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The German Girl - Armando Lucas Correa
The German Girl - Armando Lucas Correa
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The German Girl alternates between two main timelines: the 1939 voyage of the MS St. Louis, a German ocean liner, and the modern-day life of Hannah Rosenthal, a Cuban-American woman.
The 1939 Voyage:
The story begins in 1939, when a group of Jewish refugees aboard the MS St. Louis set sail from Hamburg, Germany, hoping to escape the horrors of the Nazi regime. The ship is carrying over 900 Jewish passengers, including the young Hannah Rosenthal, who is fleeing the persecution in Europe. The passengers hope to find refuge in Cuba, but their journey takes a tragic turn when they are denied entry and forced to return to Europe, where many of them face devastating consequences as the war intensifies.
The central character of this timeline is Hannah, a young Jewish girl who is traveling with her parents. They are part of the group of refugees seeking safety from the Nazi regime. As the story unfolds, Hannah's experiences aboard the ship and her family's desperate hope to find a safe haven in Cuba are depicted. However, the rejection of the MS St. Louis in Cuba becomes a pivotal moment in their lives, symbolizing the lack of refuge available for Jewish refugees during this time. The novel also portrays the relationships between the passengers on board, their hopes, and the horrors they face as they are turned away.
Modern-Day Story:
The novel also follows Anna, a Cuban-American woman living in New York in the present day. After the death of her mother, Anna begins to uncover the secrets of her family’s past, including her connection to the passengers of the MS St. Louis. Anna’s journey to uncover the truth about her mother’s history and the impact of the Holocaust on her family forms a key part of the modern-day narrative.
The two timelines converge as Anna learns more about her mother’s life and the deep scars left by the events of the past. She embarks on a journey to learn the truth about her family's connection to the refugees and their struggles, leading her to make a profound personal discovery.
