I have the luxury of not being involved in war and born in an era of awareness, and blessed with a mother who encouraged thought beyond norms of the day. Her presence was short, she died when I was young, but her influence has lasted. I was taught to embrace all stances and cultures, all faiths and doctrines, unless I felt them inherently wrong.

There were also millions of Catholics slaughtered in German camps, with no outcry from the Pope. As the supremely annointed head of the RC church did not speak out, what hope is there for the common man to be courageous?

In the past century, much was not revealed by governments and news was difficult to access. If people are not informed, they cannot shoulder blame.

Of course, it’s also a matter of wanting or not wanting to know. And then there’s the question what to do with this knowledge. After all, any form of protest could easily get you killed, too (e.g., the members of the Weisse Rose were executed). But people certainly knew that their Jewish neighbours were disappearing and they knew of the existence of working camps and concentration camps. Most probably didn’t know of the extent of atrocities that were going on in there.

It would seem there cannot be amends for terrible, life altering deeds.

Therefore it’s important to understand history and to remember history. And to remember the victims of genocide as well as the victims of war, on both sides.

Are all countrymen to be held accountable for what others have done? Absolutely not. No one has power over the choices of others. Every nation has some despicable history, even when not in a state of war.

If horrors are done by a government, are the people it governs equally to blame? In the past century, much was not revealed by governments and news was difficult to access. If people are not informed, they cannot shoulder blame. More so, predominently all cultures taught obedience with the mindset extending into adulthood and creating an absolute acceptance of authority.

Is there a point at which collective guilt becomes personal guilt? I’m not certain if guilt solves anything but awareness of wrong doing and events that led to atrocities, hopefully prevents future reoccurrences.

How can atonement be made for things so far reaching and horrible that the world pulls back in disgust? It would seem there cannot be amends for terrible, life altering deeds. Prison appeared to be the solution at the end of WWII but was it atonement or an example of punishment?
A personal vow not to tolerate evil would be a good start, so history does not repeat itself.

As for books about WWII, my two recent favorites are Martin Zusak’s The Book Thief and Anthony Capella’s The Wedding Officer. Very different books (the Zusak sounds a lot more like the Bohjalian whereas the Capella is more of a fairy tale) but both are excellent.

with all the things that can go wrong (a friend of mine would have bled to death if she'd delivered at home) scares me witless.

I’m one of those that would have bled to death. Heck, 50 years ago I wouldn’t have survived my first labor, even in a hospital. Second one, baby was stuck, almost a C-Section but he decided to turn his huge shoulders and make his way down. Yeah, that didn’t hurt! (I can’t get an epidural because of the blood clotting disorder we found out about after birth #1).

aAAAAAAAnyway, TMI, I know.

The main thing I took away from the Vincent book is that each woman is different and trying to stick them all in the same mold won't work.

I agree with that. I’ve known women who have had beautiful home birth experiences and some of my friends are of the “give me the drugs right now” variety ;o) We are all different and we need to make the choices based on our own life and experience.

Personally, I liked Shannon Stacy’s compromise~the nurse midwife with emergency help a page buzz away!

I became a great lover of history and fiction based on historical accounts. In my mid teens, I felt compelled to discover the reasons for war in Northern Ireland and thus began my interest in researching and reading of war. My first experience of perception from an ‘opposing’ side was Crack of Doom by Willi Heninrich. It is still on my keeper shelf after thirty years.

Thank you so much for this review, Jayne. I absolutely must read Skeletons at the Feast.

It’s not only a gripping story, but the novel is also interesting because it presents a cross-section of society and shows a range of different attitudes towards the Nazi regime. It gives a very good insight into the everyday life in Germany in the 1930s. It definitely helps that the author was German herself — she gets all the details right modern authors often don’t even know about. Due to her Jewish background and socialist politics, she had to flee to France in the early 1930s, and then later on, to Mexico, where Das siebte Kreuz was first published. When it first appeared in English in the USA in 1942, it became a bestseller. There was even a special Armed Services Edition and a comic strip based on the novel.

The underlying theme I got from the book and what I was missing with the first child and found with the second was embracing childbirth as MY amazing moment rather than being a victim of it.

Anyway, definitely a your mileage may vary sort of thing, I guess. The book touched me at a certain time in my life. Maybe I’d pick it up today and find it a DNF.

When the dust settled, the lawsuits began. It was horrible to read how quite a few people, who only wanted to make a living helping women deliver babies, had their lives changed. And of course there was the baby and his family who would have to live with his health problems – and they were severe.

I have a great deal of respect for those who decide that a modern hospital isn’t for them. Some of my friends have had awful – in terms of how satisfied they were with what went on during their stay – deliveries. One decided to have her second child at a birthing center because of it. The main thing I took away from the Vincent book is that each woman is different and trying to stick them all in the same mold won’t work. I think this is something that midwives can help with – making each woman’s experience what she wants it to be. But the thought of having a baby at home – with all the things that can go wrong (a friend of mine would have bled to death if she’d delivered at home) scares me witless.