Ostland

by David Thomas

Based on a horrifying true story of one of the Holocaust's worst Nazi war criminals comes a crime thriller that combines a police procedural, courtroom thriller, and a fast-paced war-time narrative. In Ostland David Thomas confronts the question of how does one man charged with eradicating evil become one of its greatest perpetrator. 

In wartime Berlin the brilliant, idealistic young detective Georg Heuser joins the Murder Squad in the midst of the biggest manhunt the city has ever seen. A serial killer is slaughtering women on S-Bahn trains and leaving their battered bodies by the tracks. Heuser must confront evil eye-to-eye as he helps track down the murderer. Soon after, Heuser is promoted by the SS and sent off to oversee the systematic murder of thousands of Jews in the new empire the Nazis call Ostland. Years after the end of the war Heuser thinks his diabolical past has been forgotten. Yet, an enterprising young lawyer, Paula Siebert, searching through Soviet archives, discovers Heuser and his fellow officers' crimes. 

Siebert is haunted by one how could a once decent man have become a sadistic monster? Desparate to cover his tracks, Heuser uses his training as a lawyer and years as a police detective to distance himself from his co-conspirators and escape justice. Ostland is a gripping detective thriller, a harrowing account of the Holocaust and a thought-provoking examination of the human capacity for evil.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Crime, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Germany, World War II

400 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2013

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Please see: David Thomas


Former name of Tom Cain, now Diana Thomas

Reviews

[Raven · Rating 5 out of 5]

To simply label Ostland as a crime thriller would not only do a great disservice to the sheer power and scope of this novel, but would in turn devalue a book that truly encompasses the very best elements of both the crime and historical fiction genres. This is without a doubt one of the most affecting novels that I have read, so much so, that at times I had to take a breath, emotionally undone by the, at times, harrowing depictions of one of the greatest evils perpetrated in the history of mankind, which is so strongly brought to the reader’s consciousness. This is not a book that just deserves to be read but a book that also needs to be read…

From its deceptive beginning as a seemingly straightforward and compelling crime read, Thomas not only manipulates our emotions to the central protagonist, Georg Heuser, but then allows us to bear witness to the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime during the latter stages of World War II. Opening with the real-life investigation of a brutal serial killer, stalking the S-Bahn network, Heuser makes his entrance as a young idealistic detective, driven by an innate sense of morality in the hunt for a killer. At the close of the S-Bahn killer case with the apprehension of the murderer Heuser tries to come to terms with his encounter with “a genuinely evil human being” and that to enter the killer’s mind was to “enter a world of violence, degradation and filth, a world without pity, morality, or any feeling whatsoever for his fellow human beings- a world with which I had nothing in common at all” and a sentiment of the young Heuser that remained in my mind throughout the book. With the indelible links between the German security departments Heuser quickly comes to the attention of SS-Reinhard Heydrich and his cohorts, and being promoted to SS-First Lieutenant is despatched to Minsk, an area where half the population is Jewish and which quickly becomes a major processing centre for Reich Jews and the beginning point for Heuser’s descent into evil, previously such an anathema to him.

What strikes me most about this novel is the adept way in which not only Thomas assails our sensibilities in his description of the harrowing processing of the Jews, using at times the most understated of images to convey the horror, but how the almost banality of murder imprints itself on the consciences of those despatched to accomplish this task. Hence, our empathies and reactions to Heuser are consistently manipulated and changed, as we bear witness to his actions, and through a parallel post-war storyline involving the bringing of war criminals to justice. Suffice to say that our original perceptions of Heuser as a formerly steadfast harbinger of morality are significantly coloured by the extreme brutality that we witness in the latter half of the book- a brutality that Thomas evokes so deeply in our minds through the powerful and affecting nature of his writing, that at times is almost too uncomfortable to bear but so necessary to read. Thomas’ evocation of historical fact, and the prevailing atmosphere of evil, gives rise to some of the most powerful writing I have experienced, and a true study of the shifting nature of morality and its indelible role at the heart of our inherent instinct for survival.

In conclusion, I can only say that Ostland is a book that transcends our expectations as crime readers, and is a richly rewarding read. It effortlessly causes us to engage with it, never shying away from the realities of evil and the destruction of morality it brings in its wake. A novel that unerringly stimulates the thoughts and emotions of the reader, compounded by the harsh realities of human history that form its foundation. Quite simply, a must read.

[AC · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was about to give up at the halfway point. A somewhat lengthy meandering police procedural with no real suspense. Then suddenly the action shifted to the War, and the book exploded forward, outwards, with great force. The writing is somewhat flat. At the beginning especially it felt often like a somewhat mediocre translation from the German, which of course it is not. But in the end the flatness works to the author's advantage, as the material in the second half is so powerful.

The book examines, in a very believable and persuasive way, the nature of man in extreme circumstances. It is like reading those passages in Thucydides where, under the force of plague or revolution, when human law and custom (nomos) collapse, Man's true nature (physis), being always and ever what it is, comes out in all its stark reality.

The book is a quick read, but you have to stay with it and the reward will come.

[Jeanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where do I start? First, the entire beginning half of the book is intriguing but still basically a preparation of sorts and earlier context for what is going to occur 15 or more years later. It's difficult read, and within two time periods, and the nuance and word order placement highly Germanic.

Prose is 4 star and gives you the nomenclature and placements; you might be reading a police or average urban departmental scenario novel, yet commanding an extra, complex number of players. The goal within the earlier time period is Berlin departmental police procedure in identifying and arresting a serial killer of women in the S-Bahn train system. Typical urban city police tale and yet in an incredibly uncommon "oversee" of changing authority.

The second half of the book- accepted definitions are changed and changing further. Around page 200 we begin following latter time progressions / conclusions for those same two (first half of the book)time periods.

At this point this novel becomes something else altogether. Its crux, its convolutions are 5 star scale psychological and physical transformations within our protagonist lawyer and police official of such earlier success in Berlin, Georg Heuser, after he is sent to the Russian front for a post in Minsk.

As most readers (we older readers probably much more?) have read maybe 100 or 300 concentration camp or WWII centered fiction? Anne Frank, Elie Wiesel- and on and on and on. And non-fiction as well!

I can react to this only in reflections of those. And most of those novels or non-fiction memoirs or tracts (or epic tomes like Exodus)reveal from the inside out as a victim and/or speak from beyond the grave. Not this book.

Honestly, this book is one of the best books I have ever read. It speaks through Georg, his definitions and his self-identity.

It slices deep into the definition of murder. And into the very concepts of defining abstract human terms we use every single day. As Georg uses them everyday. And while it does that exact and particular of "what is killing" analysis? It interplays that with other definition changes. Terms such as permissions, conscience, morality, oath, baby, human, authority. I could go on. Yes, we can all look those up in a dictionary or Wikepedia or whatever the current "correct" source. And there might be one, fairly succinct answer to that word's definition.

But definitions for all of those abstracts or common nouns can and do change. Some are changing right now.

Just as the definition of murder (and some of those other terms too) changed for our super sleuth detective and upwardly mobile lawyer, Georg.

This is not an easy book to read, intellectually or emotionally. But it cuts to the truth of humans' knack for consistently altering evaluations or making rationalizations toward "right or WRONG" more than any other book I've read in many, many years.

It was not an easy book to find either. It took me about 3 months to locate a copy, and that's EXTREMELY rare for my practices.

This will never become popular reading, as IMHO, it cuts way, way too close to the bone. Bones of truth within human capacity and cognitions to adaptions, absolutely. How entire scales of praise or censure can be altered by altering the definition of one of those "easy" terms, such as human, or baby, or animal.

If you are a WWII maven, read this. If you are not, read this.

This is from the soul and voice (cognition PLUS emotion)of the actuator, defiler, perpetrator- and not from the soul or voice of the victim.

Does that source deserve a voice? I asked myself this question about 4 times during the last 100 page read of this book. Possibly not.

Yet, understanding the perp may keep us from becoming one? Yes, possibly, as understanding an illness or condition might proceed to movement toward an answer or cure.

But be warned, the Minsk sections of the last 100 pages are some of the hardest and most terrible I have ever read. Worse than most any other horrific testimonies in print, and I have read 100's. Not because they are foul or obscene language either. In fact, more because they are never that.

Prior to this book, I always thought that being sent to the Russian front was the "worst" for a German soldier because of the warfare, bombs, cold, starvation. Now I see it was just as much, if not more, that the mind's sanity and emotion's soul were daily taken in full measure. Enough so that, except for the very sickest and most perverted, a death wish in battle could become merely both the strongest and most whimsical desire.

Thank you, Goodread friend, who gave me a heads up on this one.

I highly, highly recommend this book for serious readers. Especially for those who elect leaders primarily because of "feelings" they empower or idealism displayed which tends to enrapture.

David Thomas, it took 75 years or so to tell this from the horse's mouth. Kudos to you for having the guts to speak for the perps, as I'm sure you are not always praised for doing so. Now I truly am not that surprised that the book was difficult to find.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel takes real events and weaves together the real and the fictional to create a thought provoking and haunting book. Georg Hauser was an officer of the Criminal Police and the SS and we follow his story, told mainly from his perspective, through two major events in his life. The first, as a young detective and the second as he is investigated for war crimes by the fictional investigators Max Kraus and Paula Siebert. Arrested in 1959, Hauser is a police chief and a man both popular and respected by his colleagues. Kraus and Siebert have a difficult task ahead to prosecute a man who, in 1941 Berlin, was involved in the investigation for the notorious S-Bahn murderer; the ambitious and keen right hand man to Wilhelm Ludtke, head of the Berlin murder squad. Most Germans believe that those being prosecuted for war crimes were just following orders; that they have committed no crimes since returning from the front and that they would prefer to forget the terrible events of the past.

Though the words of Hauser, we hear how he "grew up under the shadow of defeat" after the first world war. How, although never a party member, he thought the National Socialists represented a promise of pride and strength. Looking up to men, such as Heydrich, he longed not only to advance his career, but take a violent killer off the streets. However, the war meant that Hauser would not spend his time in Berlin and, although he arrived in the Reich Commissariat of Ostland as a decent young man, he "had left it a monster..." This novel asks what happened in Riga and Minsk during the years Hauser was there and what turned idealistic, normal young men into the killers of women and children - precisely the people he had sworn as a policeman to protect. At times, this is an unsettling read, but brilliantly done and wonderfully written. It would make a fantastic novel for book groups, with so much to discuss, and you will be unable to read it and remain unmoved.

[Bettie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Description: February 1941, wartime Berlin. Brilliant, idealistic young detective Georg Heuser joins the Murder Squad in the midst of the biggest manhunt the city has ever seen. A serial killer is slaughtering women on S-Bahn trains and leaving their battered bodies by the tracks. Heuser must confront evil eye-to-eye as he helps track down the murderer.

July 1959, peacetime West Germany: a pioneering young lawyer, Paula Siebert, is the sole woman in a federal unit investigating men who have committed crimes of unimaginable magnitude and horror. Their leader has just been arrested. His name is Georg Heuser. Siebert is sure of his guilt. But one question haunts her: how could a once decent man have become a sadistic monster?

The answer lies in the desolate wastes of the Russian Front, the vast landmass conquered by Hitler’s forces… the new empire the Nazis call Ostland.

Based on an extraordinary true story, Ostland is a gripping detective thriller, a harrowing account of the Holocaust and a thought-provoking examination of the capacity for sin that lurks in every human soul.

Opening: LUDWIGSBURG, WEST GERMANY: 23 JULY 1959: The police chief was naked when they came to arrest him.



A hip-flask is needed for this one.

[Nigeyb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like many, I am still mourning the loss of Philip Kerr (RIP) and his wonderful literary creation Bernie Gunther.

Ostland by David Thomas looked like a novel which might give me the same sort of historical insights and enjoyable narrative as Philip Kerr's Gunther novels and, to an extent, it did just that. The initial murder hunt for the S-Bahn murderer is pure Bernie Gunther.

Ostland has two other narrative strands. One of the S-Bahn detectives Georg Heuser, who really existed, is stationed in Minsk where he has responsibility for killing Jewish people forcibly relocated from Germany and Austria. Meanwhile, in 1959, two German prosecutors are preparing the case against Georg Heuser for a war crimes trial which is seen through to its conclusion.

The central question is whether anyone, put in Georg Heuser's position, would have gone along with the wholesale murder of thousands of innocent people despite knowing it was immoral, repugnant, and indefensible. Spoiler alert, he/she would.

It's an interesting idea for a novel and many sections succeed really well, however it’s far too long and contains a number of unnecessary and extraneous plot lines. A couple of examples: (1) Three separate love stories which have little bearing on the novel's central theme and just slow things down; (2) A number of unnecessary diversions into workplace politics.

For all its ambition, Ostland could have been much tauter. Perfectly enjoyable, but Philip Kerr it’s not.

3/5

[Iain · Rating 2 out of 5]

A flawed book that feels incomplete, half-written and somewhat naive. There is a recent trend to analyse in fiction the mass killings on the Eastern Front follows the Daniel Goldhagen book, Hitler's Willing Executioners, which analysed the actions of the police battalions carrying out mass slaughters in the wake of the panzer divisions, of which Les Bienveillantes (The Kindly Ones) by Jonathan Littell is probably the most literary example.

This book by David Thomas follows in that tradition, with two narratives, one focusing on events culminating in and around Minsk and the other perspective from the first war-crimes trials instigated by postwar federal Germany. However, it diverges from the tendency to take a fictional viewpoint and this is the first error of judgement. The wartime protagonist is Georg Heuser, a monster who really should have ended his days dangling from a Nuremberg gallows, an enthusiastic SS officer, Gestapo chief in Minsk and undoubted sadist responsible for around 30,000 deaths, some at his own hands. Certainly not a man with any moral ambiguities, despite his earlier career assisting in the manhunt for the S-Bahn murderer, which was Thomas's inspiration (from Berlin at War by Roger Moorhouse). Thomas acknowledges that his depiction of Heuser's thoughts is imaginary, but his imagination appears to be very wide of the mark in this case, little more than a first-person recounting of atrocities with an element of self-justification in terms of an increasingly-brutalised conscience that finds no depth is too deep.

The second element of the book is a fictional account of the prosecution and trial of Heuser, who seems a far removed character from his inner monologue. This is an ingenious device with potential, but it is mostly squandered. The characters are likeable enough but somewhat one-dimensional, with many lost opportunities to explore their depths, motivations and conflicts. The politics of postwar Germany under Old Man Adenauer are touched upon, with an interesting reference to the context of press persecution following a military expose, but this dissipates. The invitation to Moscow, to view archival material, is very interesting but stands alone in awkward isolation and is not fully explored, a recurring theme throughout the book which fails to link documentary and prosecution evidence to Heuser's recollections, except in one single instance relating to the rail transport of slaughter victims. This viewpoint feels like little more than a frame for the unsavoury main portrait of Heuser's inner persona, which is more like a cheap reproduction print than a master painter's depiction.

I haven't raid anything else by David Thomas, at least to my recollection, but in fairness to the author, he writes quite well - this left me feeling somewhat nauseous, thinking I needed the mental equivalent of a bath. But, in this case, his errors are of approach and judgement rather than technique, and possibly the glaring lack of a good literary editor. I hope this doesn't mark a new publishing trend to wring even more bloody ink out of Nazi atrocities, following the dismal trend of The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, which came well in the wake of Keneally's classic Schindler's Ark.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

An original and unusual true story of Georg Heuser, a gifted German Gestapo detective hunting the S Bahn serial killer in early 1940's Berlin. The war is going well for the Wehrmacht in 1941 and Detective Heuser is reassigned to Minsk in Russian occupied territory to implement the Final Solution on the large Jewish population. Heuser soon realized he is tasked with the horrific slaughter of innocents and struggles to justify his personal involvement. The questions raised by "Ostland" are how an educated young man who used his intellect and moral character to apprehend a serial killer of young women riding Berlin trains, could then become a mass murderer himself, convicted of personally murdering over 11,000 innocent men, women and children for the "crime" of being Jewish. The author also noted the British firebombing of Hamburg which killed 40,000 German non-combatants begging the question of allied culpability in mass murder but by describing Heuser's gradual decent into mass murder, the author credibly strives to shed light on the questions of personal culpability of soldiers to obey unlawful, criminal orders during wartime and the resulting personal and societal consequences.

This was a difficult book for me to read due to the sheer scope of the callous brutality and utter depravity of Nazi SS actions it describes. It's almost unbelievable that these events occurred only 75 years ago and perpetrated by an advanced, civilized country like Germany as official state policy. It was also an original, well written historical account of the early 1940's on the Russian Front from the perspective of a German SS officer who fought no Russian troops, only murdered innocent people. Why, simply because tragically, he was ordered to do so which is why he ultimately looses his soul and his freedom in war crimes trials in the early 1960's...............Ed

[Rob Kitchin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ostland is a fictionalised account of parts of the career of ‘Dr’ Georg Heuser – his part in solving the famous S-Bahn murders and his role in the murders of thousands of Jews and others in occupied Russia a few months later, and his arrest fourteen years after the end of the war and subsequent trial. The first elements are told in the first person from Heuser’s perspective, the latter in the third person from the perspective of two prosecuting, investigative lawyers, Paula Siebert and Max Kraus. Whilst Heuser and his colleagues are real people, Siebert and Kraus are fictional. Both parts of the story are based on documentary evidence presented in Heuser’s trial, along with other research by Thomas. I’m always a little wary of fictionalised version of real events as the danger is the creation of revisionist history that distorts what really occurred – my sense is why not just write a factual history book, especially since we have no idea of the inner thoughts of particular characters. In Ostland, however, the fictional form works remarkably well, in the main because Thomas uses the form to explore wider questions of moral philosophy: what compels men to commit truly evil acts and how should such men be judged?

Heuser’s case is interesting basis on which to explore such questions as he went from investigating what was considered one of the most evil killers in the Reich, to be a state-sanctioned murderer. Thomas unsettles the reader by portraying Heuser through an everyday lens and as being cultured, reflexive, obedient and ambitious, and not as a psychopathic monster, as well by detailing the logic of how the law works and a general desire at the time of the trial to forget the past and move-on. It is a story that becomes more compelling and disturbing as it progresses, especially as cracks and doubts are added to Heuser’s professional demeanour and the account unsettles what would seem like commonsensical judgements about Heuser’s actions. There’s no doubt that the story is distressing in its telling of both the S-Bahn murders and the genocide in Minsk, and it’s not a tale for the faint-hearted. But for those prepared to make their way to the end it’s a thought-provoking read, especially when one starts to consider what they would have done in the same situations and context, and how one would subsequently try to rationalise actions and live with oneself. In this sense, whilst the story is quite simply told, it packs a very powerful punch that is likely to stay with the reader for quite some time.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. It begins deceptively as a crime thriller,however it is so much more.
A new policeman,a stickler for the rules and of high morals,is brought into investigate a serial killer dubbed the S-bahn murderer. (based on fact ).
From the beginning,we know Heuser is being investigated for war crimes in WW2 and that the prosecuting lawyers are wondering how he came from being a respected detective to a War criminal.
We are also made aware of how the Nazis see the Jews from the start as Heuser remarks that his police instructors taught him that Jews were of a inherently criminal nature.
This set us up,for what is to come.
He also remarks,that he wants no other women to suffer such a terrible fate of being stalked and killed,again we are fore warned. At the close of the S-Bahn killer case with the apprehension of the murderer Heuser tries to come to terms with his encounter with "a genuinely evil human being" and that to enter the killer's mind was to "enter a world of violence, degradation and filth, a world without pity, morality, or any feeling whatsoever for his fellow human beings- a world with which I had nothing in common at all" .
Through Heuser,we are then allowed to bear witness to the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime during the latter stages of World War II. It is still shocking to read and by the end of the book there is so much to think about. Right from wrong. Pursuing a killer,becoming a killer.
Obeying orders at all times.
This is a must read.
It will stay with me for a long time.

[Liviu · Rating 5 out of 5]

another dark page turner about the atrocities of WW2 told in large part from a SS officer first person perspective; this time the book is actually close to reconstitution as the characters existed, the trial was a famous one and there is a ton of material available

highly recommended and here is one of those quotes that bring the horror close:

‘The boy came up to me and stood with his back to me and I … I couldn’t shoot. I just couldn’t do it. And then he turned around to look at me with these huge, dark eyes and he said: “Wasn’t I standing still enough, sir? My mother told me I had to stand still.” So I said: “No, you were standing very still. You did well.” And then he smiled, Heuser. This little boy smiled at me and he turned his back to me again and …’ He took another desperate swig from his bottle, ‘and he stood to attention like a good little soldier. And so I … I shot him.’

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

If what you are looking for is a historic police procedural that blossoms into an indictment of the horrific actions of the Einsatzgruppen in and around Minsk, then this is simply perfect. The book divides into almost three distinct sections. The first follows the historic war-crimes trial of Dr. Georg Heuser and his cronies in the early 1960's using actual court transcripts at times and following proceedings through the eyes of Dr Paula Siebert, a young lawyer investigating the crimes that took place in Minsk during the early 1940's. The second and third parts of the story are seen as almost a memoir written by Heuser; first charting how he came to be a rising star in the Brelin Kripo, helping to catch an infamous serial killer - The S-Bahn killer - a man who had an almost Ripperesque grip on Berlin during the late 1930's and up until his capture and execution in 1941. The second part of the memoir shows Heuser's descent into criminality as a SS Hauptsturmfuehrer in Ostland. The 'memoir' sections are quite brilliant in their convincing blend of horror at the atrocities going on around the young officer, and repeated insistence that he was 'only obeying orders'. This section manages, without lifting the onus of responsibility, to show how ordinary men are able to be twisted into committing the most atrocious acts of inhumanity; and how their warped sense of morality can lead them to see the most banal acts of kindness as great humane gestures. At times when reading this I couldn't help but think of the wonderful, but terrifying scene in the film Schindler's List when Amon Goeth shows 'mercy' for the failure of his slave to properly clean his bathtub. The moment when Goeth loses interest in this act of 'generosity' is portrayed with such chilling skill by Fiennes, as instead of offering a blessing to his own reflection he becomes caught up in his own need for a manicure. This same consummate skill was shown here in the duality of Heuser as he thinks to seduce a young woman he has just rescued from the death pits; as well as the way in which his lawyer's mind attempts to reconcile the criminality of what he is doing with his own moral code. At one point Heuser describes the hideousness of realising that the men he is now charged with killing are not 'less than fully human' as the propaganda states, but are in fact members of the Reich, men who have loved and served their homeland..

'It was as though the who grotesque business were a gigantic experiment, conducted by a mad, all-powerful psychiatrist who sought to establish just what terrible sins once-decent men might be capable of if correctly manipulated. 'We have established that you can bring yourself to kill people who look and sound alien. Very well then, what if they look and sound just like you? what if they come from the same cities, even the same neighbourhoods - how will you manage then?''

It is a fact that the majority of the Einsatzgruppen in particular were ordinary men, often policemen used to upholding law and order, and that even the harshest amongst them found themselves reacting physically and mentally when confronted with the horrors or the Latvian and Belorussian campaigns. These men became inured to the horrors, certainly but they also became alcoholics; insomniac drunks haunted by the atrocities they had seen and done. It was due in part to the potential break down of moral and the mental state of the men taking these 'actions' that the idea of gas chambers was posed. Not only did the solution of gassing the victims meet with the approval of Heydrich on grounds of efficiency (quicker, higher volume mass murder possible and no expended bullets) but also it spared the men from having to witness the brutality of mass murder at close range. Even Heydrich recognised that 'good German men' would not be able to stand up to the strain of repeatedly shooting men, women and children in the back of the head for any extended period of time. This is the paradox that this novel explored quite brilliantly; that of the legal framework for mass murder, and of using men born to uphold justice to commit the worst offences. This book handles the issues involved wonderfully. If you are interested in any further reading on the subject, then like the author does in his afterword to Ostland, I have to recommend both Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland by Christopher Browning, and The Field Men: The SS Officers Who Led the Einsatzgruppen by French Maclean, both are fascinating studies of a truly horrific piece of recent history.

[Liz Barnsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Available now from Quercus.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the review copy.

February 1941, wartime Berlin. Brilliant, idealistic young detective Georg Heuser joins the Murder Squad in the midst of the biggest manhunt the city has ever seen. A serial killer is slaughtering women on S-Bahn trains and leaving their battered bodies by the tracks. Heuser must confront evil eye-to-eye as he helps track down the murderer.
July 1959, peacetime West Germany: a pioneering young lawyer, Paula Siebert, is the sole woman in a federal unit investigating men who have committed crimes of unimaginable magnitude and horror. Their leader has just been arrested. His name is Georg Heuser. Siebert is sure of his guilt. But one question haunts her: how could a once decent man have become a sadistic monster?

This is not a particularly easy review to write it has to be said, because this novel made for extremely emotional reading but was also such a compelling page turner that its quite hard to know where to begin really.

Perhaps I’ll start with the basics – this is an intelligent mix of Crime Thriller, Historical Fiction and Fact all meshed together into one story that is at turns sad, horrific and thought provoking. Taking as it does one man, Georg Heuser, a man who in his early career tracked and captured the very worst humanity had to offer and in his later career BECAME that very thing, it was both a difficult read but one that grips and forces you to face some unpalatable truths.

There have been many books written about the Nazi’s and their “final solution” but I’m not sure I’ve read one before that has been done so well in bringing the realities of that time into such stark focus. Using a mix of real life men and women and fictional characters to do so, the events of the story are all based in fact, the man at the heart of them was a real person, then into this mix Mr Thomas adds his well researched idea’s on the emotional details. I was at turns stunned by the horror of it all then contemplative about the lengths people will go to in order to survive. The story haunted my dreams and kept me reading long into the night – on occasion I was literally stopped in my tracks by the sheer scope of the bloodshed. Some portions make for extremely difficult reading and I often had tears in my eyes.

The story jumps between Heuser’s early days with the police and the later investigation and court case that saw him convicted of heinous crimes, you may be surprised at the ultimate outcome, it certainly shocked me. The heart of the tale of course is in the journey from decent human being to truly evil man, yet Mr Thomas manages to give him heart and soul, there were times when I felt genuinely sorry for him. Then I was horrified at myself for doing so – how on earth can there be any justification for such acts from anyone? Better to die than do such things surely, but a lot of the more gripping parts of this as a whole comes from the knowledge that not one of us knows how we would actually act when under such pressure. Therein lies the absolute brilliance of this – it will force you to ask yourself the tough questions.

Unbelievably good – terrifying and fascinating, completely addictive and really really poignant, I highly recommend this to everyone. Yes even the faint hearted – this is a story that needs to be told.



Happy Reading Folks!

[Book Addict Shaun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite simply one of the best books I have ever read. I can't even think clearly after finishing this book let alone try and write a coherent review about it. Ordinarily I try to ignore reviews of books before reading them myself but I read one for Ostland from a fellow blogger and just thought 'Wow, this sounds like one of those books that is going to be a difficult but rewarding read, and a story that will remain with you for a long time' and it really was. I'm just speechless. Crime blogger extraordinaire Raven from Raven Crime Reads has a stunning review that you should definitely check out. I'm only going to write a brief 'review'. Books like these I really don't feel qualified enough to talk about but I can only try.

I accepted this book as it was written by thriller writer Tom Cain who I am a massive fan of. Then I researched it and really had to wait until I had a few days to just spend reading it. Once you start reading this book you won't want to stop but I found myself needing to take time away from it at the same time to gather my thoughts and get my head together. Stories based on real events are all the more hard hitting and have more of an emotional impact than fictional stories. The research put into this book is just staggering and full marks to the author for writing this masterpiece and probably one of the best books of the past few years without a doubt. I Googled the events depicted here and was floored by the sheer quantity of the material out there.

This is so much more than a crime thriller, people often overlook the crime genre given that it is flooded with throwaway reads that you read once and then move away from but in my opinion it is also a genre which contains some of the best books ever written and this book easily joins that list. In June 1941, in wartime Berlin, Georg Heuser is a new member of the Murder Squad and joins the biggest manhunt the city has ever seen. Fast forward then to 1959 and Heuser is arrested and put on trial as a war criminal. As a reader you wonder how this once idealistic young detective ended up like this.

The writing is just brilliant. The whole book is extremely authentic and also extremely moving, I did shed a tear or two. This isn't just a book that has been written for gratuitous reasons, the events depicted within are described in a way that enhances the story, shocking, upsetting and repulsing the reader but connecting us even more to the story and the characters within. The book can get quite distressing, not for the faint hearted and one that some people may struggle with but I can't stress enough how much this book should be read by everybody. Crime fans yes, historical fiction fans yes but also anyone who can appreciate one of those rare books that only come along a few times a year if we are lucky. Books you read and just never ever forget.

[Gram · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good World War II serial killer thriller which leads to a thought provoking story of the dilemnas of 1950's Germany and that divided nation's attempts to deal with the horrors perpetrated in the name of the German people during the years of Nazi rule.

It focuses on the role of a detective who helped solve the real-life Berlin "S-Bahn murders" and rapes which were committed by Paul Ogorzow between late 1940 and the summer of 1941. Later, the same detective, Georg Heuser, served on the Eastern Front where he and his colleagues allegedly played their part in the genocide sanctioned by the Nazi state.
By 1959 Heuser is being investigated for war crimes. Is he the respected and popular man he and his friends say he is or is he a vicious killer who oversaw Nazi atrocities in Eastern Europe?

The "good Germans" are portrayed by two prosecuting lawyers, Paula Siebert and Max Kraus, whose investigations indicate that Heuser is a sadistic murderer, but throughout the story we are always confronted with those "grey areas" where notions of good and evil are intertwined and behind it all are moral and political implications which always muddy the history of any era. This is a disturbing book, but well worth the effort of reading and deciding what one thinks of Heuser at the end of his story.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fictionalised account of the true story of a German detective in WW2 - Georg Hauser - who following his work in catching a notorious Berlin serial killer was transferred to be part of the SS killing squads in the Soviet Union. Post war he became an acclaimed detective again before being put on trial as a war criminal. The novel attempts to explain how a normal man can become a monster during a war and then revert to normal life once more.

Trouble is that though the parts based on fact are really well done, the imagined parts ie Hauser's motivations and crises of conscience, plus the bits about the lawyers and their efforts to get him convicted are not.

[Kevin Doyle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing. Leaving aside the hype that attends a books such as this -"...investigating war crimes of unimaginable magnitude..." - I expected to see read some exploration of what turns 'a good man into a monster' but it wasn't forthcoming. Certainly the descriptions and accounting of what took place in Ostland are convincing enough, but Georg Heuser didn't emerge for me as anything more than 'one day I was a police officer and the next I was an agent of genocide'. What might have provoked the change of career simply isn't got to grips with. Is the book overly ambitious in the first place and some what he victim of its own hype (and publishing gush) perhaps? Can't recommend.

[Stephen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wish I hadn't read this book. It started poorly, with some pretty ropey writing, but that improved quite quickly. No, it was the subject matter that got to me in the end. I'm just not in a happy enough mood to deal with the an Einsatzgruppen officer's recollections of his activities in occupied Minsk. Beyond horrifying.

[Nick_britten · Rating 5 out of 5]

1941 and for the idealistic young detective Georg Heuser his new posting to the renowned headquarters of the Berlin Police dept was a dream come true. Under the guidance of commissioner Ludtke, Hauser hopes to make a big impression on his bosses.

He gets his chance quicker than he expects when rumours of a killer haunting the Berlin Railways reach the murder squads ears. Targeting lone women commuters, the killers assaults and then bludgeons them to death.

As the body count rises, the Berlin Murder squad comes under increasing pressure from the ruling Nazi party to capture and execute this deviant. With war raging across Europe Hauser must use all of his brilliant skills if he is to stop the killer and earn the gratitude of SS chief, Heinrich Himmler.

1959 and in West Germany two lawyers, Max Kraus and Paula Siebert are in pursuit of Nazi war criminals, in particular those men involved in the brutal suppression of the Eastern Front in the area the Nazis called Ostland.

Charged with clearing the area of Jews, communists and any deviants deemed undesirable, these men killed and butchered their way across Eastern Europe. Millions were killed and Max and Paula are determined to these men to justice.

While they are targeting many, one man is particular is in their sights. A cold, calculating and efficient killer of men these man oversaw and took part in some of the worst atrocities of the entire war. This mans name is Georg Heuser. Paula and Max what to find out how this good man became a monster.



So where do I start with this book review? Okay I will start in a easy part…This is probably the best book I have ever read! So why? well that is harder to explain.

The book is based on real events and real people and has three aspects to the book. The first half of the book is a murder mystery as Georg attempts to capture the killer. The second half of the book is more complex as Georg is sent to police the occupied areas on the Eastern Front and the slow descent into criminality and murder. The intertwining thread is the 1959 court case as Paula and Max attempt to bring him to justice.

The first half of the book sets up Georg as an engaging and likeable character, his enthusiasm for his new job and his belief in the law and law and order make him a an easy character to empathise with. As he brings his skills to the task of capturing the killer he enjoys life in Berlin and falls in love.

This sets up the second half of the book as he is sent to the Eastern front and begins the slide into cynicism and despair as his belief in the law and law and order means he must comply with the orders of the Nazi government and facilitate the removal and extermination of people they class as undesirable.

It is quite a harrowing story as his very belief in the power of the law means that he struggles against the orders he receives and his belief that he must spare his men from the horror and so he takes on more of the killings himself.

This book is a fantastic study of how a man can descend from an upright and decent citizen to a bitter and drunken killer of men, women and children and how he can live with himself afterwards. It is a compelling and engaging book that captures your attention from the first word and keeps it to the last.

I know I haven’t done justice to just how good this book is but I honestly can’t recommend it enough.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great premise and plot structure - the main protagonist is Georg Heuser, a German police detective investigating a series of murders in 1941 Berlin. He is subsequently sent to Minsk following the German invasion of Russia and takes part in the Nazi atrocities against the Jews. His narrative is interspersed by an account of the 1959 - 1963 investigation into his war crimes and trial, told from the perspective of a young lawyer, Paula Siebert. Much credit to Mr. Thomas for a fascinating story, even more so because it is based on actual events. What was somewhat disappointing, however, was the rather abrupt transformation of Heuser from upstanding officer of the law to a sadistic, amoral killer. I get that this is part of the story (and the history) - how "ordinary" men, many of whom were police officers, were able to commit such horrific crimes in Poland and Russia, using the excuse that they were only following orders. But the book could have been much richer if more time and attention had been devoted to Heuser's moral descent and then how he was able to rationalize his behavior in order to live with what he had done. To me, it seemed to be a bit of light switch approach to character development: I am an ambitious but very well-meaning police officer in Berlin - I go to Minsk and don't want to hurt my career by not following orders or ask my soldiers to do what I am not willing to do so I commit mass murder - I go down that rabbit hole to a very dark place where I am not only a killer but a rapist and a sadist - whoa, here could the Russians, time to flee west and revert back to my former self, upholder of justice, protector of women and children. Don't get me wrong, this is an entertaining read with much to recommend it, but Mr. Thomas stays on the surface of what could have been a much deeper examination of human character, morality, guilt and rationalization.

[Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am really on the fence with this novel - it is not a detective story, mystery or thriller per se, but it is well written historical drama that paints harrowing portrait of the systematic war crimes that SS Einsatzgruppen forces committed on the Eastern Front from the POV of one of it´s officers.

The novel happens in three main timelines: the pre-war Berlin, war torn Minsk and 60´s West Germany. The story starts when a decorated german police officer is arrested accused of war crimes, and while the prosecution build´s it´s case against him, the protagonist tell´s his story from young police officer in Berlin to callous master of death in Eastern Front.

And here is the only problem - but a big one - with the novel, it´s structure. While absolutely well and at times masterfully written, it suffers from the lack of strong enough main storyline that could carry it to satisfying conclusion. I´m sure this is partly because the author decided to stay as true as possible to real persons and events he uses, reality does not often offer endings as elegant as fiction.

But make no mistake, it is a novel well worth of reading.

[Colin David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am interested in Germany during the second world war, and enjoyed David Downing's "Station" series and Philip Kerr's Bernard Gunther, the Berlin Detective. Ostland is based on fact and the case of Georg Heuser, who solved a case about the S-Bahn serial killer in Berlin and then how he descended into hell as an SS officer responsible for the "final solution" in Minsk. Of course they were just following orders from their psychopath leaders and this is a chilling account of how Georg survived carrying out his gruesome task. The book is also about Paula Siebert, who in the 1960's eventually brought Heuser to trial and subsequent conviction. The comparison between the due diligence that Paula brought to prove her case, compared to the summary "justice" meted out by the Gestapo clearly highlights why we need rule by law in open court.
This is an excellent but chilling account of the evils brought about by flawed ideologies.

[John Wiltshire]

Started this one today. Great cover. Who doesn't choose a book by its cover?
Set in various time-zones just before and just after WWII in Germany. We learn a prominent head of detectives has been arrested. Then we go back to his pov, joining his new detective branch at the beginning of a horrific serial killer hunt--young, clever, ambitious and seemingly a good man. Then we go back to the arrest and discover he's been arrested for war crimes. So, the question is, what happened to the good young man tracking the serial killer? Did anything happen, or is this arrest wrong? Well written, interesting and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes.

[Peter Kavanagh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reminded me a lot of The Kindly Ones by Jonathon Littell. A genuine attempt at trying to understand what terrible circumstances can do to individuals. Truly horrifying.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb novel, one you'll not want to put down, but many of these pages are painful and harrowing to read. Unusual, effective and mesmerising.

[Andrew Robins · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a brilliant book.

This is based on the true story of Georg Heuser - a career minded, straight-as-a-die, highly effective, honest Berlin policeman at the outset of the war, reduced to an emotionless, cold blooded murderer by the end of it.

We first meet Heuser as he joins the Berlin criminal police in the early years of World War Two. Working under a legendary detective, he fits into a team of similarly honest coppers, and is thrown into the hunt for the S-Bahn killer, a serial killer who has been raping and murdering women on the Berlin mass transport system.

The story flicks very cleverly between Heuser himself narrating his story from 1941 to 1945, and two lawyers in 1961, who are assembling a case against him for war crimes.

Heuser's story unfolds slowly. In the first half of the book, we see his career progressing as he plays a large part in the capture of the serial killer, and we also start to learn the stories of the two lawyers - lovers, he a world weary Afrika Korps veteran, her too young to have experienced the worst of the war, but full of the idealism and anti-nazism of post war Germany – who are pursuing him.

The book at first seems like a slow moving police procedural. The first part reminded me in many ways of Philip Kerr’s fantastic Bernie Gunther books, one of which actually featured the very same S-Bahn killer.

Then, at almost exactly halfway through (according to my Kindle, anyway) we start to see Heuser's descent, and it is at that point that it becomes very, very different from the Gunther stories.

Despite not being a Nazi party member, as a ranking police officer, Heuser also has an equivalent SS rank. As a result of this, he is transferred into the SS and posted near Minsk, where he will, he is told, be taking part in "special actions".

Initially a proud man, aware of his obligations to the law, we see Heuser start to get involved in the mass executions of Jews. He begins with a disbelief of what is going on, but very early on, we see that he is aware of the moral conundrum of having to carry out orders when those orders are so horrible.

Nonetheless, he carries out these orders, and begins to do so with a dedication to duty which gets more and more horrific.

These are the days before the mechanization of genocide takes place in the camps, so the Germans are killing jews in the most brutal way – lined up on the edge of pits, shot in the back of the head or the neck. The “shipments” arrive, one after the other, to be led to killing grounds and murdered.

This is murder reduced to the banal, the killing of men, women and children reduced to a process akin to working on a factory assembly line. There are few expressions of moral outrage or refusal to do this horrendous job, although the men carrying the “work” out are reduced to shells, dependent on huge amounts of vodka and nicotine to get through the days.

We see Heuser going back to Berlin on leave, and seeking out his former superior at the police to lay out his concerns at the work he is doing.

His superior, a man we are told is an honest, principled man who believes in the rule of law and order, tells him:

“I can not believe that you, or anyone else, would be asked to slaughter your fellow human beings, whatever race or religion ….. We’re the most culturally, scientifically advanced people on earth. We believe in laws, in order, in correct procedures.

So, whatever you’re ordered to do, there will be a reason for it”

And there we have it, the level to which such behavior was accepted because, well, it’s an order and orders are made with good reason.

Heuser returns to Minsk and throws himself into his duties with gusto. What follows are some of the most harrowing pages I’ve read in a long time. He becomes a murder, a mass murder, a rapist, a thief, a liar, a cold blooded, empty shell of a man devoid of human emotion. He murders people on a whim. In one particularly horrible scene, he has three partisans burned to death.

He writes home and tells his fiancé not to wait for him – he recognizes he is no longer the same man, he never can be. The man who helped capture the Berlin serial killer is committing even worse crimes himself, now.

I have read a lot of books about World War Two, and knew plenty about the Einsatzgruppen, the mobile killing units, and the horrific crimes they carried out, but even knowing all this, the second half of this book is one of the most harrowing, horrific books I have ever read.

At the end, we see Heuser and his men in court. One by one, the lower ranked soldiers are acquitted or given pathetic sentences. Heuser himself is given 15 years, which works out, we are told, at eight hours in prison for every Jew he murdered.

I found the ending of the book really excellent. I was wondering how the story of the two lawyers would pan out. The woman of the pair reacts with frustration, she can not believe the way these hideous crimes are dismissed with such short sentences. Then we hear from her lover, a veteran of the desert war in North Afrika (considered the “gentlemen’s war” for the comparative lack of atrocities) who tells her what following orders is like, what war does to men, what it is like to look a teenager in the eye as you kill him.

He points out that for the rest of his life, Heuser will be reminded of his crimes every time he closes his eyes to go to sleep, and that is a punishment to be reckoned with.

I finished this book just before going to bed, and slept not a wink that night. This is a harrowing, horrible, horrible book in many ways, it is as far from an easy read as you are likely to find.

It would have been easy to write something like this as a simple, straight forward moral judgement, but Thomas gives more than this, he leaves questions hanging, he makes you think about how this man became what he became, and how the German nation did the same. He makes you question whether “following orders” is really a genuine excuse – is it? I don’t think it is, but I thought a lot more about it after finishing this book.

A truly superb book, excellently written, and one that I won’t forget for a very long time indeed.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mild spoilers. This has been on my shelves for a long time and I do wonder why I originally bought it. It’s really not as sensationalistic as the cover makes it seem but equally for me at least it didn’t really answer its own cover question about what makes a good man evil. I did enjoy the first part of the book which was closer to pure crime fiction and concentrated on the S-Bahn murders. However when we moved to the eastern front and there was more of an attempt to look at the psychology of those that went from being the keepers of law and order to war criminals it felt more superficial and by the end it had definitely become more of a tell than show which I really dislike. The three stars is therefore a bit of a halfway house between what was probably a four and two star read. In fairness this is a difficult subject matter to get right and in my view there are better (albeit probably more controversial) books exploring how seemingly decent men committed atrocities under the Nazi regime out there, but this is a fairly easy to read alternative (in as much as anything dealing with these themes can be easy reading).

[Leonie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. This is a really grim read, as we basically watch the moral destruction of one man - and a nation. I didn't love the dual timeline, though perhaps it was necessary in order to tie the story in to the real life people and events portrayed.

[Archie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shocking insight into the holocaust. Let down by some poorly written female characters. Very much felt like a lighter weight Kindly Ones

[Fotini Papadopoulou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Κάπου λίγο πριν τη μέση με κούρασε, ξαφνικά όμως άρχισε να έχει πιο καλή ροή. Αυτό που μου άφησε σαν feeling όμως, είναι κ αυτό που αναρωτιέται κανείς και για τον εαυτό του: αν οι συνθήκες ήταν έτσι και έπρεπε να αναγκαστείς να κάνεις αποτρόπαιες πράξεις, θα εξευτελιζες τον εαυτό σου για να επιβιώσεις; Πώς θα ζούσες μετά από αυτό;