
On a sunny morning in May 1939, a phalanx of 800 women from various backgrounds were marched through the woods to Ravensbrück, a concentration camp designed specifically for women by Heinrich Himmler. The author, Sarah Helm, delves into the heart of the camp, bringing to light the untold horrors that unfolded there, detailing the evolution of the unthinkable horror that quickly engulfed the prisoners. Through meticulous research and interviews with survivors, Helm paints a riveting picture of the lives of the women who lived and died in Ravensbrück, showcasing their unimaginable suffering and resilience in the face of appalling conditions.
The book is a thoroughly researched and detailed account of the Ravensbrück concentration camp, shedding light on the experiences of women from different nationalities and backgrounds who were subjected to inhumane treatment and atrocities. Helm's writing style is compassionate and convicting, chronicling the truth of the camp's history before time ran out, and urging readers to understand and never forget the stories of the survivors and victims of Ravensbrück.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include graphic depictions of violence, torture, psychological trauma, and human rights abuses.
From The Publisher:
Months before the outbreak of World War II, Heinrich Himmler-prime architect of the Holocaust-designed a special concentration camp for women, located fifty miles north of Berlin. Only a small number of the prisoners were Jewish. Ravensbrück was primarily a place for the Nazis to hold other inferior beings: Jehovah's Witnesses, Resistance fighters, lesbians, prostitutes, and aristocrats-even the sister of New York's Mayor LaGuardia. Over six years the prisoners endured forced labor, torture, starvation, and random execution. In the final months of the war, Ravensbrück became an extermination camp. Estimates of the final death toll have ranged from 30,000 to 90,000.
For decades the story of Ravensbrück was hidden behind the Iron Curtain. Now, using testimony unearthed since the end of the Cold War and interviews with survivors who have never talked before, Sarah Helm takes us into the heart of the camp. The result is a landmark achievement that weaves together many accounts, following figures on both sides of the prisoner/guard divide. Chilling, compelling, and deeply necessary, Ravensbrück is essential reading for anyone concerned with Nazi history.
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About the Author:
Sarah Helm is the author of A Life in Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII and the play Loyalty, about the 2003 Iraq War. She was a staff journalist on the Sunday Times (London) and a foreign correspondent on the Independent, and now writes for several publications. She lives in London with her husband and two daughters.
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