The Stranger From Berlin
As Amateis describes in her notes, the idea for this novel came from her research into anti-German sentiment in the U.S. during WWI and how, across the nation, town names were changed, churches vandalised and burned, surnames Americanised, the German language outlawed, and even food names changed (hamburgers became liberty steaks).
History professor Max Koenig, resident of the U.S. for five years, loses his job at the University of Nebraska in 1944 and, at the behest of a friend, heads to a small town to translate a diary found by the curator of a new museum being established in memory of a famous local mystery writer. The diary apparently relates events from WWI which someone wants buried, but it is stolen before Max has a chance to review it. Although he befriends Jenni Fields, a museum guide, Max is a source of conflict and enmity for most of the townsfolk, and he and the outspoken Jenni run into danger on several fronts. As events ramp up, Max is accused of crimes time after time, with no evidence, simply because he is German.
Almost everyone in this story is deceiving other people on some level: living with guilt, ashamed of their actions, or lying about their history, including Max and Jenni. The novel speaks honestly of paranoia, fear, and delusion, and how people can be led to betray their own concepts of right and wrong. Unfortunately, it becomes repetitive. Max’s longing for Germany, Jenni’s off-the-rails life and her wish to relocate, the mayor’s rantings, the ignorant police officer, the annoying FBI agent—all become rather stereotypical. Readers may enjoy this romance wrapped in a laudable theme, but to me it felt like just another WWII story.