Book Review: Hedy's War
In June 1940, the horror-struck inhabitants of Jersey watch as the German army unopposed takes possession of their island. Now only a short way from the English coast, the Germans plan their invasion.
Hedy Bercu, a young Jewish girl from Vienna who fled to the isolation and safety of Jersey two years earlier to escape the Nazis, finds herself once more trapped, but this time with no way of escape.
Hiding her racial status, Hedy is employed by the German authorities and secretly embarks on small acts of resistance. But most dangerously of all, she falls in love with German lieutenant Kurt Neumann -- a relationship on which her life will soon depend.
“Our dear Channel Islands are also to be freed today”. This isn't a quote from this book but it is a well-known quote that almost all Jersey Islanders - myself included - know well as it is part of Churchill's speech made on the 9th May 1945 announcing that Jersey, along with the rest of the Channel Islands, would be freed from German occupation after five long years. Unlike the mainland, the people of Jersey spent the duration of the war living under the harsh rule of the Germans and even to this day, we still have fortifications and markings around the Island to remind us of this history.
As a massive history lover and a Jersey girl, I love reading about stories of the German occupation. There are so many incredible stories of Islander's who showed amazing bravery and defiance during those years and Hedwig "Hedy" Bercu was definitely one of them!
Plot
Hedy is a young Jewish girl from Austria who moved to Jersey from her home in Vienna shortly before the war, leaving behind her family and loved ones for what she thought would be a better and safer life in Jersey. She knows right from the start that admitted her true racial status could be deportation and possible worse and so she makes it her mission to make sure no one finds out her true identity.
To avoid suspicion she takes on a job as a German-speaking translator but she never expects to fall in love with a German Lieutenant. Suddenly, despite the rules and restrictions getting stricter the deeper into the war they get, the more secrets she finds herself keeping.
Soon she realised she has to keep herself hidden not only for her own safety but for those she loves as well.
This is based on a true story and it is full of passion not only for the characters but for the Island's history. The story moves gradually through the war, showing the changes that took places as each year rolled by. At the beginning of the book, the atmosphere was not far from how you would find Jersey now: laid back, relaxed, with everyone going about life at their own pace. But by the end of the book I could really sense how the Island and it's residents had suffered and been so deprived but at the same time keeping strong defiance which was described really well.
Characters
I find it interesting reviewing characters when I know they were real-life people but I think Jenny really captured the essence of each of these characters beautifully. Hedy is a very headstrong, independent person who at first I thought was a little stubborn but thank god she was because I don't know how she would have got through everything she went through if she wasn't. You also realise she is extremely loyal to those she loves and unselfish in a lot of her acts which made me admire her so much more. Also, she was only 21 years old when the war started! I'm 27 and I cannot imagine how she coped with all she did.
Kurt Neumann, the German officer she falls in love with is a perfect reminder of the fact that there were many German's out there that didn't want to be fighting a war either. When you read about the history of the German Occupation in Jersey you read about how they invaded and took over the Island and how they deprived the Islander's of so much, a lot of which is true and is also described so brilliantly in this book. But many of them didn't get a choice to fight in the war either and there were some good ones among them and Kurt Neumann for me broke down that barrier. I really connected with all the characters and their different personalities, each with their own different backgrounds was so relatable.
Writing Style
The style of writing was very easy to read, the book mainly focuses on the point of view of Hedy but you also get to see Kurt's point of view as well which enables the reader to see the German side of the occupation for better understanding. I think if it had stuck with Hedy's POV all the way through and she'd fallen in love with Kurt, you wouldn't have been able to appreciate his character as much or realise the risks he ends up taking for her. As I say, the book follows the course of the war from 1940, right through to 1946. Most of the first half of the book covers 1941-1942 and then the second half of the book is spent on 1943-1946 so you travel through these later years a lot faster. I'm not sure if this because a lot of what happens to Hedy during the war is more documented during the earlier years and the rest was left to speculation or if it was intentional but I found that it created more of an urgent, faster pace of reading towards the end of the book which fit really well with what was happening in the story. The first half of the book I read in a about 10 days, the second half I absorbed in about 2 days (and could probably have done it in less) because I didn't want to put it down.
Book Cover
I love the book cover. It's not too over the top, the colours of the woman's coat and the background reflect the era well and I like that the title of the book conflicts with this completely in being a very bold red. I heard about this book through watching an online interview with Jenny Lecoat but had I seen this book in a bookstore or online first I would have been instantly attracted to it.
Overall Conclusion
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