My Enemy's Cradle - Paperback

by Sara Young (Author)

A young Jewish woman finds refuge from the terrors of WWII inside a Nazi birthing facility in this "gripping novel" set in war-torn Holland (Historical Novel Society).

Cyrla's neighbors have begun to whisper. Her cousin, Anneke, is pregnant. And she's eligible for admission to the Lebensborn: a German maternity home for girls carrying Aryan babies. But Anneke's love, a German soldier, has disappeared. And she knows that Lebensborn babies are either released to their father's custody--or taken away.

Meanwhile, someone has discovered the truth of Cyrla's identity. As a Polish Jew, she was sent to her Dutch relatives for safekeeping years ago. Now she must choose between certain discovery and posing as Anneke in the Lebensborn. But how can she take refuge in the enemy's lair?

Mining a lost piece of history, author Sara Young takes readers deep inside the Nazi Lebensborn program. An elegy for the terrible choices women must sometimes make to survive, My Enemy's Cradle is also a story of finding love, hope, and humanity in the darkest of times.

Front Jacket

In this compelling first novel set against the little known Nazi Lebensborn program, Sara Young creates a heroine the reader will not easily forget. MY ENEMY'S CRADLE goes to the very heart of hope and how it can survive in even the darkest and most dangerous of times. --Anne Leclaire, ENTERING NORMAL

Cyrla's neighbors have begun to whisper. Her cousin, Anneke, is pregnant and has passed the rigorous exams for admission to the Lebensborn, a maternity home for girls carrying German babies. But Anneke's soldier has disappeared, and Lebensborn babies are only ever released to their father's custody-- or taken away.

A note is left under the mat. Someone knows that Cyrla, sent from Poland years before for safekeeping with her Dutch relatives, is Jewish. The Nazis are imposing more and more restrictions; she won't be safe there for long.
And then in the space of an afternoon, life falls apart. Cyrla must choose between certain discovery in her cousin's home and taking Anneke's place in the Lebensborn--Cyrla and Anneke are nearly identical. If she takes refuge in the enemy's lair, can Cyrla fool the doctors, nurses, guards, and other mothers-to-be? Can she escape before they discover she is not who she claims?
Mining a lost piece of history, Sara Young takes us deep into the lives of women living in the worst of times. Part love story and part elegy for the terrible choices we must often make to survive, MY ENEMY'S CRADLE keens for what we lose in war and sings for the hope we sometimes find.

Back Jacket

"[A] brave work . . . [Young's] passion and her desire to give voice to innumerable silent victims shine through." --The Dallas Morning News

"I am grateful you are not here, Cyrla'sJewish father last wrote from Poland. He had sent her to Holland for safekeeping with relatives, but now that country too has been overrun by the Nazis. In a rush, she takes refuge in one of the Lebensborn--maternity homes for girls carrying German babies. But can she escape before her real identity is discovered? And will her love keep her safe when danger surrounds her? In My Enemy's Cradle, Cyrla travels to the other side of war, love, and the heartbreak of survival. It is a love song to kinship, an elegy for the women we have lost, and a lullaby for the children we must save.

"Young shines a powerful flashlight on one of the lesser-known Nazi atrocities: the thievery of children from their mothers. When devouring this novel, you'll swear you're reading a genuine survivor account." --Jenna Blum, author of Those Who Save Us

"What a story! My Enemy's Cradle offers intrigue, suspense, compassion, heartbreak and joy. I was hooked from page one." --Elizabeth Berg, author of Dream When You're Feeling Blue

SARA YOUNG graduated with a BA from Marietta College in Ohio. Under the name Sara Pennypacker she has written seven books for children, including the acclaimed Stuart series (Stuart's Cape) and Clementine. She lives on Cape Cod.