This Holocaust memoir was hard to put down. It tells the story of Edith Hahn, a well-educated Viennese Jewish woman who managed to survive working in a slave labor camp, avoided being deported, and lived as an Aryan Christian woman married to a Nazi officer through the use of false papers. The story is as completely improbable as it sounds, yet, it really happened. There were many insights into the causes and thinking behind the tremendous anti-semitism in Austria during that time, as well as the sheer terror she must have felt trying to live un-noticed and under the radar during that horrible time in history. It was impossible to put this book down!

This book was recommended by a friend, and while it came highly-rated, I hesitated to read it because I find stories about the Holocaust too upsetting. When I did pick it up, I couldn't put it down! Admittedly, I turned the pages through the first third slowly, fearing I would read something disturbing but, by the end I couldn't get enough.

The book is written in Mrs. Hahn's voice and reads very much like a novel. Although she shares the most tragic details of her life with us, she does so in a way that emphasizes the compassion, warmth and kindness that she found rather than the sheer terror (although those times were also shared). It is understood that the time were worse than imaginable, but it was not presented in a way to shock the reader or cause you not to want to read on.

Mrs. Hahn's story and determination were remarkable and I kept asking myself if I could have found the courage to live as she did. Just as remarkable were the brave people who helped her and risked their lives so that this one person could survive such punishment and tragedy. They are all to be commended!

Don't hesitate to read this book...it's a must!

While the focus of the story is how one woman survived the holocaust, the title sensationalizes a small part of the story (in fact, her husband wasn't a Nazi Officer until the German's were losing the war and drafting anyone left).

This is a book about one individual's survival, in large part due to some amazing luck and some good people. It is NOT a book of how the author used her fortune or took extraordinary risks to help others. Not that there's anything wrong about that. It was a time where no one should be judged for doing what they had to do to survive...and you have to admire anyone who did. Its jut different than the books on the true heroes of this time. The kindness and the weak moments is the human norm and we see both extremes in many of the principle characters, including both of the men who loved the author was well. So its a different story and any documented history of this horrible time is one we should all remember.

Its not the best writing but it gets better and is easily readable. I wanted to give this 4 stars because any true story from this time is recommended reading; however its far from the best I've read. If you want to read an uplifting story about a woman who risks her luck to help others, I'd highly recommend "In My Hands" but Irena Opdyke.

I would give 2 and a half stars. This is a good read in that any account of human experiences is important to remind us of the evils in the world, and human resilience nevertheless. The writing, however, is too rudimentary, and one dimensional.

This book wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either. This woman was smart, but the tale could have been told better so that there was a bit more profoundness in it.

Edith Hahn Beer was a law student in Austria when the Nazis moved in. In this books she relates the abuses she endured in a work camp. This novel focuses on how she spent the whole time in sort of a denial. While her family spent money to help her sisters and family leave Edith and her mother stayed, due to lack of money and the fact that edith didn't want to leave her boyfriend Pepi.

When Edith realized that Pepi wasn't going to marry her or help her and her mother was missing, Edith decides to go underground. She gets a set of papers from a friend and flees to Munich. There she meets a man named Werner who is a nazi party member. He is very insistent that Edith marry him, even after Edith confesses she is jewish.

Edith spends the rest of the war as a robotic nazi wife. You feel sorry for her and wonder how she could have survived the daily fear and anxiety she faced at being found out. She doesn't really talk much about Werner. She mentions his crazy outburst and supposes that his twistedness is what made him marry her. Edith managed to survive the war and got back her identity when the war ended although it lost her her husband Werner.

I applaud Edith's courage and resourcefulness. It is interesting to read about a jewish person who not only lived among the nazi's during the war but actually married one! However the majority of the book does focus on her life before she married Werner. It more of how one Jewish woman survived the war and had married a nazi to do it.

Edith Hahn Beer was a law student in Austria when the Nazis moved in. In this books she relates the abuses she endured in a work camp. This novel focuses on how she spent the whole time in sort of a denial. While her family spent money to help her sisters and family leave Edith and her mother stayed, due to lack of money and the fact that edith didn't want to leave her boyfriend Pepi.

When Edith realized that Pepi wasn't going to marry her or help her and her mother was missing, Edith decides to go underground. She gets a set of papers from a friend and flees to Munich. There she meets a man named Werner who is a nazi party member. He is very insistent that Edith marry him, even after Edith confesses she is jewish.

Edith spends the rest of the war as a robotic nazi wife. You feel sorry for her and wonder how she could have survived the daily fear and anxiety she faced at being found out. She doesn't really talk much about Werner. She mentions his crazy outburst and supposes that his twistedness is what made him marry her. Edith managed to survive the war and got back her identity when the war ended although it lost her her husband Werner.

I applaud Edith's courage and resourcefulness. It is interesting to read about a jewish person who not only lived among the nazi's during the war but actually married one! However the majority of the book does focus on her life before she married Werner. It more of how one Jewish woman survived the war and had married a nazi to do it.

This was a great book. For non-fiction it read a lot like a novel and was very interesting. The author is honest in her story and displays her emotions very well. This book shows an in-depth and vivid look at how U-boats survived during the Holocaust and World War Two.

This memoir is pretty well written and as such is a very quick read. I won't go into the details of the story, as the book is inexpensive and you really should just pick it up to read yourself, since nothing a reviewer could tell you will match up with the actual memoir. Suffice to say that her story is as heartbreaking in some regards as you would expect a narrative like this to be. My only complaint is that it is perhaps lacking a little depth in some areas, specifically in regards to what happened to her after the war, how she reintegrated herself into a post-WWII Europe. I also would have liked more on what she learned about the experiences of people she knew and loved, as well as how her views of events have changed over the years since they occurred. Still, like every survivor's story, this is a valuable addition in my journey to understand the holocaust and its effects on individuals, families, and communities.

If this fascinating tale weren't true, I don't think I would believe it!

This is a remarkably inspiring and emotional story of one woman's incredible desire to survive the Holocaust, that teaches us not only to free ourselves from judgment, but how fervant our survival instinct can be during the most horrible and trying of times.

I recommend it for readers of all ages, backgrounds and beliefs!

Normally I am not a fan of non-fiction, in fact I normally avoid it completely, but a friend of mine suggested this book and I am very glad I gave in and read it. This book is wonderful and provides an interesting view into the sociology and psycology of Germany before and during WWII. It is hard to believe that this amazing story is about a real person and not a fictional one. I highly recommend this book to not only people who love history, but also those who are interested in stories about life changing events and triumph over adversity.

Edith Hahn of Vienna has several family members depart for Palestine and England shortly after the Anschluss. For love, of her mother (Klothilde) and boyfriend (Pepi) she stays until it's too late (and they are too poor) to depart themselves.

Through amazing luck and friendship she manages to obtain falsified documents and live as an Aryan housewife during the Holocaust.

I've read many stories of Holocaust survivors, but, this is the first I've read of a "U-Boat" someone hiding in plain sight. It gives you a picture (from a Jewish point of view) into why 'average' citizens of the Reich so easily followed the path led by the Nazi party. (Some shockingly trivial) While reinforcing your belief in humanity as many of those same people helped Ms. Hahn at great risk to themselves.

A truly touching story that I find myself mentally revisiting many days after finishing the book.