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The Nuremberg Women: The Untold Story of the Eight Women Who Brought the Nazis to Justice
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Bestselling author and historian Natalie Livingstone tells the story of the Nuremberg trials in a new through the eyes of the women who were there on the ground.
In November 1945, the eyes of the world turned to Nuremberg. Humanity was seeking not only the truth about Nazi crimes but also a vision of what justice might look like in their aftermath. The trials are traditionally associated with a roll call of famous men, but they were only part of the story. Not only were there women involved in the trial in every role—as journalists, researchers, lawyers, interpreters, court reporters, witnesses, artists, and even defendants—but they were pivotal in the trial’s outcome.
The Nuremberg Women tells the story of eight a brilliant American lawyer, three pioneering journalists, two German, one British, an iconoclastic artist, a beautiful refugee aristocrat, a dauntless survivor of Auschwitz, and a young Russian translator.
From the major stories about justice, gender, and politics at a pivotal moment in the twentieth century to the smaller, daily intimate tales of the women’s affairs and bar-room disputes, The Nuremberg Women shows the most famous trial of the twentieth century in a new light—making a brave new case for it having been a more diverse and democratic exercise than has often been recognized.
They reveal a Nuremberg that is more intimate, human, and haphazard; one that was lower paid and less publicized. They demonstrate that the trial was remarkable not because it was perfect but because, against all odds, it happened. Thanks to these women and many others, justice was served.
In November 1945, the eyes of the world turned to Nuremberg. Humanity was seeking not only the truth about Nazi crimes but also a vision of what justice might look like in their aftermath. The trials are traditionally associated with a roll call of famous men, but they were only part of the story. Not only were there women involved in the trial in every role—as journalists, researchers, lawyers, interpreters, court reporters, witnesses, artists, and even defendants—but they were pivotal in the trial’s outcome.
The Nuremberg Women tells the story of eight a brilliant American lawyer, three pioneering journalists, two German, one British, an iconoclastic artist, a beautiful refugee aristocrat, a dauntless survivor of Auschwitz, and a young Russian translator.
From the major stories about justice, gender, and politics at a pivotal moment in the twentieth century to the smaller, daily intimate tales of the women’s affairs and bar-room disputes, The Nuremberg Women shows the most famous trial of the twentieth century in a new light—making a brave new case for it having been a more diverse and democratic exercise than has often been recognized.
They reveal a Nuremberg that is more intimate, human, and haphazard; one that was lower paid and less publicized. They demonstrate that the trial was remarkable not because it was perfect but because, against all odds, it happened. Thanks to these women and many others, justice was served.
Kindle Edition
First published April 23, 2026
About the author
Natalie Livingstone
5 books116 followersNatalie Livingstone was born and raised in London. She graduated with a first class degree in history from Christ's College, Cambridge in 1998. She began her career as a feature writer at the Daily Express and now contributes to Tatler, Harper's Bazaar, US Vogue, Elle, The Times and the Mail on Sunday. Natalie lives in London with her husband and two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
July 30, 2026
The author highlighted marginalized women who were present or who assisted in some way at the Nuremburg trials. I was unfamiliar with the women profiled: attorney Harriet Zetterberg; journalists Erika Mann, Rebecca West, and Ursula von Kardorff; translator Tatiana Stupnikova; concentration camp survivor Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier; artist Laura Knight; and witness house hostess Ingeborg Kalnoky. The author mentioned Victoria Ocampo, an Argentine woman who was present at the trial-- I wish she had been included--and Kalnoky seemed to me more of an opportunist than someone deserving to be profiled in this collection. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
May 27, 2026
I really enjoyed this book. The stories of the 8 women were fascinating, and presented well (kind of in parallel to the story of the Nuremberg trial). Perhaps the thing that truly made it 5 stars for me was the second part of the book with the continuation of their stories post Nuremberg: with several brilliant women having to settle for traditional lives, being forced to abandon their careers and passions because of attitudes of the time. The range of countries covered , including the perspectives and reflections from the Soviet Union and Germany, allowed Livingstone to cover a wide scope of history. Most fascinating perhaps was the story of the witness house, presided over by Ingeborg Kalnoky, revealing a window into both the experience of witnesses (worthy and not) as well as contemporary attitudes towards them, shaped by the times they had lived through.
August 10, 2026
The Nuremberg trials are famous for bringing a sense of closure to the horrors of World War II and some sense of justice to the atrocities committed by the Nazis. They've been written about extensively and dramatized on screen. But, as far as I know, little has been documented about the small but significant group of women who were present at the trials. In The Nuremberg Women, Natalie Livingstone focuses on eight women from varied backgrounds, nationalities, professions, and political beliefs to show the importance of their involvement. We get to know a brief biography of each woman, her role in the trials, and a bit about her life afterward. As a collection, these profiles show that these women all played a crucial role, but those roles often were behind the scenes or downplayed as less important than those of the (male) lawyers and judges. What was particularly fascinating was learning about how their views of the trials changed over the years and colored their experiences of the Cold War in the decades to come. War is so often characterized as a masculine arena, but these women -- a lawyer, three journalists, an artist, a survivor of Auschwitz and Ravensbruck, and an interpreter -- all recognized that wars inflict suffering on women just as much as men and that they should have a voice in the processes of reckoning that follow a war.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in return for an honest review. It will be published November 3, 2026.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in return for an honest review. It will be published November 3, 2026.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Here the author gives a different view of the famous trials by examining women that participated in various roles and their lives afterward.
From the author's introduction explains the relevance beyond men of the crimes being prosecuted from this men's war:
Covered here are:
1. Harriet Zetterberg, a lawyer at the Nuremberg Trials, although sidelined from the spotlight given to the men. (See first quote from book above.) Her experiences back in the USA reminds us of the Truman-era loyalty oaths that presaged the Red Scares.
2. Erika Mann, a German actress and writer, daughter of the novelist Thomas Mann. She emerges to me as a clarion critic on Nazi and post-Nazi Germany
...and fascinating free spirit:
Later, back in the USA, Mann also ran into the Truman Loyalty Board and the later, full Red Scare.
Mann was not silent by the later reluctance in Germany to continue denazification.
3. Ingeborg Kálnoky, the countess who presided over the witness house in the Nuremberg trails. She also wrote about her experiences "In a memoir penned shortly after her time in Nuremberg and subsequently reworked into the 1975 book The Witness House, Ingeborg explained how she was able to show charm and compassion to the Nazis under her roof. “I listened, wondered, and tried neither to judge nor justify, but master my own bitterness against those who bore a share of the great guilt.”
4. Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier who participated in the Resistance and helped produce clandestine publications.
5. Laura Knight the English artist who was the courtroom painter.
6. Tatiana Stupnikova a Soviet interpreter in Nuremberg and one of the Soviets that learned there the realities of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact while being overworked:
7. Ursula von Kardorff , a a member of aristocratic anti-Nazi family and German journalist whose work concentrated mostly on arts and culture in Germany during the Third Reich.
8. Rebecca West, the noted British author, journalist, literary critic and travel writer who had an affair with Trial judge Francis Biddle.
From the author's introduction explains the relevance beyond men of the crimes being prosecuted from this men's war:
...war trials prosecuted were as painfully relevant to women’s history as men’s.
...
I realized that many had observed the way in which the trial was built for men, by men. Rebecca West’s articles from the trial include the Rebecca West’s articles from the trial include the refrain “a man’s world, a man’s world.” Arriving in Nuremberg, the Argentine writer Victoria Ocampo noticed that the courtroom, like the warring elites it had sprung from, was overwhelmingly male. “Everything in the [court] room proves to me that this is a matter for men alone,” she wrote in a section of a Nuremberg article entitled “Among Men Alone.” The trial reminded her of the Dakota airplane in which she had been brought to the city: “this tribunal, that plane, did not foresee the presence of women.” This was not just an observation but grounds for protest.
Covered here are:
1. Harriet Zetterberg, a lawyer at the Nuremberg Trials, although sidelined from the spotlight given to the men. (See first quote from book above.) Her experiences back in the USA reminds us of the Truman-era loyalty oaths that presaged the Red Scares.
In March 1947 Truman signed an executive order requiring that all federal civil servants be screened for “loyalty.” First Dan and then Harriet were investigated by the Loyalty Review Board, he in 1948 and she the following year. Harriet, who had fought totalitarianism at Nuremberg and seen its consequences, felt the bitter irony of having come back to America, only to find herself facing a hazy and drawn out extrajudicial investigation. “I feel very strongly that giv[ing] credence to unproven charges and condemnation without a hearing before a jury and court is the first step toward the Concentration Camp, and I want no part in it, even for the sake of keeping a job with the Federal Government.”
2. Erika Mann, a German actress and writer, daughter of the novelist Thomas Mann. She emerges to me as a clarion critic on Nazi and post-Nazi Germany
Erika set about finding new ways to express her political views. On 15 March 1937 she gave a speech at the Peace and Democracy Rally in Madison Square Garden to an audience of 23,000 people. It was an impassioned call to action in which she entreated her audience to spread the word of what was happening in Nazi Germany. In the wake of that speech she began a nationwide tour. It was a resounding success not only in getting her message across but also in improving her English— by the autumn she was nearly as comfortable speaking English as German. The following year she and Klaus published the first in what would become a series of anti-Nazi books. Erika’s School for Barbarians (1938), about the education and indoctrination of children, was followed by Escape to Life (1939), about German artists and scholars in exile, and The Lights Go Down (1940), which traced the lives of ordinary Germans under Nazism. The Other Germany (1940), also written with Klaus, sought to explain the “true” German culture, one that stood in opposition to Nazism.
...and fascinating free spirit:
before arriving in Nuremberg, the German journalist Erika Mann, daughter of Nobel Prize-winning writer Thomas Mann, had lived an extraordinary life. She had raced cars, staged cabarets, written several books, struck a marriage of convenience with the English poet W. H. Auden, and taken a string of glamorous lovers, including a photographer, a dancer and a charismatic actress. Throughout the 1930s Erika had been a scabrous polemicist, warning of the Nazi threat. When war broke out, she became an unrelenting political activist in exile. She came to Nuremberg full of anger at her fellow Germans, and desperate to find some hope for the future buried beneath the legal process of Courtroom 600.
Later, back in the USA, Mann also ran into the Truman Loyalty Board and the later, full Red Scare.
In 1950 the inquisitorial culture spawned by Truman’s loyalty boards was supercharged by a speech delivered by the anti-communist senator Joseph McCarthy, who claimed to have a list of “known communists” operating within the US State Department. Over the coming months and years McCarthy would develop an extrajudicial apparatus of investigation that would prove powerful enough to end careers, destroy reputations, ...
...
In the McCarthyite climate, scrutiny of Erika’s “premature anti-Fascism” and leftist sympathies was revived, and her application for US citizenship was mired in suspicion. In 1950 she documented a “Kafkaesque” visit from the FBI, who had kept files on the Mann siblings throughout the 1940s and were now stepping up their investigations. A heartfelt letter of December 1950, written to the director of immigration, captures her sense of betrayal: “I felt like an American, lived like an American… I lived and worked in the United States, and since I wished to go on doing so, I deemed it only fair to add myself legally to the good people of this country.” Following the visit from the FBI, she found herself “finished,” and this “in a country I love and whose citizen I had hoped to become.” Like Harriet in her tussle with the Loyalty Board, Erika was outraged to find herself under attack by a country she had worked so hard to serve. “Immeasurable are the times I endangered my life while… covering the war as a correspondent accredited to the US Forces,”
Mann was not silent by the later reluctance in Germany to continue denazification.
Adenauer gave no ground. As he later put it: “I think we now need to finish with this sniffing out of Nazis.” By the end of January 1951 amnesty laws had benefited nearly 800,000 West Germans sentenced or threatened with prosecution for their participation in Nazi crimes. By the end of the 1950s only three of those given prison sentences at Nuremberg— Albert Speer, Baldur von Schirach and Rudolf Hess— remained behind bars. 10 For Erika, such clemency was intolerable, and she was furious at the injustice. She had seen the IMT as the beginning of a much bigger project. But yet again, her country had morphed into a place she did not recognize.
3. Ingeborg Kálnoky, the countess who presided over the witness house in the Nuremberg trails. She also wrote about her experiences "In a memoir penned shortly after her time in Nuremberg and subsequently reworked into the 1975 book The Witness House, Ingeborg explained how she was able to show charm and compassion to the Nazis under her roof. “I listened, wondered, and tried neither to judge nor justify, but master my own bitterness against those who bore a share of the great guilt.”
4. Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier who participated in the Resistance and helped produce clandestine publications.
By the time Marie-Claude returned to Germany on another assignment a year later, Hitler had swept to power. This time she had to be more daring in order to access her subject. By hiding her camera under a scarf, she was able to photograph the entrance to the newly opened Dachau concentration camp and, through the fences, the inmates of the Oranienburg camp. Marie-Claude also made contact with the earliest resistance to Hitler’s regime, underground Communist Party activists.
5. Laura Knight the English artist who was the courtroom painter.
6. Tatiana Stupnikova a Soviet interpreter in Nuremberg and one of the Soviets that learned there the realities of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact while being overworked:
...where they were struggling to provide written translations of a large number of documents. As she wrote elsewhere in her memoir: “Our entire translation fraternity worked tirelessly. We, Soviets, were not accustomed to complaining.”
7. Ursula von Kardorff , a a member of aristocratic anti-Nazi family and German journalist whose work concentrated mostly on arts and culture in Germany during the Third Reich.
8. Rebecca West, the noted British author, journalist, literary critic and travel writer who had an affair with Trial judge Francis Biddle.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Natalie Livingstone is quickly becoming the queen of history introducing the women behind the men we’ve been hearing about for years, and her latest undertaking is the women behind the scenes (or briefly in front of them) at the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg at the end of World War Two.
If the research she’s done to peel back the layers and find the women rarely mentioned isn’t impressive enough, the fact that she is able to focus on women of all different ages, serving in a variety of roles, representing different backgrounds and six different countries should be pretty mind blowing. It also gives the reader a lot of insight into how women experienced the trial of the Nazis, and how conflicting the experience was for some of them.
Harriet is a brilliant young American lawyer, hampered by her gender in a time where women’s professional careers were limited, especially if they wanted to have a family.
Erika is a German journalist who fled the country with her family when it became clear their opposition to Hitler would lead to their own demise, angry and determined to see the men held accountable for their crimes.
Ingeborg is a titled Hungarian serving as a hostess at the lodgings where defendants and victims are being housed during the tribunal.
Marie-Claude is a French woman testifying to the court about her time at the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Ravensbruck.
Laura is a British woman commissioned to paint a picture of the tribunal, who gets wrapped up in her personal connections to Nazis.
Tatiana is a young Russian interpreter walking on eggshells, trying to offset her parents while learning of complicit acts the Soviets were involved in and tried to pawn off on the Germans.
Ursula is a German reporter who’s struggling with reconciling the acts of her country men, while not having entirely clean hands herself.
And Rebecca West is a British journalist looking to reestablish her well respected career, who gets wrapped up in a love affair.
Not all of these women are particularly admirable, as women are flawed, just like men. It is easy to expect this of someone like Ursula, who is trying somewhat delusionally to justify her choices and those of others, and can only see the atrocities for what they are when they become personal. I also struggled with the British women and their choices, as well as Ingeborg, though she was in one of the most difficult positions of anyone.
Occasionally the book strays away from its primary focus on the women and their roles, and after incorporating Martha Gellhorn fairly heavily in the chapters about Rebecca, it almost feels like she deserves chapters of her own. And while the role women played in Nuremberg is fascinating, much of the tribunal was drawn out and boring, and that did tend to creep into the book for me.
Those things should not stop you from reading this book, which not only introduces women into a historical event solely focused on men, but also gives the reader insight into all the work that went into running the tribunal on a daily basis that went beyond the defendants, lawyers, and judges - and it was a massive amount of work.
A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
If the research she’s done to peel back the layers and find the women rarely mentioned isn’t impressive enough, the fact that she is able to focus on women of all different ages, serving in a variety of roles, representing different backgrounds and six different countries should be pretty mind blowing. It also gives the reader a lot of insight into how women experienced the trial of the Nazis, and how conflicting the experience was for some of them.
Harriet is a brilliant young American lawyer, hampered by her gender in a time where women’s professional careers were limited, especially if they wanted to have a family.
Erika is a German journalist who fled the country with her family when it became clear their opposition to Hitler would lead to their own demise, angry and determined to see the men held accountable for their crimes.
Ingeborg is a titled Hungarian serving as a hostess at the lodgings where defendants and victims are being housed during the tribunal.
Marie-Claude is a French woman testifying to the court about her time at the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Ravensbruck.
Laura is a British woman commissioned to paint a picture of the tribunal, who gets wrapped up in her personal connections to Nazis.
Tatiana is a young Russian interpreter walking on eggshells, trying to offset her parents while learning of complicit acts the Soviets were involved in and tried to pawn off on the Germans.
Ursula is a German reporter who’s struggling with reconciling the acts of her country men, while not having entirely clean hands herself.
And Rebecca West is a British journalist looking to reestablish her well respected career, who gets wrapped up in a love affair.
Not all of these women are particularly admirable, as women are flawed, just like men. It is easy to expect this of someone like Ursula, who is trying somewhat delusionally to justify her choices and those of others, and can only see the atrocities for what they are when they become personal. I also struggled with the British women and their choices, as well as Ingeborg, though she was in one of the most difficult positions of anyone.
Occasionally the book strays away from its primary focus on the women and their roles, and after incorporating Martha Gellhorn fairly heavily in the chapters about Rebecca, it almost feels like she deserves chapters of her own. And while the role women played in Nuremberg is fascinating, much of the tribunal was drawn out and boring, and that did tend to creep into the book for me.
Those things should not stop you from reading this book, which not only introduces women into a historical event solely focused on men, but also gives the reader insight into all the work that went into running the tribunal on a daily basis that went beyond the defendants, lawyers, and judges - and it was a massive amount of work.
A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Stunning compilation of biographies of eight women who were “witnesses” - each in a different way - to the Nuremberg trials. These biographies give us a wide ranging glimpse into what happened at the trials as well as highlighting women’s contributions to them.
The eight biographies were of women who came from different countries and diverse backgrounds or professions, and who experienced the post WWII from different perspectives, thus allowing us in retrospect to appreciate that moment in history from a woman’s perspective particularly as it was a male world then - as now.
The women were: Harriet Zetterberg, an American lawyer who helped assemble case files; Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier, a member of the French resistance and a witness to the atrocities of the concentration camps; Laura Knight, British artist who painted an incredible scene of the trial; Erika Mann, daughter of German novelist, Thomas Mann, a free spirit and journalist: Rebecca West, well known British journalist; Tatiana Stupnikova, a Russian translator; Ursula von Karloff, a German journalist battling over her perceptions old pre-Nazi and Nazi Germany, and Igneborg Kálnoky, Hungarian countess who hosted the setting where witnesses were housed.
The book humanize the Nuremberg trials and brings to life the courtroom from the perspective of the outsider. So much has been written about the American presence there that it was enlightening to learn about then Soviet portion of the trial and the controversy of who was the aggressor at the Katyn Massacre where Tatiana learned the truth about her country’s culpability in it. The Soviet perspective was interesting to have particularly their belief that Nazism was the child of capitalism” (a very prescient belief). Also interesting was Vaillant-Couturier’s later battle against holocaust deniers and her work that led to the prosecution of Klaus Barbie in 1987. All these women contributed to history in their own unique way which is why books that bring this to life in this age of DEI are incredibly important.
The book brings a new perspective on Nuremberg with its details that should not be forgotten as well as the foundation that trial gave to international order (one of the reasons for my five star rating). Also in being true to history, the author doesn’t shirk revealing her subject’s moral complexities such as Kálnoy’s “sentimentality for Nazi guests (yet ignoring the mention her Jewish guests in her latter memoir) or von Kardoff’s struggle to believe her country could have committed such atrocities - another reason for my five star rating. Finally, this brought history to life with real people who did real things, not “the famous names” we know, because it is these people who are equal witnesses to history (my final reason for my five star rating).
My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for granting me access to this excellent ARC.
The eight biographies were of women who came from different countries and diverse backgrounds or professions, and who experienced the post WWII from different perspectives, thus allowing us in retrospect to appreciate that moment in history from a woman’s perspective particularly as it was a male world then - as now.
The women were: Harriet Zetterberg, an American lawyer who helped assemble case files; Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier, a member of the French resistance and a witness to the atrocities of the concentration camps; Laura Knight, British artist who painted an incredible scene of the trial; Erika Mann, daughter of German novelist, Thomas Mann, a free spirit and journalist: Rebecca West, well known British journalist; Tatiana Stupnikova, a Russian translator; Ursula von Karloff, a German journalist battling over her perceptions old pre-Nazi and Nazi Germany, and Igneborg Kálnoky, Hungarian countess who hosted the setting where witnesses were housed.
The book humanize the Nuremberg trials and brings to life the courtroom from the perspective of the outsider. So much has been written about the American presence there that it was enlightening to learn about then Soviet portion of the trial and the controversy of who was the aggressor at the Katyn Massacre where Tatiana learned the truth about her country’s culpability in it. The Soviet perspective was interesting to have particularly their belief that Nazism was the child of capitalism” (a very prescient belief). Also interesting was Vaillant-Couturier’s later battle against holocaust deniers and her work that led to the prosecution of Klaus Barbie in 1987. All these women contributed to history in their own unique way which is why books that bring this to life in this age of DEI are incredibly important.
The book brings a new perspective on Nuremberg with its details that should not be forgotten as well as the foundation that trial gave to international order (one of the reasons for my five star rating). Also in being true to history, the author doesn’t shirk revealing her subject’s moral complexities such as Kálnoy’s “sentimentality for Nazi guests (yet ignoring the mention her Jewish guests in her latter memoir) or von Kardoff’s struggle to believe her country could have committed such atrocities - another reason for my five star rating. Finally, this brought history to life with real people who did real things, not “the famous names” we know, because it is these people who are equal witnesses to history (my final reason for my five star rating).
My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for granting me access to this excellent ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
If I were to venture a guess, I'd say that the vast majority of us have never, not even a single time, considered the Nuremberg trials through the lens of women.
Guilty as charged.
Author/historian Natalie Livingstone gives us that lens with "The Nuremberg Women," the story of the Numberg trials told through the lens of the women who were there.
It was November 1945. The world was looking at Nuremberg, partly out of a morbid curiosity seeking to know and understand the truth about the Nazi crimes and partly to envision some sort of justice through it all. I'll confess myself that when I think of the Nuremberg Trials, I've historically thought of men.
Yet, as Livingstone brings to life, women were there and very much involved in a variety of roles ranging from lawyers to court reporters, defendants to interpreters, journalists to witnesses and more. The truth is that the presence of women was vital, and that presence is vividly captured by Livingstone through the specific lens of eight women whose lives are brought to life here and whose roles are remarkably researched and finally acknowledged.
Livingstone captures a side of Nuremberg seldom ever acknowledged let alone given its due. Yet, "The Nuremberg Women" does exactly that - gives these women their due. In the end, we gain a different understanding of this period in history and its imperfections that still somehow served justice.
"The Nuremberg Women" captures, both intimate in its storytelling and universal in its themes. "The Nuremberg Women" is not always an easy read, however, it's a remarkably immersive read that for me was both narratively alive and surprisingly visual. There wasn't a story here that was familiar to me, somewhat embarrassingly, and Livingstone's ability to bring these stories to life is a remarkable accomplishment academically and as a storyteller.
I'm most certain that as the end of the literary year arrives, "The Nuremberg Women" is destined to be one of those books I'll still be talking about.
Guilty as charged.
Author/historian Natalie Livingstone gives us that lens with "The Nuremberg Women," the story of the Numberg trials told through the lens of the women who were there.
It was November 1945. The world was looking at Nuremberg, partly out of a morbid curiosity seeking to know and understand the truth about the Nazi crimes and partly to envision some sort of justice through it all. I'll confess myself that when I think of the Nuremberg Trials, I've historically thought of men.
Yet, as Livingstone brings to life, women were there and very much involved in a variety of roles ranging from lawyers to court reporters, defendants to interpreters, journalists to witnesses and more. The truth is that the presence of women was vital, and that presence is vividly captured by Livingstone through the specific lens of eight women whose lives are brought to life here and whose roles are remarkably researched and finally acknowledged.
Livingstone captures a side of Nuremberg seldom ever acknowledged let alone given its due. Yet, "The Nuremberg Women" does exactly that - gives these women their due. In the end, we gain a different understanding of this period in history and its imperfections that still somehow served justice.
"The Nuremberg Women" captures, both intimate in its storytelling and universal in its themes. "The Nuremberg Women" is not always an easy read, however, it's a remarkably immersive read that for me was both narratively alive and surprisingly visual. There wasn't a story here that was familiar to me, somewhat embarrassingly, and Livingstone's ability to bring these stories to life is a remarkable accomplishment academically and as a storyteller.
I'm most certain that as the end of the literary year arrives, "The Nuremberg Women" is destined to be one of those books I'll still be talking about.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.
First, I’m perplexed about the title, which irked me the entire time I was reading the book. One of the eight women highlighted in the book, Laura Knight, painted The Nuremberg Trial AKA The Dock, which contains all male subjects. The author states “The painting presents the story of a modern Armageddon conducted by men, fought by men, inflicted on men, prosecuted by men and, ultimately, judged by men. It’s a picture of the bloodiest catastrophe in human history with half of humanity painted out.” The whole point of the book is how there were many women working behind the scenes. It sounds hypercritical, but including the in front of eight erases all the other women involved in the trial.
The book appears well-researched, and focuses on eight women: a lawyer, three journalists/reporters/writers, a hostess to witnesses and defendants alike, a resistance fighter who survived Auschwitz, a painter, and a translator/interpreter. Their stories are told individually, yet they are woven into the context of the trial. The first section of the book ends at the trial’s conclusion, and we get an intimate glimpse into the women’s backgrounds which shaped the unique perspective of each individual. The second section of the book follows the women and their personal and professional struggles after the trial.
There is a good amount of historical information with some tedious bits, especially following so many names. The many interesting and surprising side stories make reading further worthwhile. LIvingstone does an excellent job of showing the contrasting perspectives of the women, as well as those of all involved in the trial (defense and prosecution) and society’s norms.
Overall, this was a well-written and extremely interesting look at history and eight of the many women who helped shape it.
https://candysplanet.wordpress.com/
First, I’m perplexed about the title, which irked me the entire time I was reading the book. One of the eight women highlighted in the book, Laura Knight, painted The Nuremberg Trial AKA The Dock, which contains all male subjects. The author states “The painting presents the story of a modern Armageddon conducted by men, fought by men, inflicted on men, prosecuted by men and, ultimately, judged by men. It’s a picture of the bloodiest catastrophe in human history with half of humanity painted out.” The whole point of the book is how there were many women working behind the scenes. It sounds hypercritical, but including the in front of eight erases all the other women involved in the trial.
The book appears well-researched, and focuses on eight women: a lawyer, three journalists/reporters/writers, a hostess to witnesses and defendants alike, a resistance fighter who survived Auschwitz, a painter, and a translator/interpreter. Their stories are told individually, yet they are woven into the context of the trial. The first section of the book ends at the trial’s conclusion, and we get an intimate glimpse into the women’s backgrounds which shaped the unique perspective of each individual. The second section of the book follows the women and their personal and professional struggles after the trial.
There is a good amount of historical information with some tedious bits, especially following so many names. The many interesting and surprising side stories make reading further worthwhile. LIvingstone does an excellent job of showing the contrasting perspectives of the women, as well as those of all involved in the trial (defense and prosecution) and society’s norms.
Overall, this was a well-written and extremely interesting look at history and eight of the many women who helped shape it.
https://candysplanet.wordpress.com/
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The year is 1945 and the world demands justice for crimes against humanity during World War II. The scene is focused on male defendants, defense attorneys, prosecuting attorneys, judges, military guards, news correspondents, translators, interpreters, etc. Yet, there has been little notice of the women who served alongside them. In this thorough, detailed, and moving account of eight of the women who served in one fashion or another at, in, and around the Nuremberg trials we get a glimpse of their challenges, personal and professional struggles, frustrations, and hopes. Among them was a legal assistant, several journalists each with a different national perspective, a refugee countess, a commissioned painter, an interpreter, and a camp survivor giving witness to the horrors endured and observed. Author Natalie Livingstone gives voice to these overlooked (until now) women in order that they may never be forgotten.
Utilizing written accounts, photographs, and volumes of historical records, Ms. Livingstone has crafted a deeply emotional and revealing story about these amazing women. The book speaks of the horrors observed and endured. It relays the challenges they faced whether affronted by misogynistic men or navigating through a city lying in war's rubble. It also provides glimpses into brief moments of shared joy.
Ms Livingstone's writing is concise, highly descriptive, evocative, and thorough. Her research is Herculean in scope. She delivers an emotional roller coaster as one might imagine the feelings of these women to be. I was deeply moved by the stories, stunned by the women's endurance, and amazed by their accounts. Highly recommend this book.
I am grateful to St. Martin's Press for having provided a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication date: November 3, 2026
Number of Pages: 432
ISBN: 978-1250345189
Utilizing written accounts, photographs, and volumes of historical records, Ms. Livingstone has crafted a deeply emotional and revealing story about these amazing women. The book speaks of the horrors observed and endured. It relays the challenges they faced whether affronted by misogynistic men or navigating through a city lying in war's rubble. It also provides glimpses into brief moments of shared joy.
Ms Livingstone's writing is concise, highly descriptive, evocative, and thorough. Her research is Herculean in scope. She delivers an emotional roller coaster as one might imagine the feelings of these women to be. I was deeply moved by the stories, stunned by the women's endurance, and amazed by their accounts. Highly recommend this book.
I am grateful to St. Martin's Press for having provided a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication date: November 3, 2026
Number of Pages: 432
ISBN: 978-1250345189
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Nuremberg Women proved to be very readable, as so many books in the WWII genre can be wordy and dry. I can't say that it was pleasant reading it, due to the subject material, which was how several women experienced the war and its aftermath, but it proves that women did indeed play a noteworthy, important role in the war, and suffered as much as men did. They fought in the resistance, as well as actually fighting on the ground by Russian women troops; they were imprisoned in concentration camps, often dying in greater numbers than men who could work a little harder due to gender differences; they were shot, hanged, guillotined, beaten to death, just like their male counterparts, BUT, they were not given an important place beside men in recounting the history of the war. This book shows that they served an equally important role during the war, and had to serve other roles at the same time as they fought. They had children and families to protect and feed, they often had small farms they had to work themselves since most men were gone, they had to endure bestial treatment by the Germans and their subordinates, often their own countrymen who seemed to try to outdo the Germans in sheer awfulness. After the was was over, women still had to fight to protect themselves and their families, they still had to scramble to feed, clothe, and shelter those they were responsible for, and often they endured rape and death at the hands of the victors!
This story needed to be told, and these women, like millions of others then, need to be remembered for their fight for freedom.
I received an ebook ARC of this by Netgalley; my review and observations are all my own, however.
This story needed to be told, and these women, like millions of others then, need to be remembered for their fight for freedom.
I received an ebook ARC of this by Netgalley; my review and observations are all my own, however.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Obviously my head has been in the sand in terms of the Nuremberg trials. The main guys got away and of the ones on trial, most got off and went back to being leaders in the new Germany. I never ever thought about the trials themselves - or the women who helped. This book follows 8 of these courageous women.
Courtroom 600 - what a name to live in infamy! The courtroom was packed with journalists, witnesses, observers, and attorneys (as well as the defendants). Each country had an allotment of people - not sure what it was dependent on.
The prosecution had to PROVE these Nazis were guilty. (Really?) Women trudged through a lot of the paper trail to find evidence, but plausibly the best evidence was the video - about an hour long - which showed the atrocities of the Nazis. People cried, were horrified and some couldn't watch. But Hess and Goring had no reactions at all. (creepy) Again, women sifted through the videos to put together the one video for court.
There are places the journalists (and some of the Nazis) stayed during the trial. Lots of tragic experiences even here - when it should be safe. It's incredible what the women contributed but were not highlighted - because they were women. One woman journalist became pregnant - and she was shipped off to NY.
This is a tough book to read, but not because the author is at fault. Livingstone has done a meticulous job of combing through historical documents to bring to life the trial. She has a nice narrative style and it's an easy read - except for what you are reading off the page. I thought I had heard most of the cruelty of the Nazis but I was wrong.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the honor of reading this.
Courtroom 600 - what a name to live in infamy! The courtroom was packed with journalists, witnesses, observers, and attorneys (as well as the defendants). Each country had an allotment of people - not sure what it was dependent on.
The prosecution had to PROVE these Nazis were guilty. (Really?) Women trudged through a lot of the paper trail to find evidence, but plausibly the best evidence was the video - about an hour long - which showed the atrocities of the Nazis. People cried, were horrified and some couldn't watch. But Hess and Goring had no reactions at all. (creepy) Again, women sifted through the videos to put together the one video for court.
There are places the journalists (and some of the Nazis) stayed during the trial. Lots of tragic experiences even here - when it should be safe. It's incredible what the women contributed but were not highlighted - because they were women. One woman journalist became pregnant - and she was shipped off to NY.
This is a tough book to read, but not because the author is at fault. Livingstone has done a meticulous job of combing through historical documents to bring to life the trial. She has a nice narrative style and it's an easy read - except for what you are reading off the page. I thought I had heard most of the cruelty of the Nazis but I was wrong.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the honor of reading this.
June 16, 2026
In the Imperial War Museum, you'll find a powerful painting entitled "The Nuremberg Trial". It depicts part of Courtroom 600 in Nuremberg's Palace of Justice, giving way to a war-torn scene of destruction in the background. There are lots of people in the picture - but none of them are women.
As the title of this book suggests, Natalie Livingstone wants to highlight the important contributions that women made to the Nuremberg Trials, and to explore their unique perspective on the proceedings. This includes Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier, an Auschwitz survivor who became the first female witness to testify to the court; Ingeborg Kalnoky, a Hungarian countess who oversaw a lodging house for witnesses, both supporters and victims of the Nazi regime; Tatiana Stupnikova, a Russian interpreter, who struggled with how the Stalin's atrocities were overlooked at the trials; Ursula von Kardorff, a German journalist whose writings were shaped by her own prior cooperation with the Nazis; and Laura Knight, the British painter who captured the famous woman-less scene.
The narrative is not uniformly engaging, and some of the chapters are more interesting than others. But this is a fascinating alternative perspective on the Nuremberg Trials, giving a fuller picture of some of the behind-the-scenes activities. Together, these eight women "reveal a Nuremberg that is more intimate, human and haphazard."
As the title of this book suggests, Natalie Livingstone wants to highlight the important contributions that women made to the Nuremberg Trials, and to explore their unique perspective on the proceedings. This includes Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier, an Auschwitz survivor who became the first female witness to testify to the court; Ingeborg Kalnoky, a Hungarian countess who oversaw a lodging house for witnesses, both supporters and victims of the Nazi regime; Tatiana Stupnikova, a Russian interpreter, who struggled with how the Stalin's atrocities were overlooked at the trials; Ursula von Kardorff, a German journalist whose writings were shaped by her own prior cooperation with the Nazis; and Laura Knight, the British painter who captured the famous woman-less scene.
The narrative is not uniformly engaging, and some of the chapters are more interesting than others. But this is a fascinating alternative perspective on the Nuremberg Trials, giving a fuller picture of some of the behind-the-scenes activities. Together, these eight women "reveal a Nuremberg that is more intimate, human and haphazard."
Review of advance copy
Interesting and thought provoking but inconsistent. The author basically recounts the experiences of a handful of women who played an important background - or under reported foreground - role during the Nuremberg trials. She covers the details of their involvement and provides their backstory as well as how their lives unfolded afterwards.
I was riveted during the first four or so accounts but parts of the others irritated and or bored me. I think my experience was influenced by the narrator of the audiobook. There is not much variation in tone and inflection and her voice has a nasal quality.
I am glad I read it because it opened up a whole new view of the events around and behind Nuremberg and the lives of fascinating and important women of the time such as Erika Mann, Laura Knight and one of the key witnesses, Marie Claude Valliant Couturier. I was completely absorbed in the story of the brilliant and unsung young American lawyer who played a significant part in securing the conviction of Hans Frank.Similarly fascinating was the story of a young Russian interpreter and war veteran whose parents were branded enemies of the Soviet state before her exemplary service redeemed them. Her particular story provided much illumination of the suppressed Russian misdeeds and the Allies' complicity in covering them up.
Overall I was glad I read this, but I can't unreservedly recommend the audiobook. Note that what you hear in the sample is how the narration is going to be all the way through.
I was riveted during the first four or so accounts but parts of the others irritated and or bored me. I think my experience was influenced by the narrator of the audiobook. There is not much variation in tone and inflection and her voice has a nasal quality.
I am glad I read it because it opened up a whole new view of the events around and behind Nuremberg and the lives of fascinating and important women of the time such as Erika Mann, Laura Knight and one of the key witnesses, Marie Claude Valliant Couturier. I was completely absorbed in the story of the brilliant and unsung young American lawyer who played a significant part in securing the conviction of Hans Frank.Similarly fascinating was the story of a young Russian interpreter and war veteran whose parents were branded enemies of the Soviet state before her exemplary service redeemed them. Her particular story provided much illumination of the suppressed Russian misdeeds and the Allies' complicity in covering them up.
Overall I was glad I read this, but I can't unreservedly recommend the audiobook. Note that what you hear in the sample is how the narration is going to be all the way through.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
In this immersive and intense new book about the Nuremberg Trials, Natalie Livingstone explores the pivotal roles that eight women -- an American lawyer, three journalists (two German women and a British woman), an artist, an aristocratic refugee, an Auschwitz survivor, and a Russian translator -- played during the trials. From large-scale narratives to their smaller, intimate lives, Livingstone offers some of the many women involved in this critical trial the spotlight their hard work and effort deserved. While women were part of the trial at all levels, these eight women (and their many colleagues) ensured justice was served in this new look at the Nuremberg Trials. Packed with details and fascinating looks behind the scenes of the trial, the book delves into the human side of the trial and into the lives of eight incredible women. The historical research is absolutely fascinating and the details really immerse readers into the intensity of the setting. Livingston really nails the atmosphere and emotional intensity of the setting for the players and the many moving parts of the trial. Immersive, intense, and fascinating, this is a brilliant and well-researched new title from Natalie Livingstone that World War II and women’s history fans will absolutely love.
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the advance copy.
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the advance copy.
Review of advance copy
A much-needed but ultimately flawed book. Enormous research on a riveting topic. Some of the chapters are as fascinating as the women they’re devoted to; for the same reason, others are comparatively duller, and the pages of pre-Nuremberg biography strike as tedious.
The weaving of character biography and historical account of the Trials is likewise weak. Notes on the women’s personal lives mud the chronology of the Trials.
The key message, beyond the long overdue insight into the women of Nuremberg, is confused. The depiction of the USSR is simplistic and biased. Bearing in mind the number of Soviet women who took part in the Trials, it’s definitely a choice that the only one covered in this book held anti-Soviet views and went on to describe Nazism and Soviet communism as “twins”. Although the author doesn’t shy away from necessary criticisms to the limitations of the Nuremberg Trials, particularly when it came to prosecuting the genocide, the USSR’s efforts to punish the Nazis more harshly and to extend the scope of the crimes are underestimated.
The weaving of character biography and historical account of the Trials is likewise weak. Notes on the women’s personal lives mud the chronology of the Trials.
The key message, beyond the long overdue insight into the women of Nuremberg, is confused. The depiction of the USSR is simplistic and biased. Bearing in mind the number of Soviet women who took part in the Trials, it’s definitely a choice that the only one covered in this book held anti-Soviet views and went on to describe Nazism and Soviet communism as “twins”. Although the author doesn’t shy away from necessary criticisms to the limitations of the Nuremberg Trials, particularly when it came to prosecuting the genocide, the USSR’s efforts to punish the Nazis more harshly and to extend the scope of the crimes are underestimated.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is an amazing and inspiring book! The book highlights the stories of 8 women and their experiences at and after the Nuremberg trials. Each woman's life and experiences made a profound impact on the trials. I liked the pictures a lot! It helped me to connect with these women.
There are many parts that became difficult for me to read. I believe though that it's important to remember that horrible atrocities actually occurred. "The things I saw beggar description," General Dwight D Eisenhower....He immediately ordered that the liberated camps be filmed and photographed so that nobody could deny the reality of what had happened."
The author did a superb job at research! The epilogue and acknowledgements sections are worth reading!!
I was provided a complimentary ARC copy of the book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
There are many parts that became difficult for me to read. I believe though that it's important to remember that horrible atrocities actually occurred. "The things I saw beggar description," General Dwight D Eisenhower....He immediately ordered that the liberated camps be filmed and photographed so that nobody could deny the reality of what had happened."
The author did a superb job at research! The epilogue and acknowledgements sections are worth reading!!
I was provided a complimentary ARC copy of the book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4.75/5
I learned a lot when reading this book. And I thought the different perspectives was really interesting and made me think about this situation in a different way.
I really don't think I'll get over how they had the Nazis that were on trial stay at the same house as the concentration camp survivors who were testifying. And they had them eating together...that just feels inappropriate.
I did find the part about the translators to be very compelling. I hadn't thought of it from that perspective. They were hearing these atrocities for the first time and couldn't really react, just translate. That's intense.
I did find the ending chapters to feel a tad bit unnecessary and a bit slower and less impactful than the rest of the book, but that is probably just a personal preference.
Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!
I learned a lot when reading this book. And I thought the different perspectives was really interesting and made me think about this situation in a different way.
I really don't think I'll get over how they had the Nazis that were on trial stay at the same house as the concentration camp survivors who were testifying. And they had them eating together...that just feels inappropriate.
I did find the part about the translators to be very compelling. I hadn't thought of it from that perspective. They were hearing these atrocities for the first time and couldn't really react, just translate. That's intense.
I did find the ending chapters to feel a tad bit unnecessary and a bit slower and less impactful than the rest of the book, but that is probably just a personal preference.
Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!
August 15, 2026
Ever since I watched the movie Nuremberg earlier this year, I’ve become even more curious about the trials themselves and the people involved in them.
This book focuses on several women who played important roles in the Nuremberg proceedings. Some were close to the defendants, some took notes during the trials, and others were victims of crimes against humanity. Their stories provide a completely different perspective on these infamous trials and highlight experiences that are often overlooked.
I would highly recommend reading a physical copy of this book. I found the audiobook difficult to follow at times, especially when trying to keep track of all the different characters. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and appreciated getting to see a different side of history.
A big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an early copy of this book!
This book focuses on several women who played important roles in the Nuremberg proceedings. Some were close to the defendants, some took notes during the trials, and others were victims of crimes against humanity. Their stories provide a completely different perspective on these infamous trials and highlight experiences that are often overlooked.
I would highly recommend reading a physical copy of this book. I found the audiobook difficult to follow at times, especially when trying to keep track of all the different characters. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and appreciated getting to see a different side of history.
A big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an early copy of this book!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received a free ebook from netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review. I have read quite a few books about the holocaust. This was my first book on the Nuremberg Trials.
The book took me a long time to read. The chapters are long. The book is quite long. The beginning and end of the book are really good. It's a hard topic to read about. There can't be a happy ending.
I learned a lot from the book. I didn't know anything about the women involved with the Nuremberg Trials. Just like today, so many people didn't believe in the atrocities of the Holocaust.
I think it's an important book to read. I really liked the follow ups at the end, about what happened to the women after the trial.
I am so grateful to the author and netgalley for the opportunity to read such an important book.
Come back to your Review on the pub date, Nov 3 2026, to post to retailers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A book that needed to be written. This author painstakingly did her research in providing the stories of eight remarkable women who helped bring justice to some of those responsible for the most horrific crimes of our world. The book is written about their lives during the war (pre trials) and then during the Nuremberg Trials. From journalists to an inn hostess where some of both the defendants and witnesses were housed (as well as others), you will be amazed and impressed by the bravery of these women. Complete with pictures. Thank you Natalie Livingstone for giving these women the accolades they deserve! Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Nuremberg Women: The Untold Story of the Eight Women Who Brought the Nazis to Justice
by Natalie Livingstone
Over the years I've been reading extensively about the events leading up to WWII, all the things happening during WWII, and what happened after WWII. What I am almost always drawn to are the stories of the people, whether as groups or individuals. In November 1945, the Nuremberg trials began in Germany, where former Nazi leaders were indicted and tried as war criminals by the International Military Tribunal. This book focuses on eight women but also informs us about other women and men in the lives of those women and/or in connection to the trial. The book covers a lot of ground and I learned some things that I wasn't aware of before and also learned more details about things I already knew.
I won't get into the detailed politics of the women because that's not where my interests lie. But all of these women were swimming against a tide of one sort or another, some of them persecuted for being born women, or from the wrong country, or being Jewish, or for wanting to break out of the expected roles of a woman. This book is extensive and I'll just mention two things that stood out to me among the many interesting things I learned.
There was the young Russian translator, very skilled at her job, and having to transcribe at breakneck pace, not having time to miss a beat, as all this information comes out during the trial and as she is translating she learns of atrocities of her own people, events that she and others thought were inflicted by the Germans. No time to think about what she is translating, her job must be done at a pace that does not allow for emotion or shock or a breath to get over the shock. She just had to go on translating and had to process this information in her mind, later.
Another of the women, a refugee aristocrat, had to go through great hardship to flee several times, children in tow, even having a baby during this time, and eventually she is given the job of being the manager two large homes that house the criminals and witnesses during the trial. There she is serving the high ranking Nazi criminals who are accused of so much torture and death and she must be a gracious and polite hostess to these men. During this time we get to learn more about some of the men, men so concerned about their comforts and those of their families while they were responsible for unimaginable atrocities. The book even mentions when survivors of the concentration camps where staying at one of the homes as trial witnesses and they all had to dine with the men being tried.
There is so much here, what the women went through in the years leading up to the trials, their time during the trials and their lives afterward. This is a very good book to go with all that we have learned about what happened before and during the war. Some of these criminals did pay, not nearly enough for what they did, but at least their names are out there and the work of these women helped to get their names out there.
Expected pub November 3, 2026
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC
by Natalie Livingstone
Over the years I've been reading extensively about the events leading up to WWII, all the things happening during WWII, and what happened after WWII. What I am almost always drawn to are the stories of the people, whether as groups or individuals. In November 1945, the Nuremberg trials began in Germany, where former Nazi leaders were indicted and tried as war criminals by the International Military Tribunal. This book focuses on eight women but also informs us about other women and men in the lives of those women and/or in connection to the trial. The book covers a lot of ground and I learned some things that I wasn't aware of before and also learned more details about things I already knew.
I won't get into the detailed politics of the women because that's not where my interests lie. But all of these women were swimming against a tide of one sort or another, some of them persecuted for being born women, or from the wrong country, or being Jewish, or for wanting to break out of the expected roles of a woman. This book is extensive and I'll just mention two things that stood out to me among the many interesting things I learned.
There was the young Russian translator, very skilled at her job, and having to transcribe at breakneck pace, not having time to miss a beat, as all this information comes out during the trial and as she is translating she learns of atrocities of her own people, events that she and others thought were inflicted by the Germans. No time to think about what she is translating, her job must be done at a pace that does not allow for emotion or shock or a breath to get over the shock. She just had to go on translating and had to process this information in her mind, later.
Another of the women, a refugee aristocrat, had to go through great hardship to flee several times, children in tow, even having a baby during this time, and eventually she is given the job of being the manager two large homes that house the criminals and witnesses during the trial. There she is serving the high ranking Nazi criminals who are accused of so much torture and death and she must be a gracious and polite hostess to these men. During this time we get to learn more about some of the men, men so concerned about their comforts and those of their families while they were responsible for unimaginable atrocities. The book even mentions when survivors of the concentration camps where staying at one of the homes as trial witnesses and they all had to dine with the men being tried.
There is so much here, what the women went through in the years leading up to the trials, their time during the trials and their lives afterward. This is a very good book to go with all that we have learned about what happened before and during the war. Some of these criminals did pay, not nearly enough for what they did, but at least their names are out there and the work of these women helped to get their names out there.
Expected pub November 3, 2026
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC
Review of advance copy
This is a well-written expose of 8 women who were inextricably linked with the first but most well-known of the trials at the end of World war II. The women, a lawyer, an artist,a translator, journalists a witness and a woman running a guest house provides an insight not seen before from their own writing, their own personal stories and afterwards how life treated them.they represent the "victors", Germans who remained and left. They are shown in full dimension. Many struggled to find their place in a post-war world. A brilliant book.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I received a free copy of, The Nuremberg Women, by Natalie Livingstone, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is a book about 8 women, and the Nuremberg Trial. I had never heard of any of these women before which is sad. This was a good read, but I did not care for the writing style at all.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Historical recounting of events from the trials at Nuremberg from eight women that witnessed and endured the horrific treatment by the German military government. I was given an advanced reader copy of this historical read by NetGalley and I am freely sharing my review. #netgalley @netgalley #natalielivingstone @authornatalielivingstone #stmartinspress @stmartinspress.
Review of advance copy
Well researched but a little dry for me, I didn't find it as gripping as I'd hoped. But it was fascinating to see a different side to the trials, a feminine perspective of the time and from different countries.
Review of advance copy
This crime thriller had me hooked from the very first page. The mystery was cleverly constructed, with twists I never saw coming. The suspense kept building until the very end, making it impossible to put down.
Review of advance copy
A really interesting book about 8 fantastic and extraordinary women that were at or near the centre of the Nuremberg trials.
Incredible research of these women and how important their account of this time in history. Loved it really moving and poignant.
Incredible research of these women and how important their account of this time in history. Loved it really moving and poignant.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for allowing me to read The Nuremberg Women. This is an exhaustively researched and detail filled look at some of the women who worked behind the scenes at the Nuremberg Trials. This is a must read for anyone interested in women's history.
Review of advance copy received from Book of the Month
Mesmerising. Difficult emotionally to listen to at sometime. Heartrending. The stories of eight women and the roles they played at the Nuremberg trials. Eight women, among numerous men. whose evidence contributed greatly in bringing about the conviction and execution/imprisonment of numerous members of the Nazi Party. Read how their lives continued after the Trials. Well researched and written. If you are interested in this period of German history - thoroughly recommended.
Review of advance copy
Valuable book, beyond interesting and necessary. I’ve really enjoyed the after Nuremberg part as well, quite sad most of the unrecognized lives they had, but at least this book make a contribution in giving them name and the relevance they had.
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