"We cease to exist when there is no one in the world capable of loving us."

I have long been fascinated with the Holocaust and have a number of books on the subject. All are nonfiction. This one is a fictionalized account of a story based in fact. In 1943 a German woman, Helene Hannemann, who was married to a Gypsy, was taken with her husband and 5 children to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland. She herself was not required to go because she was German, but she refused to stay home without her children and husband. Separated from her husband the moment they arrived, Helene and her children were placed in the Gypsy camp, yet another group of people Hitler deemed unnecessary to live. During her time there, Dr. Josef Mengele, dubbed the Angel of Death for his cruel experiments on the Jews, asked her to start a kindergarten and nursery for the Gypsy children in the camp. She agreed, and being a nurse, was able to help the children for as long as she could. Mengele wanted to have children at hand for his experiments and the nursery provided that.

The fictionalized account begins now. Readers are told through Hannemann's diary of her life in the death camp until one fateful day. Escobar's research is spot on and we are given glimpses into this most infamous of Hitler's death camps. It is a very difficult book to read at times, but it is beautifully told and is something we should remember. Man's inhumanity to man is at its worse here in the death camps. I read this book in one day. Heart-wrenching and painful though it was, it will be a wonderful addition to my library.

*My thanks to Nelson Publishers for a copy of this book via Net Galley. My opinion is entirely my own.

This was a very hard book to read. Sometimes I just had to have a break from it and go do something else.

It’s a true story of the Gypsies who were imprisoned at Auschwitz, told from the perspective of Helene Hannemann, a real person who arrived at the camp in May, 1943, with her husband and five children. Although not a Gypsy herself, Helene was married to Johann, who was. She refused to be separated from her family and thus found herself imprisoned. Dr. Mengele notices her, a blue-eyed, blonde German woman, and offers her the position of director of a nursery school,which operated there in the camp for about one year. It offered her and her children a bit better quality of life during those months, though her husband was in a different part of the camp, away from his family.

We’ve all likely seen or read accounts of those imprisoned by the third Reich, but this account, written rather like a diary, was especially hopeless in tone, at least to me. I’m a member of a book club, but would not recommend this book as one of our selections.

I received this book from the publisher via netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

I started reading, AUSCHWITZ LULLABY and before I knew it.. I'd finished reading it in two days. I could not put it down. To find out that this was a true story.. WOW. That was beyond mind blowing. This story about a mother's love for her children.. a love so strong that even though she was not a gypsy, Jew or undesirable.. she chose to remain with her family all the way to Auschwitz. To work under Mengele's eye.. and run a kindergarten for the gypsy children in Auschwitz.. she walked such a fine line every single moment.. and managed to keep her children alive is a true testament of the ultimate mother's love.

AUSCHWITZ LULLABY will tug at your heartstrings. It will hit home with every parent out there. Just how far would you go to protect your little ones? Even if it meant intolerable conditions.. and the threat of catching diseases, being killed by the cruel guards, or other prisoners. This is one of those rare stories that will stay with the reader well beyond when they've finished reading it. An amazing courageous story of a family of gypsies.. struggling to survive in Auschwitz during WWII.

++++++++++++++++++++
Separate review for Authors on the Air:

AUSCHWITZ LULLABY: A NOVEL
By Mario Escobar
Historical Fiction
Publication Date: August 7, 2018
Print Length: 304 pages

AUSCHWITZ LULLABY is based upon the true story of Helene Hannemann. Helene is married to her childhood sweetheart, Johann who is a gypsy. The couple have five children. Helene is German who chooses to remain with her husband and children when the German police show up at their doorstep and take them into custody. Helene cannot allow her husband and children to leave without her. She insists on going with her family to Auschwitz even though the SS gives her the option to remain. As Helene is a nurse and an Aryan, Dr. Mengele selects her to organize and run a daycare school for the Romani children in the camp.

AUSCHWITZ LULLABY is so well written that one can devour it in a very short time. It is a very fast-paced novel. But, one that will stay in your mind forever. The author clearly researched the camp and highlights the treatment of the gypsies in Auschwitz. Most folks are unaware of other “undesirables” that were taken as prisoners by the Nazis during WWII.

I highly recommend, AUSCHWITZ LULLABY: A NOVEL. It’s an amazing story of one woman’s love for her children. She sacrifices her freedom to accompany her husband and children to Auschwitz. This one will tug at your heartstrings. There are many stories of Auschwitz, but this is the first one that I’ve read.. that focuses on the treatment of Gypsies. They suffered in the camp from their brutal captors as well as their fellow prisoners. Poor Helene is seen as a sympathizer of the Nazis as she cooperates with the monster Mengele. The real reason she agreed to run the day camp and school was to ensure that the children of the camp would receive good food, an education, and a respite from the daily grind of being held as a prisoner in a death camp.

Heartbreaking and very real. Reading this book was like reading an actual journal. The author had to have done a lot of research and was very passionate about his subject. I have read a lot of WWII fiction and this one is one of my favorites.

This book was an eye opener. I was stunned to learn of the persecution of ethnic groups other than the Jews during the war. I had never heard of this before. I did like the book. It was well written and just for what I learned I'm glad I read it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was drawn to this book initially because of the title and the artwork on the cover. I had the opportunity to visit Auschwitz last fall and am very interested in learning more about what happened there. Although this book is told as a novel, the story was inspired by the life of Helene Hannemann, A German woman who had fallen in love and married a Romani (gypsy) man and had five children with him.

In the years prior to where the story starts, life had become increasingly difficult for those of Romani extraction. The Nazi party's racial laws had become increasingly harsh and the Hannemann family tried to live a quiet life out of the spotlight living in fear of the day when the Nazi's would arrive on their doorstep. That day came in May of 1943, and when the soldiers arrived they were only coming for Helene's husband Johann and their five children. Helene, as a purebred German, was not required to go but could not bear to send her family off alone and chose to go with them to what turned out to be Auschwitz and a family camp in Birkenau.

The book is told from the eyes of Josef Mengele some years after the war as he reads through journals which Helene had supposedly written. I somehow doubt that she would ever have had the opportunity to write such detailed journals and have them survive, but it was still an effective way to give her a voice.

There are many elements of her story abut the trip to Auschwitz, how awful it was and what life was like once one arrived that would be familiar to any reader who has done much reading on the subject of Auschwitz, but this book is different in that rather than focus on the story of the Jews who were sent to Auschwitz, it tells the story of what happened to the Romani that were sent there. This provided a lot of information that was new to me.

The Gypsies had their own section of the camp and while the life they lived was horrible, it was at least marginally better than what the Jewish population faced upon arrival. There was no immediate selection for the gas chambers and while the adult males were separated from their family, women and children could remain together. As a nurse, Helene Hanneman had the opportunity to work in what passed as a hospital. This allowed her a slightly better chance to provide for her children. Eventually it also brought her into contact with Dr. Josef Mengele and led to her being asked to organize and run a nursery and school for the Gypsy children. The author has told the story of how the school came to be and Helene's impact on those she came into contact with. Although the author fictionalized her story, it is clear that he did a lot of research into what it was like to be in Auschwitz and how the story of the Romani people there progressed. He included reference to the experiments (particularly on twins) of Dr. Mengele impacted them. Wherever possible, the author chose to use the stories of real people. He did, however choose to alter certain details of what happened to Helene and her family in order to leave the reader with a sense of hope.

The presence of this nursery in Auschwitz provided the only light that there was in the lives of the Romani children incarcerated there. The care provided by Helene and her fellow providers had to have been a real contrast to what their mothers were facing. It allowed the children to be children for at least a few hours every day and also provided slightly better food and warmth. Sadly it also provided children for Dr. Mengele to experiment on. Ultimately, as it became clear that the Germans were losing the war, conditions worsened and finally all who remained were exterminated by the Germans.

Mario Escobar told this story in a way that drew me in quickly and kept me reading whenever I had a few minutes. Life was awful in Auschwitz, but there were still good people there who supported each other and did their best to improve life for others. Stories like this one need to be told and remembered. The writing itself was excellent and at times had a poetic quality to it. It demonstrated clearly that when love is involved, the choices one makes often include self-sacrifice. It also showed that while some people like Mengele and many of the women guards were evil, they still had moments where one could catch a glimpse of humanity. In a world where hate continues to grow and fester regarding people who are different from who we are, this book holds an important place as a warning to what can happen when we forget that under our skin we are all the same. I highly recommend this book.

I'm crying. I didn't think I would, but "Auschwitz Lullaby" tells such an emotional and heartbreaking tale of a mother willing to do anything for her children during a particularly grim period in history, so it's hard not to feel incredibly saddened and awed after reading this book. It is by no means a perfect novel, though it certainly struck me where it hurts.

Helene is truly a mother to admire, for despite being Aryan, she went with her Gypsy children to Auschwitz because she refused to leave them. She also tended to so many other children while still managing to look out for own, which truly made her experiences as a victim of the Nazi regime immensely significant and impactful. All of the emotions of both Helene and the people she encounters in the camp within "Auschwitz Lullaby" are so well described, making the story even more emotional and harrowing.

As remarkable as the novel is, the pacing was rather slow, and for a while it wasn't exactly holding my interest, but given that it is written in the form of Helene's diary, I do understand why it wouldn't move faster than it did. The fact that I have read so many books about the Holocaust may have also contributed my initial lack of interest, although I do think there is a uniqueness to this story that I haven't seen in others involving similar subject matter. Additionally, I thought the dialogue seemed a bit forced at times, but it didn't make the book seem any less realistic than.

For a while, I was expecting to rate it three stars due to the aforementioned problems I noticed throughout, but the ending truly affected me in ways I could never adequately explain. If a novel can bring me to tears, it deserves another star without question. Regardless of any issues I had with "Auschwitz Lullaby", Helene's story is definitely one worth reading.

Auschwitz Lullaby was an incredible read! It was a heart breaking, outrageous, incredibly sad depiction of life in the interment camp. Yet the resolve to make the best of an incredibly horrible situation takes center stage. The women are the heroes in this book, especially Helene, who stood up to Mengele. This is a book I will probably read again.

This one is such a beautifully written story! Mario does a fabulous job of taking a true story and adding the journal bit to it. I thought that the book was incredibly well done.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A mothers love knows no bounds.

What a heart wrenching book. Based on a real woman, Helene shows just how far she would go to protect her children. The description of the camps was absolutely horrifying. I could feel the pain of the mothers there. There were times I had to put the book down for a minute and gather myself before continuing.

It was a beautiful story, very well written. Made to touch the heart strings. Someone else brushed it off as if you’ve read one story about Auschwitz, you’ve read them all. But I don’t find this to be true. Even though it’s only glimpses, there were difference shown between how different groups of people were treated in these camps. This is the first time I read a book on the Holocaust from more of a Gypsy point of view.

This book like many other Auschwitz books was just heartbreaking. This book is centered around one family and their struggles both within themselves but mostly surrounding what happens as they are rounded up but the German SS soldiers and sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp. Our main character Helene is of German blood however she married a gypsy. So when the SS come to her house to take away her husband and her two children she can't bare the thought of being separated from them so she makes the decision to go to Auschwitz in order to keep her family together. Because Helene is of German descent she is granted a few privileges that other prisoners are not peeve to, and she takes them in order to keep herself and her children safe in the place of chaos. This book like all other books that deal with the Holocaust is terribly sad. With all the emotional and physical abuse that these poor people went through and for no reason at all except the way that they were born. At the request of Dr. Mengele, Helene creates a little school for the children of the Auschwitz camp. She makes this camp into a little refuge for her children and the other children suffering at the Nazi's hands, all the while knowing that it could be taken away form her at any moment. I liked how it showed that while this was a terrible thing that happened not every second of every day was filled with sadness there were small victories that the prisoners held onto. This book was amazing and Helen's strength and compassion as well as her courage made her character very relatable in today's society. Very sad book but I'm so glad I got the chance to read it. If you like books about the Holocaust then this is one that you should read. It puts a new perspective on an old subject. I found it amazing to read that Helene was a real woman and the story told is a true story I didn't expect that. It makes what I read even sadder.

Mario Escobar has novelized the story of Helene Hanneman and her five children and their experiences in Auschwitz toward the end of the war. It is a true story and reads like a diary in the voice of Helene.

This is not an easy book to read, to learn of the cruelties of the German Reich during World War II. Helene was married to a Gypsy, even though she was considered Aryan. She could have continued to live in her apartment and had another life, but she refused to leave her five children.

It was hard to read of the brutalities of the guards, the twisted experiments of Josef Mengele, and the emotionless separations of families--the selections of people for the gas chambers.

Toward the end of the war, rumors were flying of the Allies coming to liberate the camps. Dr Mengele gave Helene a second chance to leave as a free woman, but he would not release her children. She led her children like she led them all their lives--by example.

This is a five star book, two thumbs up, and a real mattress to sleep on.

My thanks to Thomas Nelson for allowing me to read and review this book.

I've been on a World War II phase for a bit now. I think it started with Kristy Cambron's Hidden Masterpiece books and Schuyler McConkey's War of Loyalties. The WWII era wasn't exactly a happy one, and a reader shouldn't expect stories to be quite as full of fun and life as other genres. However, I think the true stories and the true history is important--one that we shouldn't quickly forget. People matter. And that's why Mario Escobar wrote of Helene Hannemann. There are fictional aspects to the story which Escobar details at the end of the book, but I believe most of it is very real and very true.

For most people, the word and place of Auschwitz has the connotation of evil and horror. Rightly so. The stories that have been resurrected from that place have been anything but humane, though the heroes that lived through it sought to provide dignity and hope to those who lived their last hours amid the terror of human experiments and the filth of everyday living. Many of those who suffered in Auschwitz were Jewish. However, this story takes place through the eyes of someone in a different category (at least, in the governments' eyes she was different). Helene is German, but she married a Romani, sometimes known as Gypsy, and together in their happy family they had five children. I don't know if Helene considered herself a Christian or not, but there are several references to her praying or questioning different aspects of spiritual matters. She refuses to leave her children and husband on the day they are called to the camps, and thus gives the rest of her life searching for ways to provide hope and stability to the poor, desperate souls in Auschwitz.

Because of her courage and practicality, plus her nurse training, she gains a leadership position fairly quickly among the barracks of women prisoners. She learns how to interact with Dr. Mengele, who treats her a bit better than the rest and offers her the position of a teacher over a day care/school setting for children in the camp. She soon learns that Mengele always has reasons for what he does.

Written from Helene's point of view, she details the tortures of the work camps, the lifestyle of the prisoners, and the activities of her superiors, though not in inappropriate ways. However, I would still recommend this book from mature readers only, even though countless other children personally, emotionally, and physically experienced the pain of inequality and racism firsthand under Hitler's leadership.

Grateful for Helene's example of courage to us and sobered once again by the tragedy of man's depravity willingly performed on his fellow companions.



*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

There are many other books telling of the holocaust and it's shocking reality. I believe we would be hard pressed to find anyone in this world who did not know the word "Auschwitz". And did not know of the horrific acts on fellow human beings that took place in this mad and barbaric theatre of war.

I was ready to hear from a mothers point of view the devotion to the hearts that beat as one - the unbreakable bond between a mother and her children. "Auschwitz Lullaby" sings a sad lament of such a bond.
Helene is a heroine who neither wanted or expected to be a role model and a tower of strength to those detained with her in the pitch darkness of absolute despair. Poor souls brought together by a madman's idealism and constantly under the eyes of a butcher's creed for a true Aryan race.

This book will shock you, inspire you, crush you and rebuild you. You will carry this story with you long after you have replaced the book on the shelf or killed the light of your reading device. Because really it has ignited a light of recognition and a promise to yourself that such atrocities will never again exist.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Books about the Holocaust can be especially difficult to read, especially for a reader who becomes immersed in the story and it’s characters. I was not sure I wanted to read Auschwitz Lullaby, but I am so very grateful that I have.

It wasn’t just the Jews who were interned by Germany; any person deemed unfit by the definition of the state, were at risk of internment. Auschwitz Lullaby is focused on the gypsy camp interned at the infamous prison. With their dark hair and eyes, and swarthy skin they just did not fit the German ideal.

This novel is based on the true story of Helene Hannemann and her five children. Helene was a German woman married to a gypsy man, something that was just not done, even before the state definition of the perfect German. When the soldier’s knocked on the door of the family apartment, Helene could have stayed back; she was not under arrest, only her husband and the five children. But, Helene refused to abandon her family, joining them on the most horrifying ride in a cattle car of a train, making the journey to Auschwitz., specifically Birkenau. Upon arrival, Helene’s husband was separated from the family; in the time of interment, Helene saw her husband only one time.

Shortly after their arrival in Birkenau, a new camp commander was assigned. His name was Dr. Josef Mengele.

Helene was responsible for the direction of the Camp Kindergarten, an assignment from Mengele himself. Though afraid upon her arrival at Auschwitz, Helene went on to become one of the strongest women to pass through its gates. I admire her. She was an amazing and resourceful woman, full of strong determination to protect the least of these.

I’ve often wondered if I would be able to survive, not just survive, but fight to survive if something similar to the Holocaust were to occur in the United States today. Would I have the fortitude to press on? The courage? And I remember that in the world today, there are peoples and countries experiencing a “holocaust” of sorts.

When The Holocaust Museum opened in Washington DC, I wanted to visit but knew the emotional impact would be strong. I finally visited about 10 years ago; to this day, I find it difficult to speak of that visit. I just want to weep.

Auschwitz Lullaby had a very similar impact on me, but Helene Hannemann shows there can be light and hope even in the darkest of places.

World War II fascinates me. I don't know why. Maybe it is because of the cause for the young men and women who weren't afraid to take up arms and defend our country and the less fortunate. That doesn't happen anymore. Most people whine and don't stand for nothing, but the wrong things. Off my soap box. Auschwitz Lullaby by Mario Escobar is an interesting take on a different part of Auschwitz. I for one did not know that there were two of them. I have heard about the horrible things that occurred at Auschwitz. There is even a survivor living in our town who owns a Holocaust museum.
Escobar's writing was vivid and scary. Not in a sick way. But a way to show the truth. I could visualize all the horrible surroundings in Auschwitz II, and the horrible conditions made me sick to my stomach. I couldn't imagine trying to survive with my children in such deplorable conditions. He did a great job at sticking to Helene's perspective throughout the entire novel. He did not jump into the children's perspective or Dr. Mengele's.
The plot was interesting, yet sad. I have read a number of Holocaust stories, and it always makes me sick that anyone would be so cruel to others just because of the way they look or the religion they confess. Escobar's novel moved quite rapidly. I really wanted to see Helene and her five children survive. But I had a suspicion in the back of my mind that something would happen to her twins because of Dr. Mengele's widely known experiments.
Helene, as the heroine, faced a huge issue. She chose the least traveled road and stood up a number of times to Dr. Mengele in the face of adversity. I admired her courage. I feel like I would be meaner and stand up to the guards because it is wrong, but I probably would have been shot too. Helene was a brave and strong character. A true testament to the greatest generation. They were brave and stood up for what they believed while living in hell. I admire Helene for her bravery.
As a word of caution: This is a Holocaust novel that takes place at Auschwitz, so there are a number of graphic scenes that might make some readers uneasy.
Overall, Auschwitz Lullaby by Mario Escobar is a heart-wrenching look into how far a mother would go to protect her children. With true bravery, Escobar has written a tale in honor of the mountains of innocent lives lost to the Holocaust. I truly enjoyed this novel. Fans of Joel Roseberg's The Auschwitz Escape, Kate Breslin, and Kristy Cambron's World War II novels should pick up this novel.
I received a complimentary copy of Auschwitz Lullaby by Mario Escobar from Thomas Nelson Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

I have read numerous historical fiction novels about World War II and many harrowing stories of the Holocaust but never had grasped the atrocities also experienced by the Gypsy population interned at Auschwitz. This is the heroic and tragic story of Helene Hannemann, a German nurse who was a fierce protector of her Gypsy children, and also the appointed director of an Auschwitz based nursery school under the direction of the horrific Dr. Mengele. Helene's fierce bravery and family-first approach to her year at Auschwitz makes this novel, written as a diary, a page turner even though her family's tragic outcome is clear from the beginning. We hope against hope for a different ending even though we turn the pages knowing how this story will end. It is an important piece of Holocaust history that leaves the reader thinking about all the brave souls - of diverse ethnicities - interned at concentration camps during the Nazi regime who have stories like Helene Hannemann's that have yet to be told.

Based on a true story this title explores the life of a courageous woman who valiantly fought for her family and the unknowing children---the victims of the Holocaust and Auschwitz. A most beautiful story told by an outstanding writer. Thank you so much for the opportunity to have read this book prior to publication--it has stayed with me long after the last word.

Just when I think I've read all of the best historical fiction novels, a new one comes along.
In this case it's the story of Helene, a young mother who finds the horrors of war at her doorstep when she and her family are thrown into a concentration camp. Separated from her husband, she focuses on keeping her children safe. As a nurse she earns herself a bit of an advantage and is able to secure work along with a few extra, although slight, privileges. The doctor she's enlisted to work for, however, is none other than Josef Mengele. Even as she struggles to help those around her, she still must bear witness to his evilness at work.
This is a heartbreaking story, as are all tales about this time in history. This one is even more so as it's based on a true story. Helene was a real person, and how she chose to live her life even in the face of the greatest hardships imaginable will inspire you while making you weep at the same time.

Wow- I just finished reading the Auschwitz Lullaby and I think it was one of the better WWII books I have read. It was based on the true story of Helene Hannemann, an Aryan German woman, married to a Romani gypsy, who finds herself at the Auschwitz camp, under the direction of Dr Josef Mengele, as he performed his twisted experiments on children, twins, and other prisoners. This was a heartbreaking story of a mother’s love for her children, her courageous fight for the other prisoners, and how she went on in the face of adversity. As with many of the WWII books that I have read, this one has a completely different viewpoint and focuses on something that I didn’t know much about, the Romani gypsy situation in the war and the experiments conducted by the monster Josef Mengele.
Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, especially WWII stories.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.