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Discover the extraordinary true story of Edith Hahn, a young Jewish woman who survived the Holocaust by assuming a new identity and marrying a Nazi officer. This gripping memoir recounts her experiences in Vienna, a ghetto, and a slave labor camp, as well as her life as a hunted woman in hiding.

Edith’s story is one of constant fear, resilience, and determination. She recounts the intricate details of her life as Grete Denner, the identity she assumed to evade capture. Despite the risks, Edith documented her experiences, saving documents and photographs that are now part of the Holocaust Memorial Museum’s permanent collection in Washington, D.C.

Who Is This For?

This book is ideal for those interested in historical non-fiction, particularly World War II and the Holocaust. Readers who appreciate stories of survival, courage, and resilience will find Edith’s memoir compelling.

Bottom Line

‘Nazi Officer’s Wife’ is a powerful and thought-provoking memoir that sheds new light on the complexities of the Holocaust. Edith Hahn’s story is a testament to the human spirit’s capacity for survival and hope in the face of unimaginable adversity.

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  • Edith Hahn was an outspoken young woman in Vienna when the Gestapo forced her into a ghetto and then into a slave labor camp. When she returned home months later, she knew she would become a hunted woman and went underground. With the help of a Christian friend, she emerged in Munich as Grete Denner. There she met Werner Vetter, a Nazi Party member who fell in love with her. Despite Edith’s protests and even her eventual confession that she was Jewish, he married her and kept her identity a secret.
  • In wrenching detail, Edith recalls a life of constant, almost paralyzing fear. She tells how German officials casually questioned the lineage of her parents; how during childbirth she refused all painkillers, afraid that in an altered state of mind she might reveal something of her past; and how, after her husband was captured by the Soviets, she was bombed out of her house and had to hide while drunken Russian soldiers raped women on the street.
  • Despite the risk it posed to her life, Edith created a remarkable record of survival. She saved every document, as well as photographs she took inside labor camps. Now part of the permanent collection at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., these hundreds of documents, several of which are included in this volume, form the fabric of a gripping new chapter in the history of the Holocaustcomplex, troubling, and ultimately triumphant.
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