L’histoire se déroule entre le 7 mai et le 25 juin 1944, dans Berlin sous les bombardements continus des Alliés. Richard Oppenheimer, ex-commissaire de police chevronné, a été démis de ses fonctions en vertu des lois de Nürenberg. Il travaille maintenant – ou plutôt survit avec son épouse Lisa, aryenne - dans une usine où il nettoie des machines, quand il est sollicité par le Hauptbannführer SS Vogler pour élucider un meurtre sanglant. Et il va s’atteler à la tâche selon tous ses meilleurs réflexes, aidé aussi par la prise régulière de Pervitin, le très efficace et redoutable cocktail d’amphétamines qui permet de rester éveillé plus de 30 heures durant.

Curieux attelage … car le SS ne dit pas tout à Oppenheimer : mais bien vite il s’avère que cet assassinat d’une jeune femme, associé de mutilations, est en réalité le troisième d’une série. Oppenheimer bénéficie ainsi d’une sorte de trêve : tant qu’il travaille à la résolution de l’enquête, il bénéficie d’un sursis, mais il sera éliminé dès qu’il aura découvert le ou les coupables …

L’évocation de la situation dans la capitale du IIIème Reich est extraordinairement précise. Les décombres, les habitants terrés dans les bunkers, le fait que malgré tout, les services publics continuent à fonctionner : la Poste, le gaz, le flot de lettres de dénonciations qui parvient à la police, le mépris affiché par les fonctionnaires à la vue de l’étoile jaune, l’antisémitisme omniprésent même chez les jeunes enfants.

Une intrigue policière classique, mais située dans une période particulièrement bien décrite. Quelques erreurs de traduction (les collants, les disques vinyles, confusion entre Pâques et la Pentecôte) mais un circuit intéressant entre les différents quartiers de Berlin qui évoquent pour moi une géographie très précise. Un bon polar historique. Un personnage attachant et à suivre ... (extrait de la revu sur bigmammy.fr) ( )

At the close of WWII, a serial murderer is loose in Berlin. A Jewish detective inspector, banned from the police force, is forced to investigate the crimes. The narrative was a chilling look at war-torn Berlin and the harrowing lives of Jewish and Jewish-associated citizens.

Although this story is grim in many aspects, the tale was brilliantly told, evocatively setting the atmosphere of life at the end of the war for the common citizenry. Gilbers wrote not only from the perspective of a murder investigation, but also portrayed the daily lives of a people under siege. The mystery itself was cleverly orchestrated, despite having a less-than-fully realised resolution. The novel has a moderate amount of suspense without descending into a Stephen King level of horror. The book was an excellently produced English-language translation of a story originally published in German. ( )

Germania by Harald Gilbers is proof that a translated book can be done well. I read pretty fast, but Germania took a week to read. It wasn’t that it was boring, but it is different then serial killer or thriller books written by American authors. While it kept me turning the page because I wanted to find out what would happen next, it didn’t have that frantic pass of an investigation that I am used to. Add in all the German history and places that I am not familiar with, and it had me slowing down even more so I didn’t miss any of the details.

The slow tempo worked well in Germania though. It helped to emphasize the drudgery and waiting that people were feeling during the war. Even the bomb sirens meant that one would be waiting for hours in the shelters, with little to do but sleep and worry.

Gilbers was able to combine the horrors of war and what horrible things people do to each other, right alongside the good in people. The simple act of the madam of a brothel giving the Jewish protagonist some extra money because she understood how cruel the world is, was just one of many examples.

So many historical fiction novels about WWII deal with either the battles or the concentration camps, so I really enjoyed the different premise of Germania. You get to read about the relationships between Germans who truly felt that they were superior, Germans who couldn’t fathom what their country was doing, Jewish people who were trying to just survive, and how Jews and Germans survived together.

I can see how the ending may be disappointing to some people who are used to the killer being caught and a “happy” ending. Germania does not give the reader that, instead it shows the true ending for many who lived through WWII. ( )

Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

In 1944, a sadistic serial killer stalks the streets of war-weary, bombed-out Berlin. With some evidence that the perpetrator may be a member of the Nazi party, the investigation stalls, forcing an unexpected solution.

Reactivating a former Jewish member of the Berlin police [removed from public service following Hitler’s rise to power], the Gestapo tasks homicide detective Richard Oppenheimer with finding the brutal murderer targeting women who are somehow connected to the Nazi party. Oppenheimer, who was an expert within the Berlin murder squad, finds himself partnered with Schutzstaffel Hauptsturmführer Vogler.

As much as Oppenheimer comes to appreciate being involved in an investigation once again, he realizes that he is in the midst of a dangerous and deadly game. Can he find the culprit and keep himself and his wife, Lisa safe? Or will he sacrifice everything?

Stalwart, well-developed characters and a strong sense of place anchor this compelling murder mystery. Told primarily from Oppenheimer’s point of view, the unfolding story surprises readers with unexpected plot twists and turns. Although there are violent elements, readers become aware of them only in their aftermath and, from the outset, the story pulls readers into the telling of the tale.

Throughout the story, there’s an underlying sense of foreboding that is all but impossible to ignore as it permeates every page in this gripping narrative. With readers placed in Oppenheimer’s shoes, so to speak, they feel all of the dread and unsettledness that surely affected everyone living under the Nazi regime during the Second World War.

Readers will find much to appreciate in this intriguing mystery/social commentary/historical saga.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press / Thomas Dunne Books and NetGalley
#Germania #NetGalley ( )

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Germania by Harald Gilbers is a murder-mystery taking place during the last weeks of World War II, following a Jewish investigator reactivated by the Gestapo. This book won the Glauser Prize for the best German crime novel.

Richard Oppenheimer, a Jewish police commissioner who has been stripped from his office once the Nazis took over has been secretly reactivated by the Gestapo to find a serial killer friendly to the regime. All the victims are someone connected to the party, and the case needs to be solved quickly and secretly.

For Oppenheimer, the case is an opportunity for him and his wife to survive a bit longer. He knows, however, that he is playing a dangerous game.

This was a very interesting take on an old genre. In Germania by Harald Gilbers bombed out Berlin plays a major part, setting up events and landscapes which make it difficult for former Inspector Richard Oppenheimer, but more interesting to the readers.

The premise of the book is fascinating, a Jewish policeman brought back by the Gestapo’s SS Hauptsturmführer Vogler to solve a series of murders, in a city torn apart by war, where corpses lying around are not an exception, but the rule. Oppenheimer has to navigate a ruined city, corpses abound, his family life, secret friendships, while solving a murder.
And he’s also a persona non grata in his own city, anti-Semites all around who will kill him in a heartbeat for simply not wearing his yellow star, with no consequences of course, expect maybe a pat on the back.

The book shows life in bombed out Berlin, a city falling apart where nightly bombing raids are common, and a good night’s sleep is almost unheard of. The mood of the city is captured very well. Berliners are exhausted, suspecting, or rather knowing, that they are being lied to by the government, gathering clues from wherever they can to figure out what’s really going on.

The author does a very good job showing the oppression Oppenheimer feels on a daily base. Every event can mean the end of his life, either as he knows it or in a more literal, and lethal sense. The relationship between Oppenheimer and Vogel is a tense one. Vogel has vouched for Oppenheimer to his superiors, and will pay a heavy price if they fail, or even if they succeed. Oppenheimer, of course, is afraid all the time and he too knows the prices of failure, or success as well, will be heavy.

Out of all the horrors which are shown, the novel does have a touch of humanity in it which gives the reader some semblance of hope among the ruins. Finally, kudos to a wonderful, and somewhat poetic translation by Alexandra Rosech. ( )