Cradles of the Reich, Jennifer Coburn
Cradles of the Reich, Jennifer Coburn
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Cradles of the Reich
A Novel

Author: Jennifer Coburn

Narrator: Natasha Soudek

Unabridged: 11 hr 10 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/11/2022

Synopsis

Three women, a nation seduced by a madman, and the Nazi breeding program to create a so-called master raceAt Heim Hochland, a Nazi breeding home in Bavaria, three women’s fates are irrevocably intertwined. Gundi is a pregnant university student from Berlin. An Aryan beauty, she’s secretly a member of a resistance group. Hilde, only eighteen, is a true believer in the cause and is thrilled to carry a Nazi official’s child. And Irma, a forty-four-year-old nurse, is desperate to build a new life for herself after personal devastation. All three have everything to lose.Based on untold historical events, this novel brings us intimately inside the Lebensborn Society maternity homes that actually existed in several countries 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. But it proves that in a dark period of history, the connections women forge can carry us through, even driving us to heroism we didn’t know we had within us.

About Jennifer Coburn

Jennifer Coburn has published a mother-daughter travel memoir, We’ll Always Have Paris, as well as six contemporary women’s novels. Additionally, Jennifer has contributed to five literary anthologies, including A Paris All Your Own. Jennifer lives in San Diego with her husband, William. Their daughter, Katie, is currently in graduate school. When Jennifer is not going down historical research rabbit holes, she volunteers with So Say We All, a live storytelling organization, where she is a performer, producer, and performance coach. She is also an active volunteer with Reality Changers, a nonprofit that supports low-income high school students in becoming the first in their families to attend college.

About Natasha Soudek

Natasha Soudek was raised in the South, speaks native German, lived in Berlin and Vienna, and finally settled in the Lower East Side of New York City. After honing her stage presence by studying acting and playing hundreds of live music shows (singing and playing bass), she moved to LA to record with Channel/DreamWorks and act on TV. Her voice is as distinct and memorable as the range of characters she’s played on-screen.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Holly on September 11, 2022

3.5 STARS What an intriguing cover and title! I wanted to know more...... I did enjoy the book quite a bit, but had some issues. I thought it would be more suspenseful and affecting. The three women's perspectives are told in alternating chapters and each has a story to tell. They all are experiencing......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader on August 09, 2022

About the book: “Three women, a nation seduced by a madman, and the Nazi breeding program to create a so-called master race. Based on untold historical events, this novel brings us intimately inside the Lebensborn Society maternity homes that actually existed in several countries during World War II,......more

Goodreads review by Zoe on November 03, 2022

Cradles of the Reich was rather underwhelming. It had some very interesting historical tidbits, but it lacked a certain emotional depth and the characters felt very one-dimensional. Set during the height of World War Two, Cradles of the Reich introduces readers to the horrors of Nazi birther homes, w......more

Goodreads review by Susan on July 02, 2022

With this novel Jennifer Coburn gives compelling and necessary literary voice to those impacted the most by Adolf Hitler’s haunting and ironically dehumanizing scheme to generate racially pure infants. Skillfully researched and told with great care and insight, here is a WW2 story whose lessons shou......more

Goodreads review by Karren on August 18, 2022

Heim Hochland Estate is a county house in Bavaria, the German’s use it as a maternity home during the Second World War as part of the Lebensborn Society. Here pregnant Aryan women stay in luxury, they receive the best medical care and their babies are adopted by high ranking German officer’s familie......more

Quotes

“The Handmaid’s Tale meets WWII in Cradles of the Reich…Jennifer Coburn’s debut historical novel is adept, unforgettable, and brilliantly unsettling.” Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author

“Masterfully delves into the warped underbelly of the Nazis’ Lebensborn program for racial engineering. With grace and a deft hand, Coburn creates indelible female characters that leave us heart torn.” Sarah McCoy, author of Mustique Island

“Coburn gives compelling and necessary literary voice to those impacted the most by Adolf Hitler’s haunting and ironically dehumanizing scheme to generate racially pure infants…A World War II story whose lessons should not—must not—be forgotten.” Susan Meissner, USA Today bestselling author

“Coburn’s fascinating and incredibly well-researched look at this little-known Nazi breeding program and three women whose lives intersect there…Wonderful historical fiction.” Martha Hall Kelly, New York Times bestselling author

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