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Auschwitz Lullaby by Mario Escobar is a fictionalized version of the real life story of Helene Hannemann, a German mother who chose to go to a concentration camp, and ultimately death, with her Romani family.

When she was young, Helene, a young German woman, married a man of Romani heritage and had five children with him. Though she hoped to escape the notice of the Nazis, in 1943 they came to take her husband and children to Auschwitz because of their Romani heritage. Since she was purely German, she was allowed to stay free. However, she would not allow her husband and children to go without her, so she voluntarily went to Auschwitz with them.

Helene was able to receive slightly better treatment in the camp because of her background as a nurse as well as her German heritage. Dr. Josef Mengele asked her to run a daycare for the Romani children in the camp. Helene uses every ounce of courage and "favored" status she can to create a bit of light for the children in such a dark time. Despite this strange relationship with Dr. Mengele, in the end, her whole family is put to death not long before the Allies liberate the camp.

Escobar does an amazing job of telling the story of Helene Hannemann in a easy to related to fashion. Auschwitz Lullaby flows extremely well and is so compelling it is hard to put down. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the daily life of concentration camp prisoners, as well as anyone who enjoys stories of human courage and perseverance.

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookLook book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255