The Sunflower House: a historical novel about family secrets and the Lebensborn Program

The Sunflower House by Adrianna Allegri is a story of little talked about history and family secrets at its center. In a sleepy German village in 1938, Allina Strauss had an idyllic life. She works at her uncle’s bookshop, she makes strudel with her aunt and she spends her free time with her friends and fiancé. But with Adolf Hitler as Chancellor, her family is hiding a dangerous secret. Allina learns that her mother was Jewish, making Allina a Mischling. Everything and everyone she knows and loves will be gone in quick succession and she will find herself at the Hochland House, a state run baby factory as part of the Lebensborn Program with the purpose of creating the Aryan population. Allina knows she must keep her Jewish heritage; however, when she discovers a group of neglected, less than desirable children, she is determined to save them from the horrors of the eugenics program. 

The Sunflower House is one woman’s story of determination to survive and resist against the powers of evil. I love World War II stories which bring to light the stories that are often forgotten or passed over. I had never heard of the Lebensborn program which the book’s blurb described as a “real life Handmaid’s Tale.” Where the Lebensborn program differs from the Handmaid’s Tale is that many of the women in the program willingly and proudly produced these babies for their country. This story had me hooked and I could not put it down as Allina risks her life for the innocent children in her care. There is a love story as Allina joins forces with Karl, a high ranking SS officer who is using his rank to subvert the evil plans. I highly recommend The Sunflower House. It is a story of love, loss, friends and the secrets we think are dead and buried. 

The Sunflower House will be available on November 12, 2024 

in hardcover, eBook and audiobook