The Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust

#1 New York Times Bestseller

In this gripping WWII historical nonfiction, 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, a true story of survival by hiding in plain sight. 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 this unforgettable Holocaust survivor memoir—complex, troubling, and ultimately triumphant.

Based on a trove of personal documents, this is the true story of one woman’s life at the heart of the Nazi regime—a daily tightrope walk of love, terror, and deception.

• A Secret Identity: To escape the Gestapo, Edith Hahn becomes Grete Denner, living underground in Munich where a single mistake could mean death.
• A Dangerous Secret: She falls for Werner Vetter, a Nazi Party member who marries her knowing she is Jewish, risking everything to protect the woman he loves.
• Unthinkable Choices: Fearing she might reveal her past under medication, Edith refuses all painkillers during childbirth, a testament to her incredible courage and resolve.
• A Firsthand Account: Against all odds, she saved hundreds of personal documents, from identity papers to photographs taken in labor camps, now part of the permanent collection at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

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 Holocaust—complex, troubling, and ultimately triumphant.

"A beautiful story of survival, an inspiring tale of overcoming fear." - Washington Jewish Week

“In a well-written narrative that reads like a novel, she relates the escalating fear and humiliating indignities she and others endured, as well as the antisemitism of friends and neighbors. . . . Her story is important both as a personal testament and as an inspiring example of example of perseverance in the face of terrible adversity”. - Publishers Weekly

“In setting down her own tale of surivival...Edith Han Beer provides a fascinating addition to the testimonial literature.” - Dallas Morning News

“A remarkable story.” - Jerusalem Post