The research scholars at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum who helped me understand their fellowships-in-residence program and provided the resources necessary to make this story as factually accurate as possible. It was a sobering honor for me to research in your library and then read the Nuremberg trial transcripts about Lebensborn at the National Archives. (Any errors in this story are my fault.)
Ruth Cohen—an elegant Holocaust survivor who graciously thanked me for writing these stories. She’s a beautiful reminder of why it’s important to never, ever forget. To teach our children and grandchildren the truth before the evil in this world circles back around.
Jim and Lyn Beroth for blessing me with your daily prayers and encouragement. I am grateful to have parents like you.
Jon, Karlyn, and Kiki for laughing with me when my mind was so lost in this story that I forgot things and bumped into things and left other seemingly important things in the oddest of places. I love each of you with all my heart!
To our three-in-one God of redemption, creativity, and holiness. I pray for ears to hear Your voice, eyes to seek the truth, and a willing heart to tell Your story.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
At the beginning of The Curator’s Daughter, Hanna admires anyone who could protect an important secret like the location of the Holy Grail. How does this desire to protect secrets alter the course of her life?
What is the significance of Hanna and Ember collecting the stories of Jewish people before and during the Holocaust? How can remembering a past story change the future for an individual or family?
The medieval buildings in Nuremberg were destroyed and then completely restored after the bombing in World War II. How does Ember have a similar journey of restoration in her life?
Lilly Kiehl says, “All King David needed was the stone that God gave him to kill Goliath, and I need to use whatever gifts that God gives me to defeat the giants in my world.” What unique gifts do you have to defeat the giants in your world?
Ember has a choice in this story between reconciliation and retribution. Have you ever had to forgive someone who meant to harm you? Did this process end in restoration as it did for Ember and Dakota or more like Ember’s confrontation with Titus Kiehl?
During the Nuremberg Trials, the atrocity of war crimes comes to light, and Hanna is overwhelmed with horror. In the labyrinth, she repents of her sin and the sin of her people, but she still wonders if Jesus will forgive them. What does the Bible say about God’s mercy? What do we need to do to be forgiven?
Lilly believes several significant lies about herself, instilled in her when she was a child. Have you ever believed a lie like this? What did you do to free yourself from it?
In this story, Ember keeps trying to forget what happened in her past, but she eventually has to remember in order to heal. What is the best way to balance one’s memories without letting them influence contemporary reactions and relationships?
The Nazis were adamant about controlling both entertainment and language as they tried to manipulate their culture. Often what sounded good—purity and heritage and living space—was really propaganda for evil. How do the definitions of a language influence the morality of its people? And how does a society fight against intellectual manipulation?
In the end, Hanna exchanges her fear for hope and her shame for forgiveness. What choices do the other characters make in regard to their own fears and shame? How do past choices impact the characters today?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Melanie Dobson is the award-winning author of more than twenty historical romance, suspense, and time-slip novels, including Memories of Glass, Hidden Among the Stars, Catching the Wind, Chateau of Secrets, and Shadows of Ladenbrooke Manor. Five of her novels have won Carol Awards; Catching the Wind and Memories of Glass were nominated for Christy Awards in the historical fiction category; Catching the Wind won an Audie Award in the inspirational fiction category; and The Black Cloister won the Foreword magazine Religious Fiction Book of the Year.
Melanie is the former corporate publicity manager at Focus on the Family and owner of the publicity firm Dobson Media Group. When she isn’t writing, Melanie enjoys teaching both writing and public relations classes.
Melanie and her husband, Jon, have two daughters. After moving numerous times with work, the Dobson family has settled near Portland, Oregon, and they love to hike and camp in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest and along the Pacific Coast. Melanie also enjoys exploring ghost towns and abandoned homes, helping care for kids in her community, and reading stories with her girls.
Visit Melanie online at melaniedobson.com.
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