The Lilac Girls

The Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly                Audio Book:  17 hours, 30 mins      Paperback Book: 512 pages                        

The story and main characters are based on true people and events.    Much of the dialogue is taken from papers, diaries, and her research done in the U.S., Germany, Poland and France.    The historical parts and medical procedures are all true.   She added a fictional love interest for the character Caroline and used her imagination for some of the dialogue that takes place for continuity’s sake.   The women experimented on (“the Rabbits”) are real, the names are real as is the names of the Kommandant, the other doctors at Ravensbrook Concentration Camp (the only all women camp) and the female doctor who was able to go back into medical practice after the war – you will learn more about that in the story.    Horrendous events,  I remember hearing stories from my mother about the experimentation done on people at the camps during WWII.   It was horrible to think of such inhuman treatment being done then and it is still just as horrendous.   The author describes many of the procedures in great detail and also the aftermath on the poor individual’s bodies and the psychological effects they had to deal with trying to acclimate back to life once they were freed from their imprisonment and torture.   A most excellent book such depth of perception given to the characters and times.    A great read detailing the lives and occurrences in a volatile world that prayerfully the world never has to live through again.     Bravo and 5 stars to Martha Hall Kelly.