Love in the Midst of War

 I am a fan of historical fiction novels, especially those set in World War II. This fictionalized account of the life of Auschwitz prisoner Ludwig Eisenberg, or Lale, makes for an incredible and touching story. Fluent in several different languages, the Slovak Lale is identified for his language assets and assigned to brand all of Birkenau's prisoners with the number that became their only sense of identification. Within the confines of the camp, Lale falls in love with a woman named Gita, vowing to see them both make it out of the camp alive to have a life together. This book is fascinating in its telling of true events, descriptions of what an actual prisoner experienced and saw, and the after effects of a horrendous war on all sorts of lives. Beautifully and simply written, its chapters slowly unfold the terrifying days of both prisoners, barely hanging on to the hope that their love could one day exist outside of the fences of Auschwitz. I very much enjoyed this story and would recommend it to my fellow historical fiction fans.

Some of my favorite quotes from this novel:

"If you wake up in the morning, it is a good day."

"To save one is to save the world..."

"How can a race that is spread out across multiple countries be considered a threat?"

"You will honor them by staying alive, surviving this place and telling the world what happened here."

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