The Last Safe Place by Marion Kummerow ~A Review

by Susan Roberts

Inspired by the incredible true events of Operation Seven, where a handful of Jewish citizens escaped Berlin in 1942 by posing as German intelligence agents. A beautifully emotional and action-packed historical novel about a forbidden love affair, unfathomable courage and the power of never losing hope.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site.  A free book was provided for an honest review.

November 2025; Bookouture; 978-1836187059
ebook, print (278 pages); historical fiction

This well-written and well-researched book is another look at the plight of the Jewish people in Berlin, Germany, in 1942.  The Nazis have enacted new laws that limited their lives, forced them to wear yellow stars (which often caused harassment from non-Jewish people), and started sending them to camps for extermination.  Their day-to-day lives are full of danger and fear for their futures.  What is different about The Last Safe Place is that seven German Jewish people are offered a chance to escape with the help of two Nazi officers who do not agree with the persecution of the Jewish people in Germany.

At first, they tried to get the seven people out of the country by normal means, but the borders were closed to Jewish people.  Their group came up with a plan to train the seven people to be German agents.  The German officers convince the Nazi hierarchy that these seven people will be trained and will spy on other countries and report back to Germany.  It all looks like a pretty precarious plan in the beginning.  The seven people aren't sure if they should trust the German officers who want to help them, but eventually realize that the plan to be spies is their only possibility of getting out of Germany.  

One of the most fascinating members of the group is a female doctor who is not allowed to work because she is Jewish.  She spends a lot of her time helping people in her neighborhood who can't get medical help.  She had been safe because her husband was Aryan, but as soon as he died, the government was ready to send her to a camp.  Will the plan really work and help her and her daughters escape from the dangerous day-to-day life in Berlin?  The two Nazi Lieutenants are also fantastic characters.  They know that they are putting their lives in jeopardy for helping these people, plus they are in love with each other and if that is discovered, their lives will be over.

Once the escape finally starts, there is danger every step of the way.  The seven people have become friends and try to help each other.  Will their friendships and the help of the two soldiers get them out of Germany, or will their plan be discovered?

After the buy link, I've included info from Wikipedia about the true event this book is based on. It contains spoilers of the outcome of the plan, just so you know.

This book was a wonderful look at people who put their lives in jeopardy to help other people.  It was well written and kept me turning pages to find out if their plans to escape would be successful. Another great WWII novel.

Buy The Last Safe Place at Amazon

From Wikipedia:

Operation 7 (German: Unternehmen 7) is the name given to a successful attempt to smuggle fourteen Jews from Nazi Germany into Switzerland using false papers in August and September 1942. The operation was devised by Abwehr members Hans von Dohnanyi and Wilhelm Canaris, and carried out with the support of Dohnanyi's brother-in-law Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who arranged visas and sponsors for the Jews. Originally, the operation, which involved removing the Jews from deportation lists, making them agents of Abwehr and persuading Swiss officials to accept them, took over a year to plan and execute. 

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.   

Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us. Get even more book news in your inbox, sign up for our newsletter today! Or Follow Girl Who Reads with Bloglovin. Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.