Book Review: UNRELENTING

Today I am featuring guest author Marion Kummerow and

Unrelenting

 Love and Resistance in Pre-War Germany 

(World War II Trilogy Book 1)

About the book:

Dr. Wilhelm "Q" Quedlin, chemical engineer and inventor, lives for his science. A woman is not in his plans—nor is it to be accused of industrial espionage.

But things get worse from there.

Watching Hitler's rise to power spurns his desire to avoid yet another war that will completely destroy his beloved country. Q makes the conscious decision to fight against what he knows is wrong, even if working against the Nazis could mean certain death for him— and anyone he loves.

Hilde Dremmer has vowed to never love again. But after encountering Q, she wants to give love a second chance.

When Q discloses his resistance plan, it’s up to Hilde to choose between her protected life without him or the constant threat of torture if she supports him in his fight against injustice.

She has witnessed enough of the Nazi government's violent acts to be appalled by the new political power, but will this be enough for an ordinary girl to do the extraordinary and stand beside the man she loves in a time of total desolation?

This World War II spy story is based on the true events of one couple's struggle for happiness while battling a war against their own leaders.
Book 1 spans the years 1932 thru 1936.

Excerpt:

     Dr. Wilhelm Quedlin didn’t know it, but today, the course of his life was about to change.

     Q, as his family and friends called him, was on his way to work on this sunny October morning in 1932. Oranienburg was lovely this time of year, with trees flaming their fall colors along the banks of the Havel river.

     Strolling through the gates of Auer-Gesellschaft, he quickly headed to his labs. Then stopped. The door to his office stood open, which was peculiar, but he entered nonetheless. He stopped just inside, surprise freezing him in his tracks. Two police officers were waiting for him. He recovered quickly and removed his hat, nodding to the men congenially as he placed it on the rack.

     “Good day, gentlemen. What can I do for you?” he asked, trying to mask his surprise and worry with a polite welcome. An unexpected visit from the police was almost never a good thing. The political climate in Germany had grown increasingly tense, and everyone knew it was much better to keep a low profile these days.

     “Doctor Quedlin, we need you to accompany us down to the police station,” the older officer said, unashamedly eying Q with blank, dark eyes.

     “Is there a problem?” Q asked, trying to remain calm even as his mind raced to identify anything he could have done wrong. And who might have been around to witness his error and report it. Telling on one’s fellow man was no longer taboo like before, but actually encouraged by the government.

     “You need to come with us now,” the older officer repeated, stepping forward, his expression brooking no argument.

     Q nodded and retrieved his hat from the rack he’d just hung it on. “Of course, officer.” He stepped out of the office, keeping his eyes straight ahead and his hands in his pockets as he walked from the building, followed by the two police officers. On his way out, the eyes of his fellow workers watched him surreptitiously. Of course, they wanted to know what was going on, but without drawing attention to themselves, lest the police decided they too needed to be questioned.

     The policemen ushered him from the building, past a seemingly perplexed gatekeeper and placed him in the back seat of a black DKW2. The motorized vehicle took off just as soon as everyone was inside. Q was squeezed between two officers, the seating very tight and uncomfortable from his point of view, but then again, the police were rarely concerned with anyone’s comfort.

     He looked straight ahead, seeing the people hurrying along the streets, turning their heads to avoid the passing police automobile. No one seemed to even notice the beautiful sunny autumn day. Their minds were focused on getting to their destination and minding their own business. Even in his current predicament, or maybe because of it, he thought it sad that most people didn’t share so much as a passing smile or warm greeting to the people they encountered along the street.

     On their way to the police station, they passed the Oranienburg Palace, with its white stucco walls and red tiled roof as well as several brick and stone buildings housing churches and schools. As they approached the last intersection before the police station, Q noticed a small group of men wearing the SS Schutzstaffel uniform standing on the street corner.

     Unlike the police officers currently riding in the vehicle with him, those men wore all black uniforms. Their caps were adorned with the Totenkopf skull and bones symbol, indicating they were loyal followers of the National Socialist German Worker’s Party.

Nazis.

     The late July elections had seen many parliament seats go to both the Nazis and the Communists, and political unrest was growing stronger with each passing day. Q sighed inwardly as he pondered on the reasons for the growing tensions.

     With the crash of the United States Stock Market three years earlier, and the tremendous financial burden placed upon the German people by the Versailles Treaty to make reparations for Germany’s actions in the Great War, the economy and people were suffering greatly.

     Banks had collapsed, factories and entire industries were in jeopardy of closing, and people were ripe for some sort of change. This was evidenced when Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party won an overwhelming thirty-seven percent of the popular vote in the most recent election.

     Q looked at the younger police officer sitting next to him and asked, “Can you tell me what the problem is?” He understood very well that people didn’t get taken to the police station for a minor transgression and wanted to know what he was facing.

     “Doctor Quedlin, we–”

     “Silence!” the older officer stated from the front seat. “He will find out soon enough.”

My Book Review:

As a citizen of the United States of America, I found this book set in Germany between 1932 and 1934 interesting and informative. It is a great romance, based on the lives of the author’s grandparents. But, it also gives a bird’s eye view of the economic and political climate of Germany during those years.

I knew Germany suffered severe inflation, but I did not realize that the American depression also took its toll on Germany. Perhaps because the USA involvement in World War Two didn’t become official until 1941, I did not realize that Hitler’s rise to power began so early. I enjoyed learning about the changes in the political climate in Berlin and the surrounding areas and how it affected the everyday lives of the German people, not just the Jewish citizens.

As a child raised in a nation that strongly opposed communism in the decades following this war, I find it interesting that many Europeans in the 1930’s believed communism was the answer to resisting the Nazi party as opposed to a democracy or, like the United States, a republican form of government. This book hints that this belief was often based on the idealistic rhetoric of everyone being equal. I know this is book one of a trilogy, so it will be interesting to me to learn if the main character, nicknamed “Q,” who believes communism is the better alternative to the Nazi party, maintains his belief as his nation heads into war.

This was a sweet courtship of real people with genuine personal and family problems who resist the increasing restrictions, but learn they must temper their public expression of their opposition. The story was well-written, well-paced and kept me intrigued. For those who want to understand the situation in Germany leading up to World War Two through the eyes of everyday people, this is an excellent book to read.

Purchase Links:

Amazon USA | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon AU

About the Author:

Marion Kummerow was born and raised in Germany, before she set out to "discover the world" and lived in various countries. In 1999 she returned to Germany and settled down in Munich where she's now living with her family.

After dipping her toes with non-fiction books, she finally tackled the project dear to her heart. UNRELENTING is the story about her grandparents, who belonged to the German resistance and fought against the Nazi regime.

It's a book about resilience, love and the courage to stand up and do the right thing.
Visit her blog at kummerow.info or her facebook page at facebook.com/autorinkummerow

Connect with Marion Kummerow:

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