Review: Hadamar – The House of Shudders

Author: Jason K Foster

Category: Young Adult

Publisher: Big Sky Publishing

Publication date: May 2019

Blurb: A bastard, a shame, a national disgrace.

Nazi Germany is ruled by Hitler’s barbaric policies of racial cleansing.

Ingrid Marchand’s only sin was to be born black.

Horrifying institutions like Hadamar are where the undesirables – including the mentally and physically disabled and children – are systematically tortured, gassed, and executed. It is where Ingrid is humiliated and brutalised and will encounter a depth of hatred the world has never seen before.

On the brink of starvation, can Ingrid survive the horrors of her incarceration and help bring her tormentors to justice?

Hadamar is a gripping tale of survival in a world of hatred, horror and insanity. Based on true events.

Review: I went to high school in the 1990s, and every year, we did something on the Holocaust. Just about every story looked at the Jews and how they were treated. Around year 8, I read The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, and wanted to know more about the Christians who had helped the Jews, and others who were deemed ‘undesirable’, such as the gypsies, homosexuals, disabled, and so on, but there were limited books available, and none that we were given to study.

Imagine my reaction when I discovered Hadamar: the house of shudders. This is the sort of book I had been looking for as a teenager. It is a book that I believe students should study at high school along with books about the Jews during World War 2.

This is a tale about Ingrid, a black girl who is otherwise healthy and intelligent, who is taken and placed in Hadamar for the duration of the war. It follows her journey of survival, and the tug of war between trying to survive and doing what is right.

It also gives an insight into what German children were taught in school. I read those parts to my 17 year old son and he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. I spoke with the author and these scenes are based on actual lessons!

A well written book that shines a light on some of the atrocities of World War 2 that we rarely hear from. A book that should be in school libraries everywhere.

Website:  jasonkfoster.com.au

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jasonkfosterauthor/

I received a free copy of this book as part of Books on Tour.