The horrors of the Nazi concentration camps are well-known, but until I learned of Martha Hall Kelly’s novel, Lilac Girls, I didn’t know there was one just for women. And I had never heard of Caroline Ferriday, the New York socialite who helped a group of Ravensbruck prisoners, the ones who survived horrific medical experiments.
Lilac Girls is told from the perspectives of three characters: Ferriday; Herta Oberheuser, the only female doctor at Ravensbruck; and a fictional Polish prisoner, Kasia Kuzmerick, based on a composite of some of the women who lived to tell their stories.
Much is known of Josef Mengele, the Nazis’ “Angel of Death” at Auschwitz, who performed unspeakable medical experiments on thousands of twins. But the doctors at Ravensbruck were just as sinister. To Kelly’s credit, she doesn’t portray Oberheuser solely as an evil person but makes her three-dimensional.
The details of the experiments on the women — who became known as the Rabbits because the damage to their legs made them hobble around — are difficult to read, but It’s important to tell these stories. We can never forget the atrocities committed during the Holocaust.
Lilac Girls spans two decades, from the late 1930s to the late 1950s, so it’s not just a “war” story. The book also focuses on the aftermath, when the Ravensbruck survivors went back home. In Poland, they had to deal with communism, and Kelly touches on how the system also restricted their freedom.
I’ll let you read the book to find out how the lives of Ferriday and the Rabbits came together. You won’t be disappointed. In short, Lilac Girls is the perfect blend of history and fiction.
Hofu za kambi za mateso za Nazi zinajulikana sana, lakini mpaka niliposikia juu ya riwaya ya Martha Hall Kelly, Lilac Girls, sikujua kulikuwa na moja tu kwa wanawake. Caroline Ferry, mwanamke wa New York aliyesaidia wafungwa wa Ravensbruck, waliokoka majaribio ya kutisha ya matibabu. "Msichana wa Lilac ni hadithi ya ""Ferriday,"" ""Herta Oberhauser,"" na ""Kazia Kuzmerik,"" mwanamke wa Kipolishi aliyefungwa katika Ravensbrück, na ""Mwanamke wa Kihispania"" ambaye anaishi katika maisha ya kifahari." Wengi wanajua juu ya Josef Mengele, "Malaika wa Kifo" wa Nazi huko Auschwitz, ambaye alifanya majaribio ya kitiba yasiyoelezeka juu ya maelfu ya mapacha. Lakini madaktari wa Ravensbruck walikuwa waovu vilevile. Kwa sifa ya Kelly, yeye haionyeshi Oberheuser tu kama mtu mwovu lakini hufanya yake tatu-dimensional. Maelezo ya majaribio juu ya wanawake - ambao walijulikana kama Sungura kwa sababu uharibifu wa miguu yao uliwafanya kutembea-tembea - ni vigumu kusoma, lakini ni muhimu kuelezea hadithi hizi. Hatuwezi kamwe kusahau ukatili uliotendwa wakati wa yale Maangamizi Makubwa ya Wayahudi. Lilac Girls inazunguka miongo miwili, kutoka mwishoni mwa miaka ya 1930 hadi mwishoni mwa miaka ya 1950, kwa hivyo si hadithi ya "vita" tu. Kitabu hicho pia kinakazia matokeo, wakati waokokaji wa Ravensbruck waliporudi nyumbani. Katika Poland, walilazimika kukabiliana na ukomunisti, na Kelly anagusa jinsi mfumo huo pia ulivyopunguza uhuru wao. Mimi itabidi basi wewe kusoma kitabu cha kupata jinsi maisha ya Ferriday na Sungura alikuja pamoja. Huwezi kukata tamaa. Kwa ufupi, Lilac Girls ni mchanganyiko kamili wa historia na hadithi za uwongo.