The Research Behind Padlocked

I received a call from a reviewer who read Padlocked. She told me that every page of the book demonstrated a tremendous amount of research. She considered herself an expert on World War II, and yet she learned things she’d never known.

For example, she didn’t know that Nazi soldiers were given Pervitin, a methamphetamine that was readily available over the counter in Nazi Germany, which allowed them to stay awake for five days straight—and also made them more aggressive.

She also didn’t know that the Ukrainians were the first to reach Auschwitz and liberate it in January 1945, or that the same Ukrainian unit marched eastward to be one of the first to enter Berlin. Some of these facts were hidden after the war as Eastern Europe came under Soviet rule and have only resurfaced in recent years.

I have always been passionate about research, verifying each fact with at least three trusted sources before using it in my writing. I rely heavily on libraries, universities, historical societies, and museums.

As with all my historical novels, I have made a tremendous effort to remain true to the facts of the era. However, there are two glaring instances in Padlocked where I took literary license. The first is the explosion that occurred in Chapter 1 during the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. To my knowledge, there were no such explosions at any liberated camps.

The second instance concerns the gas chambers. In order to remove evidence of crimes against humanity, the gas chambers were dismantled in late 1944 and completely destroyed before the Allies arrived on January 27, 1945.

Nazi Germany renamed Oświęcim to Auschwitz after the region was annexed. However, to avoid confusion between the city and the camp, I continued to refer to the city as Oświęcim.

As Agata was ensuring that all prisoners had emptied the barracks, she came across this sentence etched into the wood: “If there is a God, He will have to beg me for forgiveness.” That text was truly inscribed next to one of the bunks and remains at Auschwitz for visitors to view. Other details, such as Agata dropping food on the ground for the prisoners to make soup, were inspired by true stories of guards who risked everything to help their fellow human beings.

Anke Bauer’s character was inspired by brutal female guards, including Ilse Koch (known as “The Witch of Buchenwald”), Ilse Grese, and others. Some of the guards were put on trial, convicted, and sentenced to imprisonment or execution. Ilse Koch was convicted of life imprisonment. She became delusional while incarcerated, convinced that the prisoners she had abused had returned and were forcing her to endure what she had perpetrated on them. She eventually committed suicide by hanging herself in 1967.

Other resources involved in the stories of Agata, Max, Rafe, and Hank include:

10 of the Most Famous War Correspondents

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/featured/american-war-correspondents.html

11 Nations Conquered by Nazi Germany in World War II

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/world-war-ii/11-countries-invaded-nazi-germany-invaded.html

60^th Army of the First Ukrainian Front

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Ukrainian_Front

American Foreign and War Correspondents

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/american-foreign-and-war-correspondents

Auschwitz-Birkenau Topography

https://www.auschwitz.org/en/history/kl-auschwitz-birkenau/the-topography-of-the-camp/

Auschwitz-Birkenau Commandants