Excerpt from Cradles of the Reich by Jennifer Coburn, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Is he in trouble? Can I help Vati redeem himself?

Hilde's thoughts were interrupted when Franz called out for her. Silently, she thanked Jutta for drilling German history and Reich principles into her since she first joined the BDM. Hilde had always preferred group calisthenics and mushroom hunting to her Nazi studies and domestic skills, but she was more than grateful now for the knowledge.

Rallying her confidence with a shake of her fists, Hilde stepped out of the kitchen to see the obergruppenführer standing in the foyer, handing his coat to Johanna to hang. Although he appeared much as he did in his pictures in the newspaper, she still had to blink a few times to reset her focus.

Herr Ziegler wasn't a handsome man, but his power was attractive to Hilde. He sported the same black uniform as Franz; both held their Totenkopf hats in their hands and wore swastika armbands around their jacket sleeves. They even wore the same style of eyeglasses and slicked-­back hair, but it was clear that Herr Ziegler was the more important of the two, though Franz was about five years older than his superior. Franz's deference to Herr Ziegler's authority made him smaller, weaker in Hilde's eyes. To her surprise, she took pleasure in this diminished view of her father.

Herr Ziegler's brows furrowed. "Your daughter looks different from the photo on your desk."

Hilde had gotten used to this routine: A person who had seen pictures of both Hilde and Lisa but had only registered the pretty one. People were always asking Franz about his daughter, seeming to forget that he had two. Only now they were right; there was only one.

"We…" Franz hesitated. "Our youngest was ill. Lisa didn't…" His eyes darted toward Johanna, gauging her reaction.

"Ah yes, of course," the obergruppenführer mumbled, remembering that the family had lost a child. "All Germany suffers when one of its children dies." Turning his head toward the kitchen, he asked, "What smells so good?"

Johanna swallowed down the casual condolence, shifting into what Hilde recognized as her performance mode. Hilde saw the muscles in Johanna's neck tense like tree roots, her voice trilling higher. "We have a feast befitting a guest of your esteem," she said.

At the table, Herr Ziegler addressed most of the dinner conversation toward Franz and Johanna, but Hilde kept herself involved by murmuring notes of agreement. Emboldened by Ziegler's occasional nods of approval, Hilde decided that the next time the obergruppenführer spoke, she would add to the discussion. What she had to say would only reflect well on her father. And why not speak? She was a grown woman now and had her own opinions to share.

Dabbing his napkin against his lips, Ziegler said, "I find there's nowhere more beautiful than Munich in the spring."

Before her parents could respond, Hilde chimed in that she found the sight of colorful blossoms and scent of cut grass hopeful, inspiring even. Sure, she was laying it on a bit thick, but the obergruppenführer seemed charmed by her youthful optimism, so she continued. "All my classmates say the Reich is giving our generation a fresh start, and what better reminder is there than nature's season of renewal?" Hilde smiled internally, wondering if her teacher, Frau Weber, would be proud or annoyed that she had borrowed her words.

Ziegler turned to Franz and gave a hearty guffaw. "Well put, Hilde."

Franz nodded and turned the conversation back to the expansion of the Beauty of Labor program, which he hoped to manage for the party. "I am an architect by training, so I know I can help make workplaces more efficient, safe, and beautiful for the Volk." His voice wavered, not matching his confident words. "I have ideas on how we could build on what we've done in the factories." Everyone at the table could sense what Franz wasn't saying. I've learned my lesson and won't mess up again.

Excerpted from Cradles of the Reich by Jennifer Coburn. Copyright © 2022 by Jennifer Coburn. Excerpted by permission of Sourcebooks. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.