long I'm off to save my self. I like the way this author shows the bond between this family. That no matter what she was going to see it through with them. It is something that even in there darkest moments brings warmth to your heart. 

     For me, it was interesting to see the differences in the way different groups of people were treated within the camp. Whilst the Nazi's clearly sore them all as sub-human they showed different levels of punishment. It is also the way that in some truly dark and twisted vision they show false hope to them. By giving the children a school to go to, it implies s they had a future, that they may just live to walk out through the gates. To me, this feels like some cruel sick joke. Whilst I can never be sure, I think it was a means to keep some of them healthy for the experiments at the camp. Escobar perfectly conveys a family in deep turmoil, for her part, Helene does her best to hide the worst of what is happening from her kids. But there is only so much a mother can do. This book is by no means the longest book in its genre, but for me, it does capture something truly beautiful. It not only shows the bond between the family your born into but also that of the people that you belong to. The Romanies came to together and refused to let there people and culture be wiped out. And while Helene was not of there blood her children where and that is what made here part of theirs.  

     This is a book that will be hard to read, it is a subject matter that is steeped in sadness and horror. But for those who venture in, there is a great deal of love to be found within it. I'm am starting to see that, that is what is important in such books.  It's is the bonds that hold us together and that sometimes we have to sacrifice everything for the ones we love. To be brave and strong when all we want to do is crumble. This is one of those books that shows us a mother will walk into the gate of hell, with a smile on her face. If it means for just one second that their children can feel a little peace.