Daughter Of The Reich: A Novel By Louise Fein

When I started reading this book, my heart sank. I’d been drawn in by a promising write-up with comparisons to novels I’d thoroughly enjoyed. “Daughter of the Reich” is written in first person, present tense, like a standard YA/teen novel. I don’t mind this combination for a short story or even a novella when it warrants it, but for a whole novel it irritates me.

However, I stuck with it and tried to throw off my world-weary old modus and read it as a younger person might. Maybe those flowery descriptions were deliberate, the voice of a twelve-year-old girl trying to find her place in the world. Once the story got going, it was compelling although a little predicatable in places. But it did keep me gripped, none-the-less.

Inter-war Leipzig as a setting was refreshing in comparison to the default Berlin beloved of most English-speaking authors writing about this period. And the interview at the end of the book with the author about her personal connection with the city was interesting. There are plenty of parallels with much that’s going on in the world today, which would make this a particularly good book for teenagers: “These days, a teacher has more to fear from a student than the other way around.” Very insightful.

One final nit-pick directed more at the publisher than the author. With all the emphasis today on authenticity and sensitivity readers, why was the use of German so haphazard? It would make sense either to put capitals on the German nouns such as “Pfannkuchen” and “Spargel” (and put them in italics), or just use the English word.

A fascinating bildungsroman of a young German woman , Hetty, who , from being staunchly proud of the Nazi regime in her country, raises moral questions of its essence. She falls for a young Jewish guy who studies at her class and who was a friend of her brother. Despite all the scruples and misgivings she feels at the beginning because of his heritage, she finally realises the agony this guy and his family have to pass through. Little by little does she come to the realisation of how evil and sinister Nazism is and she even plucks up the courage to defy her parents whose unwavering allegiance lies with Hitler. By the help of her friend, Erna, she helps her lover, the Jewish boy, to be evacuated to the UK, not before they make love, and she becomes pregnant from him – an unforgiveable act in Nazi Germany which is considered a heinous crime. Her Jewish illicit lover is rescued by a visa issued for him by a family in the UK, and he comes to know about the baby born to him in Germany, this baby is also smuggled to him. Hetty, unfortunately, gets stranded in Germany until the Cold War ends. Then she goes to find her lover after 50 years of a long wait. A very heart-wrenching story with no embellishment to make it more intriguing as I usually encounter in other books which try to make the plot more bombastic, and hence less realistic.

What a fantastic story about WW2 from the German perspective. Growing up in the Nazi regime we see how easily good people followed Hitler. Its a great example of how much our environment shapes and influences us, sometimes without us even realizing it. Of course no WW2 story would be complete without heartbreak and sadness.

January 16, 2021

A Review by Anthony T. Riggio of the book: “Daughter of the Reich” by Louise Fein

This book popped up on Kindle as I was concluding the book Soldiers of Freedom by Samuel Marquis, a book about World War II in Europe, not yet reviewed. It seems I have fallen into the seemingly “read’ de jour, of late, involving Nazi Germany. The Current book, Daughters of the Reich is about the early years of Nazi domination in the City of Leipzig, Germany. Upon commencing this book, I believed it was merely a book about family life during that period. It begins with a near drowning of a young thirteen year old named Hetti in the late 1920’s by a family friend and neighbor named Walter. In 1933, the real theme of the book commences in the first chapter, the author Louise Fein calls Metamorphosis. This is the period commencing in the early 1930’s, when Germany was plagued with both economic and Social unrest stemming from the punishment the allies effected on the country after WWI. Many felt the reparations imposed were unfair and limiting to Germany’s recovery. It seems that economic growth and therefor unemployment were a direct result of the Treaty of Versailles. It appeared obvious to many Germans that the only people thriving were the Jews and because of his plan or directives in Mein Kamph, Adolph became a prominent figure in the current politics issue existing then.

The families of both Walter and Hetti were on the lower rung of the socioeconomic reality except that Walter was a Jew. While Hetti’s family was up and coming, Walter’s was stagnant and becoming a pariah because of anti Nazi thoughts by the parents. While Walter was good friends with Karl, Hetti’s brother, he was a jew and consequently an shunned as Karl got older and active in the Hitler Youth.

Hetti’s relationship with the Nazi thought process, initially was very supportive and she idolized Adolph Hitler. Her Vati (Dad) was a member of the SS and her mother (Mutti) was too loyal to her husband and totally believed in the Nazi propaganda, her brother Karl was a member of the Hitler youth and had ambitions to be a pilot in the Luftwaffe and take part in the popular belief the Germany was going to be at was soon.

At his time circa 1934 to 1936, Hetti experiences the true nature of Nazism when her friend Walter and other friends were expelled from her school because they were Jews. Hetti became upset and confused about her position with the Nazi’s and becomes enamored with Walter and as their budding romance grew, Walter convinced her of the cruelty of the Nazi regime and their position against the Jews, which was only getting worse. Because Hetti was the daughter of a member of the SS, she was privy to sensitive information which forecasted events known as Krystalnacht and furiously tried to warn Walter. This led to a familial schism between Hetti and her Vati, and drove her closer to Walter resulting in an intimacy expected by two young people in this situation. Hetti was almost seventeen and Walter was nineteen and becoming a greater target for the SS. Through family arrangements Walter was accepted to go to a family friend in England with the condition that he would be engaged to marry the friends daughter. Hetti accepts this painful arrangement and helps Walter to escape to England.

After this heart breaking separation, and Walter makes it there safely; Hetti discovers she is pregnant but decides to suffer this event without telling anyone until her Mutti discovers her secret and turns Hetti’s world upside down and forces her into having to plan on giving the baby up for adoption to a Jewish agency that will send the baby to another country, e.g. England. Hetti’s closest friend writes to Walter to tell him of Hetti’s dilemma and a plan is hatched to send the baby to England to be adopted by Anna as her own child with Walter.
There is no question that this is an emotionally heart wrenching story but between the lines the horrors of Nazism are clearly laid out for the reader. While Hetti’s story is somewhat left hanging, the ending, though sad is predictable.

I picked this book because it entailed a period of historical interest to me and it did not disappoint. The story has the effect of forcing the reader to see and feel the horrors of the situation and to suffer with Hetti and Walter in the great emotional pain they go through. While this type of book is not the ordinary reading for me, it reached into my heart and feelings and I reacted with concomitant emotional stress and pain for the characters in this story. It is an excellent reading experience and I highly recommend it to my reader friends and herald it with a five star review. I highly recommend this book as a collateral experience of war and the evils of dictatorship.

The book Daughter of the Reich by Louise Fein is a historical fiction novel that follows the life of Hetty Heinrich during the lead-up to and events of World War II. Hetty Heinrich is a German girl and the daughter of a powerful Nazi Party member. The story describes how Hetty’s devotion to Hitler and the Nazi Party changes throughout her life and her experiences after she becomes closer with a former family friend named Walter, who is Jewish. Throughout the story, Hetty struggles with choosing what is right and what is wrong when her parents and everyone else around her tell her one thing, but her heart and her brain tell her another.
Daughter of the Reich is a masterpiece with interesting and dynamic characters as well as an intriguing plot. Throughout the story, there are multiple conflicts, many of which are internal, which sets the book apart from others like it. There are many books that take place during the Holocaust and World War II, and many of them are either from the perspective of a soldier or a victim. They are also usually focused on conflicts between two opposing sides, as is the nature of war. However, this one is from the perspective of an insignificant civilian and most of the conflicts are mental, rather than between her and other characters. Since Hetty is German, she grows up believing that Jews are inferior to other Germans and don’t deserve basic rights. As she grows up and becomes closer to Walter, she begins to challenge her beliefs and realize that there is no difference between Jews and everyone else. However, because everyone around her believes in the Nazi ideology and because it’s so deeply ingrained in her mind, she has numerous internal conflicts over her beliefs until she eventually changes her views. This book is different from others because it puts you inside the head of a German who struggles internally to think for themselves when the whole world around them is saying to think a certain way. Additionally, because it is from the point of view of a person who was at one point a devout Nazi, it allows the reader to see how society was in Nazi Germany and how insane and deeply ingrained their propaganda and beliefs were. At times, this can cause the book to be frustrating because, to most people, the Nazi beliefs lack common sense, but this was the reality at the time, and the author did this intentionally to reinforce the insanity of the Nazi Party.
Throughout the novel, many themes are developed, but the most present ones are thinking for oneself and fighting for your beliefs. As for the importance of thinking for oneself, this is present in the story because Hetty is told multiple fallacies about the Jews that she believes initially, but when she thinks for herself, she realizes that she is being fed lies and that the whole idea behind the Nazi Party is wrong. She is also not expected to think for herself and is forced to follow directions from her parents blindly; however, while she has no choice but to follow most of these directions, her mind is always free and her thoughts are her own. It was the only form of resistance she could safely participate in due to her circumstances and it is arguably the most impactful form of resistance because controlling the mind was the most impactful form of control. The theme of fighting for what you believe in is also demonstrated in the story through numerous characters. Hetty and Walter exemplify this the most because their unrelenting fight to find a solution to their situation and stay together despite what everyone says is the main plot of the story. Hetty rebels against her parents as much as she possibly can and Walter looks for every opportunity to save the two of them and the rest of his Jewish family. They both face many challenges, both from the regime and Hetty’s parents, but they are unwilling to give up and unafraid to do whatever it takes to save themselves. This theme is also exemplified through a friend of Hetty’s who is seemingly a devout Nazi, but who is, in reality, working with her family and underground resistance movements to help the Jews. She and her family are against the ideas of the Nazi Party and they do everything in their power to fight against the regime despite knowing that they are putting themselves and everyone close to them in danger.
I personally have read many historical fiction books on the Holocaust, but never one this moving. The way that Louise Fein writes is captivating and beautiful. The story kept me hooked and on the edge of my seat from the beginning until the very end. I have to warn readers that Daughter of the Reich is a heart-wrenching story that contains many heavy topics including descriptive scenes of violence, loss, and general topics from the Holocaust that could be disturbing. Although it could be a difficult read for some, I could not recommend this book more. Additionally, this book had an element of romance; however, the romance was not the main focus, instead, the issues that resulted from it were. It was a realistic and frightening book that allowed me to truly envision the horrors of Nazi Germany for the Germans who refused to comply with the Nazi ideology. It is a book that everyone should try to read and learn from.