The German Wife: An absolutely gripping and heartbreaking WW2 historical novel, inspired by true events

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In 1950, after five years apart, Sofie von Meyer Rhodes and two of her three surviving children have departed Berlin to be reunited with her husband, rocket scientist Jurgen Rhodes, in Huntsville, Alabama. Tensions rise as Lizzie Miller and her friends/neighbors begin to hear rumors that Jürgen and Sophie were former Nazis.

it focused much more on the aftermath of the war as well as the years leading up to WW2 and how Hitler slowly took over Germany. She wonders if being married to Jürgen makes her as complicit as her husband when it comes to Hitler’s crimes. Jürgen and his wife Sofie fiercely oppose Hitler's radical views, and joining his ranks is unthinkable. On top of this, the story also focuses on the Great Depression and how difficult life was in 1930s (rural) Texas through Lizzie’s POV. As much as they despise the Nazis, they know they must toe the line to protect their children and save their own lives.When a tall, handsome Russian prisoner named Alexander is sent from Dachau to work in their garden, lonely Annaliese finds herself drawn to him as they tend to the plants together. But the Americans who already lived there—especially the ones who’d fought in World War II—weren’t happy about their new neighbors. Sofie and her family have been giving the chance at a fresh start after the nazi’s fell, something they wanted so badly. These people were our enemies and yet they are given lovely homes, jobs that pay very well, freedom, and eventually they will become citizens.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. They exploited underlying antisemitism and rallied people to a near frenzy with hopes of a better country.Structure: This unputdownable story alternates between two perspectives (Sophie and Lizzie) and two timelines (1930 and 1950). Lizzie Miller was not going to give Sofie a chance at friendship given the Rhodes’ Nazi affiliation and Sofie lashed out noting the contradiction of the town’s policy of segregation and prejudice against Blacks. As each new atrocity occurs, they must pretend and bend or die as their two attempts at escape have been exposed.

Years later, in 1949, when they moved to Huntsville, Alabama, Henry was suffering terribly from the war. As tempers boiled, and Lizzie's anger and frustration at the situation grew, Sofie was frightened and Jurgen infinitely cautious. Historical fiction is my most favourite genre but I had taken a break from it over the last year as I found a lot was becoming repetitive and similar. In the end, though, Rimmer’s work does what great fiction always does: Makes us question our world and our actions in it.In The German Wife, I was engaged with each timeline equally, and I appreciate that the author didn’t linger in one timeline for too long. When not travelling she lives in the Kent countryside with her journalist husband, children, chickens and four cats. America, 1989: Turning the pages of the newspaper, Annaliese gasps when she recognizes the face of a man she thought she’d never see again.