Berlin, 1944. ‘No! Not my child!’ Annaliese screams, her voice breaking as she pounds the window uselessly. But no-one looks up as the man in the SS uniform cradles her precious baby and strides away…
She lies unmoving on the threadbare cot, her throat hoarse from long hours of screaming but her tears keep falling. Her heart has been cleaved in two, now the Nazis have taken the only thing she has left – her child. She is utterly powerless against them.
But as Annaliese cries herself to sleep, she makes a vow — she will find her daughter again. Whatever it takes.
Berlin, 1979. Lawyer Evie has come to the city to investigate the horrifying stories of infants torn from their mothers during the war.
One of the cases is Sebastian, whose yellowing birth certificate tells a heart-breaking tale. Evie is drawn to this lost man, and vows to do all that she can to help him.
But poring through old records, it is Evie who recognises the faded photo in a newspaper article. Her heart stops as she realises her whole life has been a devastating lie – and that her and Sebastian’s pasts are impossibly, unimaginably connected.
The German Child by Catherine Hokin is published on 24 January, 2024.
Read Catherine’s feature about the horrifying truth behind her story.
Find out about more historical books coming out this year.
