“There are many Holocaust survival narratives and autobiographies that deal with brothels and forced sex in the camps. But Birth, Sex and Abuse: Women’s Voices under Nazi Rule by Beverley Chalmers stands alone.  …each word, each bit of information is precious and unlikely to be found elsewhere with such clarity and comprehensiveness”  (Marcia Weiss Posner:  Jewish Book Council Reviews:  National Jewish Book Award Winner; USA).

 

“Chalmers’ writing…reflects exhaustive research, clarity of thought, and unflinching engagement with complexities that have received inadequate prior attention ... The result is a rare and complex analysis supported by well-chosen first-hand accounts ...” (M D Lagerwey, Western Michigan University:  CHOICE:’ Outstanding Academic Title’ Award Winner).

 

“This book should be a ‘must’ for everybody dealing with the cruel chapters of the Holocaust, especially for those who are dealing with research about the subject of women and children, and medicine, during the Shoah” (Prof. Dr. Miriam Gillis-Carlebach, Director, The Joseph Carlebach Institute, Bar-Ilan University, Israel).

 

“This book has an utterly unique, in-depth focus on all aspects of sexuality and reproduction during the Nazi regime; the author has written the first-ever, comprehensive tome on the treatment of women and infants that is essential for many disciplines” (Prof. Caroline Pukall, PhD, Professor of Psychology, Director of SexLab and the Sex Therapy Service, Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada).

 

“Chalmers’ text is a an encyclopedic work…a comprehensive, descriptive survey of the situations women faced during the Holocaust. It offers an accessible account of the experience of women’s sexual and reproductive lives under Nazi rule…Chalmers has laid a superb foundation for what is hoped will lead to further research on this critical area of Holocaust studies…Chalmers work will serve as an important reference volume…” (Prof Michael Grodin, Boston University: Modern Judaism, 2015, 347-51).

 

“Beverley Chalmers’ latest book is not the kind people want to read. Yet, it’s one they should…it is filled…with horrifying accounts of countless Jewish and non-Jewish women being raped and brutalized, experimented upon, forced into prostitution or compelled to undergo sterilization or abortion against their will…These actions were all part of the Nazi agenda to create a master race, but until Chalmers set about writing this book, no single work had thoroughly examined and comprehensively consolidated evidence of this aspect of the Holocaust” (Renee Ghert-Zang  The Times of Israel).