cleheny's review
4.0
Irving takes the premise of a Berlin homicide detective investigating a suspicious series of deaths of Jewish informers and Polish guards as an opportunity to reflect on what could happen when "ordinary" Germans were exposed to the truth of the Final Solution. Although the detective (who is a S.S. Captain because he wanted to keep his job and not because of any particular loyalty to the Nazi party) is the main protagonist, Irving focuses on several of the Jewish laborers who manage to maintain a sense of purpose amidst the horror. The SS officers in charge of the camp are also given life, particularly the commandant, who epitomizes the kind of person who considers himself a "good" man because he doesn't casually brutalize the laborers in the same sadistic way as some of his guards (he just rapes Jewish women he makes his temporary "mistresses").
Captain Paul Bach, our detective, is dedicated to a sense of justice which, at times, is politically problematic. He's not sympathetic to Jews--he's perfectly fine with what he believed to be their forcible "resettlement." But he is unprepared for the truth of what he discovers when he travels to, and arrives at, the camp. I found his shock and horror persuasive; in some ways, he is more horrified that Germans can do these things than he is that Jews (in particular) are the targets.
There are some incredibly powerful scenes in this book, but one in particular stands out--when Bach discovers the reason for his allergic reaction. I suppose it resonates for me because it illustrates the ways in which "ordinary" Germans who may not have known what was happening in the East had the evidence all around them. The famous saying, "All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing," should be amended to include, "and to not ask questions."
Captain Paul Bach, our detective, is dedicated to a sense of justice which, at times, is politically problematic. He's not sympathetic to Jews--he's perfectly fine with what he believed to be their forcible "resettlement." But he is unprepared for the truth of what he discovers when he travels to, and arrives at, the camp. I found his shock and horror persuasive; in some ways, he is more horrified that Germans can do these things than he is that Jews (in particular) are the targets.
There are some incredibly powerful scenes in this book, but one in particular stands out--when Bach discovers the reason for his allergic reaction. I suppose it resonates for me because it illustrates the ways in which "ordinary" Germans who may not have known what was happening in the East had the evidence all around them. The famous saying, "All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing," should be amended to include, "and to not ask questions."
cynpra1520's review
3.0
perhaps thought provoking re: Jews and Germans on time leading up to and including World War 2. Mystery somewhat interesting even though reasoning behind solution has some errors. Either topic handled better in other books.
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