The Love That I Have

Margot Baumann was sixteen years of age when she began working in the mailroom of the concentration camp close to her home. Germany 1944 and Margot knew Hitler was great, and the Jews were not. Her parents, two brothers – who were both fighting for the fatherland – and sister Renate along with Margot had no reason to believe otherwise. But in the mailroom, it was her job to burn the letters the Jews wrote to their loved ones, and gradually Margot’s horror at the cruel burning of letters, as well as the treatment the prisoners were receiving changed her views.

But when Margot slipped a few letters into her pocket, her only intention was to forward them on – until she read one. The prisoner Dieter Kleinschmidt was writing a love letter to his girl who was in Auschwitz – her name was also Margot. And so, Margot’s deception began…

What would be the outcome once the war was over? What would happen to those prisoners-of-war? 

The Love That I Have by Aussie author James Moloney is my first by this author, and what a wonderful, heartfelt and emotional journey he took me on. Love, loss, courage and bravery; this phenomenal WWII story will stay with me for a long time to come. The ending was exceptionally well done – I have no hesitation in highly recommending The Love That I Have to fans of historical fiction.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read and review.

“The dead should know they are loved.”

This book shattered and mended my heart so many times that I think I’ll be feeling the effects of it for many months to come. 

Beginning in the late stages of WWII, this story centres around a typical young woman, who’s Pro-Hitler attitude is rattled to the core when she takes a job in the mailroom of the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. Devastated at the lack of correspondence from her POW brother in Stalingrad, she begins to read the letters of the prisoners, with the intention of sending them to their intended recipients and through them she learns that:

“There’s love in all of us, that it’s a human thing and pays no attention to race or religion.”

Moloney has expertly captured the desolation and despair of so many lives affected by the atrocities committed in this war. And having visited the Dachau Concentration Camp myself (almost 11 years ago now), it evoked the memories of the sorrow and the turmoil I felt while walking through that camp. 

The Love That I Have, is a deeply moving tale about the power of the written word, and how, when infused with love, can help to feed a soul, even when all else appears to be lost. 

Many thanks to James Moloney, HarperCollins Australia, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this compelling story in exchange for an honest review.

What an absolutely moving love story set in one of the most terrible times and places in history. I found this hard to put down whilst at the same time there were times I didn't want to read any further as my heart was breaking. I think this story and the feelings it has left in me will stay with me for quite a while. 

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins publishers for a copy in return for an honest review.

Margot Baumann is a typical German teenager in 1944. She has been raised to have an unquestioning devotion to Adolf Hitler and the supremacy of the German race. Her two brothers left to fight in the War and her sister has been working in the mailroom of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. When her sister is promoted, Margot eagerly steps into the position to play her part. 

The mailroom, where all mail entering and leaving the prison is processed, is outside the gates of the concentration camp. The prisoner’s outgoing mail is the lowest priority and quickly accumulates. Margot is entrusted with the regular reduction of this build-up by burning some of the letters. Sifting through the letters, she thinks of her brother who has not contacted them since he was imprisoned at Stalingrad and wonders if the prisoners’ letters are processed in a similar manner at Stalingrad. Recognising how much the letters mean to the writer and the intended recipients, she hides a few in her jacket and secretly forwards them on herself. 
As she reads the letters she begins to see the prisoners as people very similar to herself. ‘They showed me that there’s love in all of us, that it is a human thing and pays no attention to race or religion.’ As a result, she starts to question the patriotism she has been raised on. 

One letter catches her attention. It is a love letter from a prisoner, Dieter Kleinschmidt, to his girlfriend Margot.  As she reads it, she imagines that the letter was meant for her. Even though she knows that Dieter is writing to a different Margot, she starts to wait eagerly for his letters. She commences a dangerous charade and begins to take risks she would have never imagined. As Germany’s position weakens, her obsession with the letters leads to shocking consequences.

Maloney has written a powerful and moving story that explores the attitudes within Germany during World War II. The protagonist, Margot, clearly identifies as a Nazi in the beginning of the story. As she sees the horrors of the concentration camp and the suffering of her family and neighbours, she begins to question the beliefs that she has been raised with. Her doubts initially are clearly in contrast with most of the adult world around her. Her hope and love counter the hate and despair. Through this comparison, Maloney demonstrates how the German’s dehumanised certain races, and the way their prejudice fuelled the atrocities that occurred and made people numb to the suffering of others.  ‘Once you no longer see a man as human, you can do what you like to him. That’s one war the Nazi’s did win: the battle to change how Germans saw their fellow man.’

The story is broken up into three parts, so the reader is also exposed to the perspective of a prisoner of war, the horror of the concentration camp and the impact that imprisonment in the concentration camp had on those that survived. It also describes the loss and destruction that was left, and the way families were separated or destroyed. The story of Margot’s debut into the adult world and her relationship with Dieter are a suitable counterweight.

The Love That I Have is aimed at upper secondary students and adults.  It was both confronting and compelling. From the first chapter I was caught up in the story and swept along. It challenged and informed me, teasing out a variety of perspectives. I do not tend to gravitate to stories set during war, but after reading The Love That I Have, I am open to exploring this genre more.