The Midwife of Auschwitz

By: Anna Stuart

Narrated by: Sophie Aldred

Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Auschwitz, 1943: As I held the tiny baby in my arms, my fingers traced the black tattoo etched across her little thigh. And I prayed that one day this set of numbers, identical to her mother’s, would have the power to reunite a family torn apart by war….

Inspired by an incredible true story, this poignant novel tells of one woman’s fight for love, life, and hope during a time of unimaginable darkness.

Ana Kaminski is pushed through the iron gates of Auschwitz beside her frightened young friend Ester Pasternak. As they reach the front of the line, Ana steps forward and quietly declares herself a midwife--and Ester her assistant. Their arms are tattooed and they’re ordered to the maternity hut. Holding an innocent newborn baby, Ana knows the fate of so many are in her hands and vows to do everything she can to save them.

When two guards in their chilling SS uniforms march in and snatch a blond-haired baby from its mother, it’s almost too much for Ana to bear. Consoling the distraught woman, Ana realises amid the terrible heartache there is a glimmer of hope. The guards are taking the healthiest babies and placing them with German families, so they will survive. And there are whispers the war is nearly over.... Ana and Ester begin to secretly tattoo little ones with their mother’s numbers, praying one day they might be reunited.

Then, early one morning, Ana notices the small bump under Ester’s thin striped clothing.

An absolutely heartbreaking WW2 novel of one woman’s bravery and determination to bring life and hope into a broken world. Fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Alice Network, and The Nightingale will be gripped.

©2022 Anna Stuart (P)2023 Bookouture, an imprint of Storyfire Ltd.

Critic reviews

"An absolute must read. I devoured this book in its entirety… I am almost speechless… a box of Kleenex is mandatory. I absolutely loved this book, historical fiction at its best!… Definitely worth ten stars.: (Page Turners)  

"Whoa! Don’t take those tissues away, I’m not quite cried out just yet! Happy tears, sad tears, who knows where one ends and the other begins!… Beautiful, heartbreaking, heart-warming, uplifting and inspirational." (Fiction Books)

Wrongly represented as a midwife book

I got this book because it pulled me in being a story of a midwife who helps save Auschwitz newborns torn from their mothers by tatooing them with their mothers number, so they might be reunited later. The main characters Anna and Esther, are kindly enuf and nicely tell stories of thier familes and lives, but nothing special happens.
Then the war starts, they end up on trains to the camps, and nothing much is relayed that hasnt been before about the horrors of camps and the monsters that the SS were. People die, starve, mulilated, brualized, shot.....and its just relayed in a matter of fact, I have to love them because, What Would Jesus Do? attitude.
I was expecting with over 3000 babies safely delivered alive in a place of little to no medical care and no way to surgically deliver them, some kind of explanarion of ways she helped to deliver breech births, footling breech births, transverse babies, multiples, babies too big for mothers pelvis, etc. SO many emergencies that apparently just didnt happen. All the babies were head first, correctly alligned, just slid out without tearing the mother or maternal hemmorages....no babies needing CPR.
OK, after the 10k deliveries I have been a part of in the past 30 years, Id love to believe this, but I dont.
I wanted to learn more about the tattooing of the babies. How many? How many lived? How many were reunited after the war? That was about a 2 paragraph peice and done. No real answers. Just back to the characters and how they are happy to see their families when the war is over.
it could have been such a deeper book instead of skimming over so many topics.

I just can’t..

I would like to start off by saying the Holocaust and everything involved was absolutely despicable. I am not someone who turns away from the sufferings of others.

I wanted to finish this book but I just couldn’t. I got to chapter fifteen and got physically ill. I read a review that said the book isn’t awfully gut wrenching but I found that not to be true for me. (I do happen to be VERY in touch with my emotions though lol)

If you are a mother of young children, this book is probably not for you. I just so happen to have a 1 year old and it hit a little too close to home for me.

This book deserves your attention!

Listened as part of a book club, and not the type of book I normally am drawn to. But this book. It’s heartbreaking, inspiring, overwhelming, and disturbing. It highlights a time that most people don’t want to revisit, and to be honest I wasn’t sure I wanted to dive in but I’m so glad I did. The two main characters captivated me quickly causing me to desperately need to know their story. The details of their lives are so hard to imagine, but the author tells the story so well that it doesn’t leave you traumatized or uneasy. I also liked that I didn’t expect it to end the way it did. Oh, and the narrators performance was spot on.
It really was such a good book, and I will be recommending it to people I know.

The midwife delivered

The book was captivating and opened my eyes to concepts of the period I had not considered (ie babies). A tender love story during a horrific point in history. Well written and well read.

Felt like a run on book

It just dragged on and on. It could’ve been cut in half but she just kept repeating everything over and over. It’s an gripping story that could’ve been told better.

Great story!

This World War 2 historical story was a great read. Anyone who enjoys WW2 history will enjoy this book, based on true events. The characters & story will keep you engrossed throughout.

Why a British narrator????

Great book, but a British accent for the narrator made it a bit hard imagining German Soldiers.

Couldn’t put this down

Part of Holly Furtick’s book club. Normally wouldn’t choose a book about WW2, but as our choice this month, I listened. Oh my, this will be on my favorites list. I highly recommend it.

Too Much

This story didn't do it for me. There were too many "oh c'mons" and too much Christian-based ideology thrown in. The Rosary beads, the prayers, all of it was too much. The "oh c'mons" were not from brutality that the Nazis showed, I think she had that spot on. It was all of the miracles that happened. I don't want to spoil anything by giving examples, so all I can say is that I rolled my eyes quite a few times.

The narration was not the greatest. I couldn't get past the attempted voice changes that sounded muddled and weren't consistent.

A great story of friendship, survival, and hope

Literally couldn't stop listening to this book. The story is top notch. The narration is equally great. This is a gripping story that includes love, friendship, survival, endurance, perseverance, loss, and hope.

Heartfelt story

The narrator was brilliant and really made the story come to life. It was incredibly heartfelt and even made me cry at some parts. It’s quite long (11.5 hours) but worth the read.

Disappointing

The story is fascinating but sadly, in this book, seems incomplete. Assuming the tattooing is historically accurate why don’t we know more about the parents who adopted the babies and how they came to give them back? Or indeed why? One assumes they weren’t told where their babies had come from and giving them back must have involved a process that was heart breaking for some of them. What was their reaction when they found a tattoo? Who did they inform?
I also felt that the conditions in the camp were not grim enough - it’s hard to imagine that after two years of starvation, deprivation and ill treatment, a small number of women were strong enough to kick in a door. Maybe I’m wrong but it’s hard to believe.
The narrator did an ok job. Her voice was a bit irritating but she did manage to read clearly and her vocal characterization was not bad.

An emotionally charged story

A very poignant story of love and survival, especially with what’s going on in the world today. Thank you

Disappointingly bad

This has such potential. But there were two main issues.

1. It's like it's been written by a 16 year old. Really basic and simple. Impossible to develop and emotional connection to the characters or storyline, despite the harrowing nature. There are parts that have obviously just been guessed at, that a simple Google search could have provided the facts needed. Such as Anna delivering 3000 babies in 2 years. This means she would have been delivering about 4 a day. Plus it's easy to find out that the realistic figure was more around 700 births. And the fact that she never lost a baby is ridiculous. The stillbirth rate in 1940 (in standard living conditions) was about 23 in 1000, so again, basic research wasn't done.

2. The narrator sounded like she was reading a cbeebies book at bedtime. Such a bad choice.

I finished this out of curiosity, but wish i hadn't even started it tbh.

Narrator alert

The narrator completely ruined this book for me. She read it with a very British accent and her attempt at portraying humour or irony just blurred into the rest. I will reread the actual book because the story is poignant and horrific and worth a revisit. The characters are real and warm and brave and funny. I would recommend the book, just not read in a n upbeat way.
Just my opinion!

Great story but wrong narrator

The narrator had the wrong tone for this story - it sounded like she was reading a story to children.

Heart wrenching and incredibly moving story

This profound WW2 story has left me unable to not stop thinking about the Anna & Esther. It really does prove that live always wins.
The two people as well as many other were so brave and kind I couldn’t help thinking this evil existed!! Especially from other women. They were the worst & showed how hurt people really can hurt.
So many brave women, very moving kindness never ever fails!

To this day still war happens. Really unbelievable

Emotional

A interesting book. Very emotional. The story line was very interesting and easy to follow. I loved how the book swapped from Esters to Anna’s views. Would recommend to anyone with an interest in auschwitz and/or midwifery.

truly amazing book I could not stop listening

truly amazing book I could not stop listening.

would highly recommend to anyone, did not want this book to end.

Heart wrenching but beautifully written

I loved the narrator and couldn’t stop reading this story even though the subject was horrific. Wonderfully written and read.