Ask the Author: Harald Gilbers
Answered Questions (4)
Harald Gilbers
Thank you so much for your interest. The comparison to the Longmire series is very intriguing. I have to check it out. Your argumentation is absolutely right. I regard Berlin as a character in itself in my novels. Right now there is no news concerning the sequels in English translation. The decision may take a while. Covid also wreaked havoc in the publishing business and slowed everything down considerably. If anything should develop I will make an announcement here on Goodreads and Facebook. Stay safe.
Harald Gilbers
I refer to the diaries of Victor Klemperer here. Jews who were married to an "Arian" spouse had some little protection at first, because the Nazis were unsure of how to deal with them. In February of 1943 approximately 27,000 Jews still lived in Berlin in so-called Jew-Houses. Of course, this was only a fraction of the initial Jewish population, the majority of them was already killed. Finally, at the beginning of 1945 the last remaining Jews were also transported to the death camps. From then on survival was only possible underground or under an assumed name. I describe this in my second novel "Sons of Odin".
It seems that persons with one Jewish parent were sometimes tolerated, as long as they proved useful to the regime, like Field Marshal Milch. Some of the organizers of the Olympic Summer Games of 1936 were Jewish. As a cynical kind of mercy they were allowed to keep on living in Berlin and were not transported to the death camps. There is however no historical example of a Jewish commissioner forced to work for the SS. My novel is a literary speculation under what circumstances this could have been possible. Chances for this were practically nonexistent, in my novel it only happens because an ambitious SS officer pursues his own agenda.
It seems that persons with one Jewish parent were sometimes tolerated, as long as they proved useful to the regime, like Field Marshal Milch. Some of the organizers of the Olympic Summer Games of 1936 were Jewish. As a cynical kind of mercy they were allowed to keep on living in Berlin and were not transported to the death camps. There is however no historical example of a Jewish commissioner forced to work for the SS. My novel is a literary speculation under what circumstances this could have been possible. Chances for this were practically nonexistent, in my novel it only happens because an ambitious SS officer pursues his own agenda.
Harald Gilbers
Thank you for your kind review! Currently there are no plans for SONS OF ODIN. I guess it depends on how well the first novel sells. #2 and #3 describe the last months of the war, the downfall of Berlin and the short period during which the city was under complete Soviet control. So there is a lot still coming!
Best regards,
Harald Gilbers
Best regards,
Harald Gilbers
Harald Gilbers
Be prepared to invest a lot of time in you career. There is no shortcut. Finish your novel and find a good literary agent. The other things will fall in place.
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