The great thing about traveling is the amount of time I am able to donate to uninterrupted reading. Considering I sat on the tarmac for four hours before my plane took off for Indianapolis on Thursday, I had plenty of time to finish my latest book. The Nazi Officer's Wife is Edith Hahn Beer's memoir of life as a "U-boat" (aka: a Jew posing as a German with false papers throughout the war).
Beer provides a unique perspective as most Holocaust stories I have read come from religious Eastern Europeans who were entrenched in their Jewish lives. Conversely, Beer grew up in the sophisticated, secular world of Vienna, which likely made it easier to hide as a Christian. Like many, she did what she had to do to survive in a complicated world. Very few survivors are able to tell the story of Nazis in their natural habitat, with their guards down. It is odd to see someone who does such awful things humanized.
I have always found Holocaust stories intriguing (albeit dismal) and if you do too, add this to your list.
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