Hadassah Benjamin could not explain the strong feelings she felt for this man. He had rescued her from certain death.

He had fed, clothed and employed her when no one else would. He seemed to show her, a Jewish orphan, the love, care and kindness that she had long craved.

This strong, powerful and high-ranking man appeared to be her saviour.

He just also happened to be a Nazi officer.

So goes the plot of a controversial Christian romance novel that has sparked outrage after it was shortlisted for two prestigious literary awards.

For Such a Time tells the story of a beautiful "blonde and blue-eyed Jewess" who catches the eye of Austrian SS officer Colonel Aric von Schmidt. He rescues her from certain death at Dachau by smuggling her into the Theresienstadt concentration camp as his secretary.

She is taken to live at the residence of the man she initially calls the "Jew killer", where she is forced to eat pork on arrival. But, to her: "His presence evoked every aspect of authority. Dominance."

She finds herself trembling beneath his touch. "The sound of her name on his lips disturbed her, as though linking them together in some intimate way… she'd much rather hate him."

Said to be based on the Book of Esther, Hadassah soon falls in love with the handsome green-eyed officer who she knows to be her enemy, while trying to save her people. Hadassah, who hides behind the name Stella Muller, recalls memories of family members who were killed in the Holocaust and her Uncle Morty, the man who tried to conceal her Jewish background by obtaining false papers. She eventually finds peace by converting to Christianity.

The novel, by Kate Breslin , was released by the Christian publishing group Bethany House last year but sparked outrage after it was nominated for two Romance Writers of America awards in July.

Romance writer Sarah Wendell, who converted to Judaism, condemned the nominations. In a letter to the RWA board, she described the plot as "insensitive and offensive".

She said: "In the Holocaust, over six million Jews, and more than 17 million people in total were killed by the Nazis. In For Such a Time, the hero is redeemed and forgiven for his role in a genocide. The stereotypes, the language, and the attempt at redeeming an SS officer as a hero belittle and demean the atrocities of the Holocaust.

"The heroine's conversion at the end underscores the idea that the correct path is Christianity, erases her Jewish identity, and echoes the forced conversions of many Jews before, during and after the Holocaust."

But the author, Ms Breslin, has maintained that the novel was "borne from a compassion for the Jewish people".

She said: "It was my intent to write a book that told a more modern-day story of a courageous Jewish woman who, through strength and faith in her God, used her situation to try to save some of her beloved people - much in the way Esther saved hers.

"And like that Biblical queen's influence with King Xerxes, through her brave and sacrificial actions, she helped to bring one man to a sense of conscience, prompting him to join in the attempt to save her people."

The novel did not win the awards for Best First Book and Best Inspirational Romance, a category that is associated with religious themes.