The Kommandant's Girl

This is without a doubt one of my favorite books ever! I'm happy to say that it arrived in great condition, I couldn’t be happier with it! This story is absolutely incredible and to think how so many innocent people during WWII went through is utterly devastating. I couldn’t imagine being in Emma’s position and I commend her so much for being strong in a time where being Jewish was a death sentence. How far she was wiling to go to save those in her life was extraordinary. I found myself asking a particular question once I finished the story. " When confronted with something like protecting a loved one, do we even have a choice?' For Emma, she did not. My heart was in pieces by the end for part of me hates to admit to the fact that I really enjoyed the Kommandant, for at many times you saw him questioning his actions and choices. Somewhere underneath his harsh exterior, I truly believed that deep down he was a good person with a conscience and knew that what was going on around him wasn't right. He grew to truly love Emma and I loved all the moments that happened between them in the book. But was it enough? Im not spoiling, you have to read it yourself to find out and I can assure you its worth the read! A wonderful story that everyone needs to read!

Eighteen year-old Emma Gershmann, meets Jacob Bau while she is working at Krakow University as a librarian. The two almost immediately strike-up a conversation, which is unusual for Emma, a quiet young women from an Orthodox Jewish home. But Jacob looks kind and honest, and obviously possesses a lively sense of humor. He is pursuing studies in physics, but his real passion is politics, and he is involved in many activist's groups. He has written several articles about "Germany's unfettered dominance" over its neighbors." Jacob is the son of prominent socialist Maximilian Bau. "Emma was surprised that a student from a wealthy secular family would be interested in her, the daughter of a poor Orthodox baker." However, Jacob never seems to notice the differences in their class status. He is apparently falling in love with this fair-haired blue-eyed Jewess. He asks to court the lovely young woman, and they wed shortly after gaining permission. The couple had only been married for three weeks when the Nazis invade Poland. Jews were obliged to take part in forced labor almost immediately after the conquest. In November 1939, all Jews 12 years or older were required to wear identifying armbands. All Kraków, synagogues were ordered closed and their relics and valuables turned over to the Nazi authorities. The Kraków Ghetto was formally established in 1941. Fifteen thousand Jews were displaced from their homes and crammed into an area previously inhabited by 3,000 people who used to live in a district consisting of 30 streets, 320 residential buildings, and 3,167 rooms. As a result, one apartment was allocated to every four Jewish families, and many less fortunate lived on the street. Young leftists, including Jacob Bau, who had undertaken the publication of an underground newsletter, joined forces with other Zionist to form a local branch of the Jewish Fighting Organization and organize resistance in the ghetto, supported by the Polish underground. The group carried out a variety of resistance activities including the bombing of the Cyganeria cafe, a gathering place of Nazi officers. Jacob disappears soon after the formation of the ghetto, after explaining to Emma that he has a moral obligation to fight their oppressors. She remains behind with her parents as the situation worsens on a daily basis, i.e., poverty, starvation, typhus, homelessness, Nazi violence and random murders. She begins work in a ghetto orphanage where she meets other young activists who work with Jacob. Marta Nederman, one of these people, becomes Emma's close friend and introduces her to other like-minded people. Jacob has Emma smuggled out of the ghetto and finds a place for her in a small village near Krakow with Krysia Smok, his Catholic aunt by marriage. Krysia is a member of Krakow's social elite, despite her waning years, and is a warm, welcoming woman who loves her nephew by marriage. Emma is given a new name, Anna Lipowski, and a new history. She is now an orphan from Gdansk and a Catholic. Krysia has also taken in a little boy, three year-old Lukasz, the only remaining descendant of Rabbi Iszakowicz, the great rabbi of Lublin. Emma is to pose as the child's older sister and protect him with her life. Krysia, as a doyenne of Krakow society, believes that the best way to hide from the Nazis is to act normally, right underneath their noses. Therefore she invites a small group to a dinner party, including Nazis, Polish sympathizers, and the charismatic Kommandant Georg Richwalder, second in command to Nazi Governor-General of Poland, Hans Frank. Emma/Anna is terrified, but Krysia reassures her, coaches her for her role, and makes the young woman a beautiful dress for the occasion. Richwalder is a striking man. Anna knows she should hate him on sight, but nevertheless is drawn to him. Unfortunately the Kommandant is also drawn to Anna, and he asks her to work as his special assistant in Nazi headquarters. The underground encourages her to take the job in order to spy for them But the situation between the Nazi and the Jewess becomes much more complex. Ann finds herself awake at night, racked by guilt. I found this novel to be riveting. Not only does it portray Jewish life in Krakow before and during the Holocaust, but it also deals with Jewish guilt...survivor guilt. Written in a first person narrative, Emma/Anna tells her story. She is a very human, yet a flawed character, quite sympathetic and well developed, as are many of the novels other personages. However, she becomes strong and resilient as the plot progresses. The emotional growth she experiences, moving from a sheltered Jewish girl to a more worldly professional woman, working for both a Nazi Kommandant, in the belly of the beast, and also for the resistance, is part of what makes this book so special. As for Kommandant Richwalder, he frequently comes across as a sympathetic figure, and the reader, just like Anna, must continually bear in mind that the man is a Nazi, who perpetrates, although from afar, the worst of war crimes. "The Kommandant considers himself a gentleman, a man of music, art and culture. In his twisted way of thinking, service to the Reich is something noble and patriotic, and the Jewish question is an ugliness to be tolerated from afar. He has sequestered himself in Wawel (Castle), ruling his dominion from a great height, shielding himself from the killing. From where he sits the ghetto is just a neighborhood where Jews are forced to live." Right! He only has to sign a piece of paper to end millions of lives, he doesn't need to shoot Jewish children, add gas to the chambers, or stoke the crematorium fires. I so enjoyed, "The Kommandants Girl," (if one can enjoy, a book like this), that I am reading the sequel. "The Diplomat's Wife." Highly recommended! Jana Perskie The Diplomat's Wife Those Who Save Us People of the Book Almost Home: A Novel Defiance: The Bielski Partisans

I love Pam Jenoff’s books - all of them. “The Kommandant’s Girl” is the latest that I have read. Ms. Jenoff’s portrayal of the Jewish situation in World War II is fantastic. She makes their plight known and their struggles to stay alive during this harrowing time so palpable that reading the story not-stop to the end is a necessity to the avid reader. I this novel, Emma Bau has been married to a young Jewish man for only a few months when the Nazis invade Poland. Jacob is very political and decides that he must be a part of the resistance movement, which means leaving Emma alone. She finds her way to her parents in the Jewish ghetto in Krakow and stays with them for a time. Friends of Jacob find her, get her out of the ghetto, give her false papers and take her to Jacob’s aunt, a Gentile. She is there with a little Jewish toddler whose mother has been killed and whose father has been taken away by the Gestapo. Hopefully, they will be safe there during the occupation. Krysia, Jacob’s aunt, is also a part of the resistance, but also a known socialite in Krakow. She had many links to the resistance along with seemingly accepting the Nazi regime. At a party where she is presenting her “niece and her little brother” to the Gentile community, Emma (now known as Anna) is noticed by the Kommandant. He asks her to work for him as his personal assistant. She has to say yes. The resistance leaders can now use her to ferret information from the Kommandant’s office and relay this to the resistance. In becoming closer to the Georg, she must make a personal decision whether or not to compromise her marriage vows for the greater good of the movement. Ms. Jenoff’s writing is addicting. I was unable to put this book down and after I finished it I could not stop thinking about the story. I was unable to help myself, but I found that I was sympathetic to the Kommandant and to Anna in her dilemma. I wonder how I would have handled the situation were I in their shoes. I felt that the horrors of war and the circumstances surrounding the occupiers and those fighting against them were almost understandable. The Kommandant had to follow orders and Anna was bound to honor her husband and parents in finding out information that would save her people. I read this book with mixed emotions which have really made me think about those times and the people who lived them. I highly recommend this book, especially if you are interested in stories about World War II. I purchased a Kindle copy of this book from Amazon.com and was under no obligation to post a review.

- SPOILERS- - - - I really enjoyed this book! It was the perfect balance of tension and romance, even if it was romantic in a way it shouldn't have been. Jenoff writes in a way that had me rooting for 'Anna' to confess her true feelings for Kommandant and for them to be together, even though I shouldn't have been rooting for them. I felt it was much easier, though, to empathise and enjoy the developing feelings between these two, than it was to develop the same empathise and enjoyment for Emma and Jacob's relationship. This meant it was easy for the reader to understand exactly how Emma/Anna felt, and the frustration she is going through, as I felt frustrated rooting for a Jew/Nazi relationship when I should have been rooting for Emma to find a way back to Jacob. The twists in the novel were sporadic and unpredictable, and the way Jenoff describes the scenery allowed me to easily paint a picture of Krakòw in my mind, having never been there before. The tension of Anna sneaking around was almost too much to bare, I was terrified of what would happen if she were to be caught. The ending was sad, as in Kommandant's death - yes, for someone who was working under a regime that swore to kill Jews, it is beyond understandable of his frustration and heartbreak he cannot be with the woman he loves because of his regime. I wonder if Emma has been honest with him in the first place, or much earlier on, maybe they would have escaped together and been able to have their love affair play out properly? I did root for Anna/Emma and the Kommandant, as he truly did love her and she did love him, but the tragedy of the Nazi regime meant this was not a love story that would ever work out. I've never read books like hers before, the way she writes is the perfect balance of romance, description, and tension.

Un libro molto avvincente che si legge d'un fiato. Molto ben caratterizzati i personaggi, soprattutto il comandante. Molto verosimile la trama, infatti episodi come quelli descritti nel libro si saranno sicuramente verificati. Un comandante delle SS è stato perfino riconosciuto come Giusto tra i Giusti per aver salvato molti ebrei. Quello che rimane un finale in sospeso in questo libro, viene poi raccontato nel seguito, seguendo le vicende di Marta.

Somewhere in the end I feel like as if the author was unable to justify the ending . I don't understand what krysia was trying to do by sending her away when the entire logic behind resistance was the survival of those who can. Even if she would have accepted Kommandant Richwalder's offer what was the harm in it . overall the story was going great but in the last chapters it feels like as if the author was rushing to wind it up . And how easily Anna hushed off the feelings she was having for Kommandant Richwalder. I think author was unable to do justice with Kommandant Richwalder character . I'm more sympathetic towards him than i should be with Anna .

Wenn auch fiktiv aber sehr gut zu lesen und man kann sich vorstellen, dass es so gewesen sein könnte. Zu empfehlen

I enjoyed the book, only disappointed by the total lack of believable narrative, for that reason I was only able to give it 3 stars.