Book Review: Auschwitz Syndrome and Author Interview with Ellie Midwood

TITLE: Auschwitz Syndrome
Series: Women and The Holocaust Book 3
PUB DATE: 10/11/2019
PUBLISHER: Ellie Midwood
GENRE: Historical Fiction WWII
364 pages


SYNOPSIS:
Germany, 1947.

A strange case scheduled for the Denazification Court lands on the desk of an American psychiatrist currently serving in Germany, Dr. Hoffman.

A former Auschwitz guard, Franz Dahler, is set to appear in court, and he has requested to bring the most unexpected witness to testify in his defense - one of his former inmates and current wife, Helena.

As soon as one of the newly emerging Nazi hunters and former Auschwitz inmate, Andrej Novák, recognizes the officer’s name, he demands a full investigation of Dahler’s crimes, claiming that the former SS man was not only abusing Helena in the camp but is also using her as a ploy to escape prosecution.

Silent, subdued, and seemingly dependent on her husband’s every word, Helena appears to be a classic victim of abuse, and possibly more of an aid to the prosecution instead of the defense.

As she begins giving her testimony, Dr. Hoffman finds himself more and more confused at the picture that gradually emerges before his eyes; a perpetrator is claimed to be the savior and the accuser, the criminal.

The better Dr. Hoffman gets to know each participant, the more he begins to question himself; whether he’s facing a most unimaginable love story, or a new and still-nameless psychological disorder affecting the very manner in which Helena sees the events of the past.

Partially based on a true story, this deeply psychological, haunting novel will take you back in time to the heart of Auschwitz and post-war Germany, and will keep you guessing the true motive of each side.


THOUGHTS/REVIEW: This was such a well written and well researched story about Helena and Franz, an unlikely love story that must be shared with everyone. This is a remarkable story of a young SS guard Franz who saved Helena and her sister from the gas chamber. How these two end up falling in love, when their utmost being was taught to hate each other, in the circumstance they were in, where sickness, brutality and murder are happening at every turn.


 I felt that this story gives a glimmer of hope, and highlights the miracle of love that can come from the horrors of the WWII death camp, Auschwitz. Midwood crafted beautifully, and with utmost care and compassion, a fictional tale based on true stories. I was moved by her writing though the circumstances were horrifying and unimaginable. In Helena's words, "we should never forget".


This was an amazing read for me and one that a highly recommend.



AUTHOR INTERVIEW:

1. When did the transformation happen from being an avid reader about WWII and Holocaust History to writing about it? – In my early twenties. I've been writing stories for as long as I can remember (I think my first attempt was in first-grade) but I've only concentrated solely on WW2 in my early twenties. I felt that I was finally ready to dive into that era.

2. The subject matter of the Auschwitz Syndrome is indeed heavy and emotional for the reader. I could only imagine what it would be like for you as a writer. What is your writing process like, as you creatively build these stories based on these real-life events? – Writing novels based on true stories is a huge responsibility. It demands a lot of work from an author even before they get to the actual writing. It's my responsibility to get everything right and I always try my best to research every single setting, every single event, to the best of my ability, so I get even the tiniest details right. I learned about Helena and Franz's story a long time ago but I only felt emotionally ready to write it all down last spring. By then, I had read countless memoirs written by Auschwitz survivors, read studies that dealt with their particular story and dug out as many photos and witness' testimonies as I could. When I felt like I knew them both personally, after doing all that research, I set to writing their story. It was an emotional experience for me personally, as I had to virtually put myself in their shoes – the victim and the perpetrator – for a few months but I'm glad I did it. Such stories definitely need to be told so that history doesn't repeat itself.

3. Have you made any literary pilgrimages for the books you have written? How important is it to visit those places you write about? – Unfortunately, all of my books are set "across the pond" and, so far, I could only “virtually” visit those places, via photos and documentaries filmed there. I did, however, visit an Auschwitz Exhibition that is currently still here in NYC and couldn't be more grateful for that experience. It's in my plans to visit all of those places that I've written about (and plan to write about), in the future and especially the camps.

4. As a linguistics major, what was an early experience where you learned that language had power? – To me, studying foreign languages and cultures always represented the ultimate expression of freedom. The more you learn about different cultures, the more you realize that we're all one big family and the more you understand that racism, xenophobia, and bigotry stems from narrow-mindedness and a desire to isolate oneself from the rest of the world. "This is my part of the land; only people like me can live here; I don't want anyone 'different' here; 'different' is bad, only my kind is good." It sounds like Nazi Germany, right? But it's been this way from the dawn of mankind and it's still here; this isolationist view that promotes nothing but hatred for diversity. The more a person travels, the more they learn about others – including different religions, traditions, history, etc. – the more they understand how every single culture is so closely connected to the other and that hating each other, for our differences, makes virtually no sense. So, in my personal opinion, the more we learn about each other, the better it is for humanity in general. Studying foreign languages not only helps us communicate with each other but also understand each other better, cultural-wise, and it's definitely something extremely powerful.

5. Your book certainly teaches us never to forget. What other books do you plan to write to ensure that other experiences in history should never be forgotten? – All of my books deal with the Holocaust/WW2 history. I'm Jewish, so it's a very personal subject to me and I don't think I will ever get tired of writing about it and particularly now when anti-Semitism is on the rise again across the globe. It's important to bring awareness to it, to remind people of what can happen if we allow hatred to run free and permeate our society and how it all starts with just small things but can quickly grow into something atrocious that can devour countless human lives. There is one particular woman, who I would love to write about one day, Mala Zimetbaum. She also was an Auschwitz inmate who managed to escape it and who was basically a living symbol of resistance for all the inmates. But, honestly speaking, I'm in such awe of her, I'm not emotionally ready to write about her just yet. So far, I'm gathering the material, because her story is one of those stories that needs to be told. She was a true hero.

6. Would you ever write other genres besides historical fiction? – Actually, my other favorite genre besides historical fiction is horror/suspense/psychological thriller (a lot of times, the lines are blurred between those three, so I mix them into one). I'm a huge fan of everything disturbing and gothic and I would love to write something really creepy someday.

7. How did you discover Helena and Franz's story and decide to write about their extraordinary experience? – Actually, I came across their story while doing the research for my very first historical fiction novel; "The Girl from Berlin". Ever since then, it's been there, in the back of my mind, waiting to be written but I just didn't feel that I was ready to do it (just like I don't feel ready for Mala just yet). Almost five years passed since I first learned about Helena and Franz and finally, I felt that I had enough material – and courage – to write about their incredible story. It's definitely raw, it’s emotional; it defies all logic and belief and yet it happened and, therefore, it gives us even more reason to talk about it. I think the very idea that a young, heavily-indoctrinated SS man (and young people were the most indoctrinated ones as they grew up seeing and hearing only what the Party-line said was true) could change under the influence of someone who was supposed to be his ideological enemy, is something deeply inspiring. When I first read about them, I thought; "well, not all hope is lost for humanity then, if a Nazi could fall in love with a Jewish girl and risk his own life to save her and her sister from inevitable death." I think it was then that I knew I just had to write it. I hope I did them justice.

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