Germania: A Novel of Nazi Berlin
Richard Oppenheimer is a rarity—a Jew living and working in Berlin in the waning days of World War II. His marriage to a Gentile has protected him from deportation to a concentration or death camp, relegating him to a residence in the Jewish House and a job in menial labor. After a woman’s body is found strangled, mutilated, and suggestively positioned in front of a World War I monument, SS Hauptsturmführers enlist Oppenheimer’s aid in investigation because of his reputation and previous experience as one of the best inspectors on Berlin’s crime squad.
First published in German in 2013, Germania received the Friedrich Glausner Prize for best crime fiction debut. It is an effective police procedural, following Oppenheimer as he pieces clues together and creates a psychological profile of the killer. It is atmospheric and moody, taking readers to the brothels and cemeteries of Berlin, over and around debris in bombed-out neighborhoods. Plot lines raise questions: Can Oppenheimer trust the SS men for whom he is gathering evidence? Are witnesses hiding crucial facts? How much can Oppenheimer, as a Jew, push Nazi high brass to get the information he needs?
Undergirding it all: Oppenheimer’s inner conflict. Should he finish tracking down the killer or take advantage of an opportunity to get his wife and himself out of the country and the war?
More than a page-turner, Germania explores power—the ways it is used by those who have it and the effects on those who don’t.
