This book was horrifyingly sad. It's not for a pleasure read. Of all the characters, I started off liking Gundi from the start, her journey was hard but she had a slight hope in the end of the novel. At first I did like Hilde but over the course of the book I disliked her. But I am glad that she also had an 'out' but it's what she deserved. As for Irma, she grew on me and I liked her character growth. It would be a good movie, disgusting, but good. Rated R for many things.

This was a thoroughlyy enjoyable WWII story that shed light on the Lebensborn Society network of maternity homes in Nazi Germany. The setting and main characters are all interesting and well-developed. The contrast between the motivations of each character is particularly well-executed, making it an absorbing read.

I did find the climax fell a bit flat, and I think the events near the end of the book could have been explored in more detail for added tension and interest, but I still enjoyed the story a great deal.

Thank you to the author, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was fascinating and I read it so quickly. I was very much unaware of the programs the Nazis used to secure babies for Nazi families. This is an aspect of WWII that I haven’t seen in other books.

I thought this was so well written too. I found myself wanting to keep reading in order to find out what would happen. There is romance and loss in this book, and also hope and human kindness.

The author wrote about three different women and the life experiences and perspectives of these women were each different. It is clear she took so much care in how she approached each character. The author’s note does a great job of explaining how she approached each character, so make sure you read that part of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book is a heart wrenching look into a dark time in world history. It shows the harsh reality of the Lebensborn Society maternity homes. These were real homes that were set up to breed "racially fit" babies during World War II. I was not aware that these places existed. This story brings together three women, Gundi, Hilde and Irma. Irma is a 44-year-old nurse that has endured heartbreak and wants to start a new life. Hilde is an 18-year-old true believer and is desperate to help the cause in any way possible. Gundi is a university student that is secretly part of a resistance group. She is the perfect beauty that finds herself pregnant and sent to one of the maternity homes. Each woman has her own hopes and dreams for the future and her own trials to get through. Even though these women are fictional, this is based on historical events. That fact is chilling and heart breaking.

Just when I think I’ve heard about all of the depravity that was the Third Reich, another incredible historical fiction book comes along to teach me more. But even more that that, Coburn’s novel demonstrates the amazing resilience and strength that is womanhood ❤️

The year is 1939. Kristallnacht has taken place and Jews are being threatened across Germany; hauled off to work camps.

The three women who’s first hand accounts tell the story:

🤰Gundi, a university student from Berlin who is the epitome of the beauty standard of the third reich, is pregnant. She discovers her mother has agreed to send her to Hein Hochland, a Nazi breeding home in Bavaria, to have her baby. Fear takes hold at this possibility as they may discover the father is not of the Aryan race.

👱‍♀️Hilde, a true devotee of the Third Reich, is all too happy to be carrying the child of a Nazi official. Coburn does an amazing job in the difficult task of showing how the mind of this brainwashed girl works and why she has her misguided allegiance. Not an easy thing to do I’m sure, as Coburn’s own family are Jewish descendants of Germany.

👩‍⚕️Irma, a nurse who served in the German Army during WWI, who is fleeing heartache and takes a position at Hein Hochland to help the pregnant women at the home. Her journey was the most interesting to me. As her eyes are opened to the reality of what the agenda of the home truly is, she can no longer ignore what is truly happening around her at the hands of Hitler and his men. The transformation of her character is inspiring!

It’s a beautiful tale of one of the ugliest times in human history and the women who rose above it.

I read this book at the request of BookBrowse.com, in order to lead an online discussion group.

There were a lot of good things going on with this book. The historical fiction aspect was excellent - very well-researched, and a subject about which there hasn't been much written. I actually found it was pretty horrific in places, and I did wonder if some of the more shocking scenes were truly necessary.

I liked the book, but I didn't love it. Part of the problem I had with it was that so much of the book was told from one character's viewpoint, and she (Hilde) was the least convincing of the three heroines. I got tired of her narcissistic musings and actions. I realized she was young and self-centered, but I thought the character was pretty one-sided.

My other issue was kind of the reverse side of the coin - there wasn't enough information about Irma and Gundi. I liked these characters and wanted to know more about them. In particular, I felt their stories ended too soon, I wanted more of a resolution for them.

Told in three different stories Cradles in the Reich is a well written historical fiction. There was an obvious amount of research done for this book that was highlighted throughout the story. We follow Irma, Hilde and Gundi as they navigate their time at the ward and survive.
I loved the different perspectives of the novel and how well Jennifer Coburn educates the readers.
I did wish that the main characters had a little more of a backstory otherwise the overall story was well developed. I would recommend this book to people that like Hitler-era books as I think it has a particular audience. I felt it ended a little abrupt for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with this arc in exchange for my honest review

I have to say, I have read a lot of books from the World War 11 era, but I've never heard of this (Lebensborn Breeding Program) Women of certain looks were deceived into having their babies here and then they were taken from them to be raised to populate a, new Germany, the writer Jennifer Coburn did an amazing job with this story, I didn't want it to end, Gundi was my favorite character, My heart ached for all those women that really endured that horrific time by the Nazi. Thank you for allowing me to be one of the first to read this wonderful book, I received this from Net galley to read and review.

3.5 stars rounded up

Many fans of WWII historical fiction will be unaware of Hitler’s lebensborn society wherein young German women are chosen due to their looks and breeding to bear the children of Nazi officers in order to increase the population of the master race. The three main characters portray three totally different points of view: the German nurse, Irma who begins to question the program; the chosen Aryan Gundi who harbors a secret about her baby’s father; and Hilde, looking to improve her circumstances and lead an easy life. I was surprised at the rather abrupt ending, left feeling that there were many loose ends.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

📱” Cradles of the Reich” by Jennifer Coburn
⭐️⭐️⭐⭐⭐ publication date Oct 11, 2022

Wow- an incredibly, well-researched story of 3 very different German women whose lives all intersect at Heim Hochland, a beautiful estate in Bavaria, where young German women of good lineage can live and eat in luxury during their pregnancy. Also young, fertile German women enjoy the finest things for entertaining high-up Nazi officers in hopes of becoming pregnant. Based on untold historical events, from inside one of Hitler’s Lebensborn Society maternity homes that actually existed during World War II, where thousands of "racially fit" babies were bred and taken from their mothers to be raised as part of the “new” Germany.

Thank you @netgalley for the Kindle ARC

✨Book Review✨

Happy Sunday! I participated in a buddy read of Cradles of the Reich this past month. You guys know I love a good historical fiction novel and I was really looking for to this one!

Thank you to @netgalley and @sourcebooks for the eARC of Cradles of the Reich.

Have you heard about the Nazi breeding program, Hitler’s attempt to create a so-called master race? I knew the Nazis did all sorts of horrific things, but this one was news to me.

The book follows three women, all playing different roles in this crazy Nazi scheme. It was eye-opening and I was disgusted multiple times.

In an effort to create a pure society in Germany, women are kept in a house where they are available to entertain German officers and pregnant women are cared for until they give birth and allow their babies to be adopted.

Cradles of the Reich tells a story of three women who find themselves in Heim Hochland, a maternity ward/ breeding home developed by Nazis. The aim of the Lebensborn program was to produce racially desirable Aryan babies. Although I was already aware of the Lebensborn concept, I think this will be an interesting read to those who wish to gain more insight into Nazis and WW2 topics.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Very poinent book about unbelievable acts from Germany WW II. The story follows 3 women from very different backgrounds and how they come together. Beautifully written with all its heartbreak, raw honesty and redemption.

I'm going to start by saying that I read a lot of HF. And have read voices from many different countries and the effect (and reach) Nazi Germany had during WWII. That said, I have yet to read anything that this novel talks about. The Lebensborn Program.

The author gave a new topic, a new spotlight, and a fresh horror to unpack for the reader. The fact that I was unware of the program says that we are just not reading enough about it. Here's the biggest pro: I think that the author did a brilliant job of researching the two major war efforts (Holocaust & Lebensborn) and how they worked hand-in-hand to create the belief system of Hitler's new world.

The characters themselves were developed but I found that Hilde was the one that wasn't dissected enough. It must have been hard to get into the head of an 18 yr old who held the prestige of being one of SS's "chosen ones" as a higher calling but I needed to know why she made that choice.

The negative (for me): I felt like the characters (3 women) didn't get enough time or a past formed on why they did what they did...almost like the book was slightly too short and they needed more of a backstory. Also I felt like the book just ended too fast. I wanted to know what happened to Hilde, Gundi or Irma. Or even Leo. I just needed more of the ending to tie things up even if it was in heartache.

I waver between 3.5 stars and 4 because of the uniqueness of the topic in a saturated WWII genre of HS but didn't quite make the mark of 4-5stars because of character development and the ending. I would still recommend it regardless because I do think that this spotlight on what was happening is a lesser-known piece of WWII in Germany.

Pub date: 10/11/22
Genre: historical fiction
Thank you @bookmarked for my e-ARC!

At Nazi breeding home Heim Hochland, three women will witness the horrors of the Lebensborn program firsthand. Exemplary Aryan Gundi is hiding a secret about her child's father, zealot Hilde hopes to impress the high-ranking officials, and nurse Irma can hardly believe what she's being asked to do. I loved getting these three diverse perspectives and seeing how their stories intertwined. WWII historical fiction fans - definitely add this to your list!

Cradles of the Reich

🎁 📚 𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀 🎁📚
4.5/5 🌟

If I didn’t know that this novel was based upon historical fact, I’d have characterized it dystopian womens fiction - that’s how unbelievable the subject of this well-researched book is.

Coburn brings to light the Nazi breeding program which actually took place during WWII. Young German women lived in what amounted to brothels, offering themselves to Nazi officers in attempts to become impregnated with perfect German babies to be adopted by wealthy families, in order for mothers to earn coveted medals for raising as many children as possible. Additionally, pregnant women with no marriage prospects found themselves part of this program, dubbed Lebensborn, forced to give up their babies to the Reich. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, - Nazi soldiers killed hundreds of thousands of parents and abducted their German-looking babies in Poland and other occupied countries to make them into “Germanized” citizens. It’s unthinkable, and it happened.

This story focuses on three very different German women and their reactions to the society in which they found themselves. Anti-semitism was woven into the cultural fabric of Germany at that time - every aspect of life was infused with it, from children’s books and board games to propaganda films and outright acts of violence. Some German citizens followed along whole-heartedly for the promise of a “pure” German race while others knew the treatment of the Jews and other “undermensch” was abhorrent and did their best to fight against it. Coburn also does address the concentration camps, although tangentially, as most German citizens were not aware of the extent to which Jews and others were so inhumanely treated and systematically murdered.

This one rocked me. I appreciated it’s different perspective and It brought up questions of HOW these types of atrocities happen in a seemingly civilized society (though this is inherently questioned in every Holocaust novel), about the environments that allow women’s bodies to be used for political gains, and about what it took, and takes, for one to stick by their beliefs in the face of grave danger.

There are endless amounts of stories stemming from the Holocaust, and while the focus should primarily be on the victims of the concentration camps (IMHO), this was a good one to fill
in perspective gaps about that period in history.

This one will be published on October 11 - I hope you’ll read it!

My thanks to @netgalley, @bookmarked and @jennifercoburn for the gift of an advanced reader’s copy in return for an honest review.

A very good book. Information I never really knew much about. Three woman during WWII and the paths they took to try and survive this horrendous war and the awful things that were done against humanity.

Loved this book. Lots of interesting information to digest. This is a great read for anyone who loves to read about history. Very well written

*****Publishing October 11, 2022*****


⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Cradles Of The Reich is based on the Nazi breeding program during WWII called the The Lebensborn Society. The Lebensborn Society are maternity homes for “racially pure” German mothers to live at until they have their baby. They are forced to give their baby up for adoption. The couples adopting pledge to raise the child to uphold the Nationalist Socialist Party values and to pledge their allegiance to Hitler. Young women are also recruited to live at the houses in order to get pregnant by Reich Officers, in order to breed “racially pure” children. Jennifer Coburn took a heartbreaking part of history and created an engaging story through the eyes of Gundi and Hilde, “racially pure” German women and Irma, a nurse, all who eventually lived at Heim Hochland, a maternity house. What will they experience? Will this experience question their own beliefs? Will they eventually figure out what is really going on?


From the research to the story to the characters in this book, this author created a heart breaking and powerful story! This book is hard to put down and will keep you thinking about it long after it is done. For those who love Historical Fiction, this is a must read! A great book club pick as it will lead to many great discussions.


Thanks to Jennifer Coburn, I was asked to read and review!