Review: Lilac Girls

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Based on real people and events, this book follows three women through the horrors of the concentration camps. Kasia, a young Polish Catholic woman, is arrested and sent to Ravensbruck for her activities in the Polish undeground. She becomes one of the "Rabbits", a group of prisoners who are subjected to horrific surgical procedures. Herta is a rarity. She's a female doctor who takes a job at Ravensbruck, thinking it's a re-education camp. However, when she discovers what it really is, she willing participates in the atrocities. Caroline is an American socialite with ties to France. She works as a volunteer at the French consulate and has created an organization which supports French orphanages. She becomes involved with Kasia at the end of the war when her volunteer work brings the plight of the "Rabbits" who are now behind the Iron Curtain.

This was a compelling read, but was also hard to read at times.

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