“The Nine” by Gwen Strauss
The Nine is the true story of a band of women who survived the worst of Nazi Germany. Through rigorous archival research, interviews with survivors, and information gathering from historians Strauss details the harrowing experience of nine women operating in the French Resistance of World War II. From each woman’s life before the war, to working for the Resistance, being captured and tortured by the SS, transported to the infamous Ravensbruck concentration camp, and eventual escape during a death march; Strauss does a phenomenal job of detailing the gruesome brutality each woman experienced at the hands of the Nazis. More importantly Strauss puts great emphasis on the relationships and bonds between the women in the group, and the relationships they forged with others in the camps. These strong bonds gave them the strength to maintain their humanity during their horrible imprisonment. The most striking example of this was their establishment of a “Sunday Dinner” tradition in the camp. The women would gather together every Sunday evening after being worked to exhaustion and detail their favorite recipes step by step, as if they were making them for everyone to enjoy. Some women went so far as creating recipe books from scraps they salvaged around the camp, and would describe listening to recipes from prisoners of other nationalities as trying “new cuisines”.
Strauss also emphasizes the immense toll their captivity had on their mental and physical state. Most of them carried physical injuries and ailments for the rest of their lives, and the mental trauma haunted them constantly. Their lives after the war and the effects of imprisonment are probably the least talked about issue with survivors of the camps, but Strauss dedicates the time and research to telling this part of the women’s story that it deserves.
“The Nine” is an essential read for anyone looking for more than just a numbers and dates account of the horrors of Nazism, it delivers the story of human resilience the victims deserve.
The Nine is the true story of a band of women who survived the worst of Nazi Germany. Through rigorous archival research, interviews with survivors, and information gathering from historians Strauss details the harrowing experience of nine women operating in the French Resistance of World War II. From each woman’s life before the war, to working for the Resistance, being captured and tortured by the SS, transported to the infamous Ravensbruck concentration camp, and eventual escape during a death march; Strauss does a phenomenal job of detailing the gruesome brutality each woman experienced at the hands of the Nazis. More importantly Strauss puts great emphasis on the relationships and bonds between the women in the group, and the relationships they forged with others in the camps. These strong bonds gave them the strength to maintain their humanity during their horrible imprisonment. The most striking example of this was their establishment of a “Sunday Dinner” tradition in the camp. The women would gather together every Sunday evening after being worked to exhaustion and detail their favorite recipes step by step, as if they were making them for everyone to enjoy. Some women went so far as creating recipe books from scraps they salvaged around the camp, and would describe listening to recipes from prisoners of other nationalities as trying “new cuisines”.
Strauss also emphasizes the immense toll their captivity had on their mental and physical state. Most of them carried physical injuries and ailments for the rest of their lives, and the mental trauma haunted them constantly. Their lives after the war and the effects of imprisonment are probably the least talked about issue with survivors of the camps, but Strauss dedicates the time and research to telling this part of the women’s story that it deserves.
“The Nine” is an essential read for anyone looking for more than just a numbers and dates account of the horrors of Nazism, it delivers the story of human resilience the victims deserve.