War's First Cry

On September 1, 1939, Ester Abrams' world is upended as German forces invade Poland. The city of Łódź, once bustling and vibrant, is swept into chaos. Ester, a young Jewish nurse, and Filip, an apprentice tailor, find their budding love threatened by the encroaching shadow of war. The air is thick with rumors, fear, and the first taste of violence. As the city's Jewish community braces for the unknown, Ester and Filip cling to each other, their love a fragile beacon in a world suddenly hostile. The first sirens of war echo not just in the streets, but in the hearts of those who sense that nothing will ever be the same again.

Love Amidst Ruin

Despite the occupation, Ester and Filip marry in a synagogue, surrounded by family and friends. The ceremony is a defiant act of hope, a moment of beauty in a world unraveling. Ana Kaminski, a Christian midwife and family friend, attends, her presence a symbol of solidarity. But the celebration is shattered when SS soldiers storm in, guns drawn, and the congregation is forced out. The synagogue is destroyed, and the couple's joy is tainted by fear. Yet, in the ruins, love endures. Ester and Filip's union becomes a quiet rebellion, a promise to survive together, even as the world conspires to tear them apart.

Ghetto Walls Rise

The Nazis order the creation of the Łódź ghetto, herding Jews into a cramped, walled-off section of the city. Ester and Filip, along with their families, are forced to abandon their home and share a tiny, overcrowded house with strangers. The ghetto is a place of deprivation, humiliation, and constant surveillance. Food is scarce, disease rampant, and dignity eroded by yellow stars and arbitrary violence. Yet, within these walls, small acts of kindness and resistance persist. Ester's skills as a nurse become vital, and Filip's clandestine tailoring helps maintain a semblance of normalcy. The ghetto is both prison and community, a crucible forging new bonds and testing old ones.

Forced from Home

Ana and her family, though not Jewish, are also uprooted as the Nazis redraw the city's boundaries. Their home is seized, and they are resettled, forced to witness the suffering of their Jewish neighbors. Ana's role as a midwife becomes more than a profession—it is a calling to serve all, regardless of faith. She navigates the shifting lines of identity and loyalty, risking her safety to help those in need. The city is a patchwork of loss and adaptation, as families on both sides of the ghetto wall struggle to hold onto their humanity in the face of relentless dehumanization.

Sealed and Starving

The ghetto is sealed, cutting off all but the most meager supplies. Hunger gnaws at every family, and typhus spreads unchecked. Ester works in the ghetto hospital, her days a blur of exhaustion and heartbreak. The Jewish Council, led by Rumkowski, enforces Nazi orders, and the community is torn between survival and complicity. Ana, outside the walls, smuggles in food and medicine, aided by her sons and the growing Polish resistance. The ghetto becomes a world apart, its suffering invisible to most, but the bonds of friendship and love persist, even as the world seems to have abandoned them.

Midwife's Oath

As the ghetto's only midwife is killed, Ester is called upon to deliver babies, guided by Ana's advice and a smuggled book. Each birth is a miracle and a risk, as newborns face almost certain death from hunger or Nazi brutality. Ester's hands become instruments of both hope and sorrow. Ana, on the other side of the fence, continues her clandestine support, their friendship a lifeline. The act of bringing life into a world bent on destruction becomes an act of resistance, a refusal to let darkness have the final word.

Hope and Betrayal

Amidst the daily struggle, moments of joy—like a rare meal or a smuggled letter—offer fleeting relief. But every kindness is shadowed by danger. Leah, Ester's sister, is targeted by a German officer, and the family must orchestrate a daring escape, faking her death and smuggling her out of the ghetto. The cost is high: Ruth, Ester's mother, is beaten and left broken. The ghetto's population dwindles as deportations begin, and rumors of death camps spread. Trust is a rare commodity, and betrayal can come from anywhere, even within the community.

The Children's Sacrifice

In a moment of unspeakable cruelty, the Nazis demand the ghetto's children and elderly for "resettlement." Rumkowski, the Jewish leader, pleads with parents to surrender their children, promising survival for the rest. The ghetto is wracked with grief as families are torn apart. Ester and her family hide their mothers, but many are not so lucky. The streets fall silent, emptied of laughter and hope. The loss of the next generation is a wound that will never heal, and the survivors are left to question the price of their own survival.

Escape and Loss

As the ghetto is liquidated, Ester and Filip attempt to escape with Ana's help, but are caught in a roundup. Ruth, Ester's mother, is sent to her death, and Ester is forced onto a train to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Ana, arrested for resistance activities, is also deported. The journey is a descent into hell, the cattle cars packed with the dying and the dead. The world they knew is gone, replaced by the unknown terrors of the camp. The bonds of love and friendship are all that remain as they face the unimaginable.

Birkenau's Arrival

Arriving at Birkenau, Ester and Ana are subjected to the dehumanizing rituals of the camp—shaving, tattooing, and selection. Ana's skills as a midwife save them both, as they are assigned to the camp's maternity block. There, they meet Klara, a sadistic kapo, and Pfani, her cruel assistant. The rules are simple: only those who can work survive. Babies born to Jewish mothers are drowned or left to die, while those with Aryan features are taken for the Lebensborn program. Survival is a daily negotiation with death, and every act of kindness is an act of defiance.

Death and Defiance

Amidst the daily brutality, small acts of resistance persist. Ana and Ester secretly tattoo numbers on babies destined for Germanization, hoping to reunite them with their mothers after the war. The Sonderkommando, forced to burn the bodies of the dead, stage a desperate revolt, blowing up a crematorium. The uprising is crushed, but it is a spark of hope in the darkness. Mala, a beloved prisoner, attempts escape and is executed, her final words a call to resist. The camp is a place of death, but also of unbreakable spirit.

Births in Darkness

Despite the horrors, Ana and Ester continue to deliver babies, each birth a miracle. Ester herself becomes pregnant, and with Ana's help, gives birth to a daughter, Pippa. The joy is short-lived, as Pippa is taken for the Lebensborn program, her only link to her mother a secret tattoo. The loss is almost unbearable, but the act of marking her child is a final act of hope. The camp is filled with lost mothers and stolen children, but the bonds of love endure.

Stolen Babies

As the war turns against Germany, the Nazis become desperate for Aryan children. Babies with blond hair are taken from their mothers and sent to Germany, their identities erased. Ana and Ester's secret tattooing becomes a lifeline, a hope that one day these children can be found. The mothers are left with empty arms and broken hearts, but refuse to give up. The camp's population dwindles as the death marches begin, and the survivors are left to face the final winter alone.

Secret Marks

With the camp's end in sight, Ana and Ester redouble their efforts to mark every child they can. The tattooed numbers become a secret code, a thread connecting mothers and children across the chaos of war. As the Nazis flee, burning evidence and abandoning the sick, Ana, Ester, and Naomi—a Greek survivor—hide and care for the last children. The camp is liberated by the Soviets, but the scars remain. The survivors emerge into a world forever changed, carrying with them the hope that their secret marks will one day reunite families.

The March of Death

As the Red Army approaches, the Nazis force the prisoners on death marches through the snow. Many die, but Ana, Ester, and Naomi survive by hiding and caring for the weakest. The camp is finally liberated, and the survivors begin the long journey home. The world outside is unrecognizable, filled with refugees, orphans, and shattered families. The search for loved ones begins, guided by hope and the secret tattoos that may be the only link to the past.

Liberation's Dawn

Returning to Łódź, Ana and Ester find a city transformed. The Jewish community is decimated, and the survivors gather at relief committees, posting notes in desperate hope of reunion. Ana is reunited with her sons, but mourns her husband, lost in the Warsaw Uprising. Ester searches for Filip and Pippa, clinging to the hope that the secret tattoo will lead her to her daughter. The wounds of war are deep, but the survivors begin to rebuild, forging new families and new futures from the ashes.

Searching for Home

As months pass, Ester is reunited with her sister Leah, now married and expecting a child. News arrives that Filip may have survived Chelmno, and after months of waiting, he returns. Their reunion is bittersweet, as they mourn the loss of their families and the absence of Pippa. Ana, now a grandmother to many, helps reunite mothers and children using the secret tattoos. The search for Pippa continues, but hope is rekindled with every child found.

Notes on the Wall

In orphanages across Poland, children with secret tattoos are identified and, when possible, reunited with their mothers. Ester and Filip adopt Oliwia, the first baby Ester ever tattooed, honoring the promise that love can survive even the darkest times. The search for Pippa goes on, a testament to the enduring power of hope. Ana returns to her work as a midwife, bringing new life into a world that, at last, feels fit for children again. The story ends not with closure, but with the promise that love, memory, and resilience will outlast even the greatest evil.

Characters

Ester Abrams Pasternak

Ester is the emotional heart of the novel—a young Jewish nurse whose journey from the vibrant streets of Łódź to the horrors of Auschwitz-Birkenau is marked by resilience, compassion, and loss. Her love for Filip is a lifeline, and her transformation into a midwife in the ghetto and camp is both a calling and a burden. Ester's psychological arc is one of hope battered by trauma, yet never extinguished. The loss of her daughter Pippa to the Lebensborn program is a wound that shapes her, but her determination to mark and one day find the stolen children becomes her legacy. Her relationships—with Filip, her family, Ana, and the women she helps—are defined by fierce loyalty and the refusal to let evil have the last word.

Ana Kaminski

Ana, a Christian Polish midwife, bridges the worlds of the ghetto and the camp. Her vocation is her faith, and she risks everything to help Jews and Poles alike. Ana's psychological strength is rooted in her sense of duty and her capacity for love, even as she is tested by loss, violence, and the collapse of her world. She becomes a surrogate mother to Ester, embodying the power of chosen family. Ana's journey is one of endurance, sacrifice, and the quiet heroism of everyday care. Her postwar mission to reunite mothers and children is a testament to her belief in the redemptive power of love.

Filip Pasternak

Filip is Ester's partner in love and suffering. A tailor by trade, he is sensitive, creative, and quietly courageous. His journey through the ghetto, forced labor, and the death camp at Chelmno is marked by ingenuity and a stubborn will to survive. Filip's love for Ester is unwavering, and his longing for family and normalcy is a driving force. His psychological resilience is tested by trauma and loss, but his reunion with Ester is a hard-won victory of hope over despair.

Leah Abrams

Leah, Ester's younger sister, represents the lost innocence of a generation. Her escape from the ghetto, aided by her family's sacrifice, spares her the worst horrors, but leaves her marked by survivor's guilt. Leah's postwar life—marriage, motherhood, and the search for family—embodies the possibility of renewal. Her relationship with Ester is both a source of comfort and a reminder of all that was lost.

Ruth Abrams

Ruth is the matriarch of the Abrams family, embodying the sacrifices of mothers throughout the Holocaust. Her love for her daughters is fierce, and her ultimate sacrifice—drawing attention to herself to save Leah—underscores the theme of parental love. Ruth's death is a turning point for Ester, deepening her resolve to survive and to honor her mother's memory through acts of care and resistance.

Ana's Sons (Bronislaw, Zander, Jakub)

Ana's three sons represent the Polish resistance and the cost of war. Bronislaw's involvement in the Warsaw Uprising and Bartek's death highlight the broader struggle for Polish freedom. Zander and Jakub's roles in forging documents and smuggling supplies show the quiet heroism of those who fought in the shadows. Their postwar survival and reunion with Ana offer a glimmer of hope for the future.

Klara

Klara is the camp's midwife-turned-kapo, a figure of cruelty and self-preservation. Her psychological complexity lies in her transformation from caregiver to perpetrator, shaped by her own traumas and the camp's brutal logic. Klara's relationship with Ana and Ester is antagonistic, but her eventual decline and death are a reminder of the corrosive effects of power and hate.

Naomi

Naomi, a Greek Jewish survivor, brings energy, optimism, and resourcefulness to the camp. Her friendship with Ester and Ana is a lifeline, and her survival—along with her son Isaac—offers a rare story of hope. Naomi's psychological arc is one of adaptation, using wit and charm to navigate danger, and her postwar journey home is a testament to the possibility of healing.

Pippa Pasternak

Pippa, Ester and Filip's daughter, is taken for the Lebensborn program as an infant. Though she is absent for most of the narrative, her presence haunts Ester and drives the postwar search for lost children. Pippa embodies the countless children stolen by the Nazis, and the hope that love and memory can one day bring them home.

Oliwia

Oliwia is the first child Ester secretly tattoos in Birkenau, marking her for possible reunion. Her postwar adoption by Ester and Filip is a bittersweet victory, a symbol that some connections can be restored. Oliwia represents the possibility of healing, even when not all wounds can be closed.

Plot Devices

Dual Narratives and Shifting Perspectives

The novel alternates between Ester and Ana's perspectives, sometimes shifting to other key characters. This structure allows the reader to experience the Holocaust from both inside and outside the ghetto and camps, highlighting the universality of suffering and the diversity of resistance. The dual narrative also enables the exploration of interfaith solidarity, the complexity of complicity, and the nuances of survival.

Foreshadowing and Symbolism

The recurring imagery of the cathedral steps, the act of tattooing, and the motif of secret notes and numbers foreshadow both the trauma to come and the possibility of reunion. The use of food—scarce meals, shared bread, and pastries—serves as a symbol of love, memory, and the persistence of culture. The secret tattooing of babies is both a literal and metaphorical mark of hope, a plot device that links past and future.

Historical Anchoring and Real Events

The narrative is anchored in real historical events: the creation and liquidation of the Łódź ghetto, the operations of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Warsaw Uprising, the death marches, and the postwar chaos. Real figures (Rumkowski, Mengele, Grese, Mala Zimetbaum) appear alongside fictional characters, lending authenticity and weight. The inclusion of historical notes and the use of actual survivor testimonies as inspiration deepen the emotional impact.

Letters, Notes, and Secret Messages

Letters, smuggled notes, and the wall of messages at the relief committee serve as both plot devices and emotional anchors. They represent the desperate search for connection, the persistence of hope, and the power of memory. The act of writing—whether a love letter, a plea for reunion, or a secret tattoo—becomes an act of resistance against erasure.

Cyclical Structure and Return

The novel's structure brings the characters back to Łódź, to the cathedral steps where it all began. This cyclical return underscores the theme that survival is not a return to innocence, but a forging of new meaning from loss. The open-ended search for Pippa, and the adoption of Oliwia, suggest that healing is ongoing, and that the past can never be fully recovered, only honored.

Analysis

The Midwife of Auschwitz is a harrowing yet ultimately hopeful exploration of survival in the face of systematic dehumanization. Through the intertwined stories of Ester and Ana, the novel examines the ways ordinary people resist evil—not only through grand acts of defiance, but through daily choices to care, to remember, and to love. The secret tattooing of babies destined for the Lebensborn program is both a literal and symbolic act of hope, asserting the right to identity and reunion in a world bent on erasure. The novel does not shy away from the trauma and loss of the Holocaust, but insists that even in the darkest places, humanity endures. The postwar search for family, the adoption of orphaned children, and the rebuilding of community are portrayed as acts of ongoing resistance. The story's modern resonance lies in its insistence that memory is a form of justice, and that the bonds of love—biological, chosen, or forged in suffering—are the true antidote to hate. The Midwife of Auschwitz is a call to honor the past, to fight for the vulnerable, and to believe, even when hope seems lost, that healing is possible.

Last updated: October 23, 2025