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When Ashes Cried: A Novel
When Ashes Cried completes the trilogy of an amnesiac German soldier, Friedrich Richard whose story begins in Wolf, when he is sent to Pasewalk Hospital for treatment to restore his lost memory. There, he befriends the patient in the next Adolf Hitler. Friedrich becomes the readers’ eyes and ears as Hitler and his inner circle rise to power. In Sins of the Fathers, we witness how Germany spirals into a black hole of terror as it expels its Jews and prepares for war. Friedrich and German military leaders are about to launch a coup d’état when Neville Chamberlain flies to Munich to appease Hitler and derail the coup.
In this third volume, When Ashes Cried, Kristallnacht¬¬¬ is unleashed to force Germany’s remaining Jews to leave. At the same time Hitler moves to conquer Europe and Russia, he secretly negotiates with the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees in London to accept Germany’s remaining Jews . . . for a price. Through Friedrich, the reader learns of Stalin’s efforts to thwart Hitler’s adventurism, how the T-4 program has greater implications than euthanizing only the weak, how Hitler creates a false flag to initiate World War II, and how Friedrich’s counsel influences the war’s outcome . . . for the Allies.
As Ashes . . . unfolds, Friedrich crosses paths with the son he never knew he had, a young SS man that represents everything wrong with Germany. Tensions grow. Horrors occur. German military leaders are desperate to end WWII. Friedrich is sent on a secret mission that puts him in the crosshairs of German spies in neutral Portugal, where he meets famed actor, Leslie Howard. What follows is one of the great mysteries of World War II. The book’s dramatic ending will leave the reader breathless.
In this third volume, When Ashes Cried, Kristallnacht¬¬¬ is unleashed to force Germany’s remaining Jews to leave. At the same time Hitler moves to conquer Europe and Russia, he secretly negotiates with the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees in London to accept Germany’s remaining Jews . . . for a price. Through Friedrich, the reader learns of Stalin’s efforts to thwart Hitler’s adventurism, how the T-4 program has greater implications than euthanizing only the weak, how Hitler creates a false flag to initiate World War II, and how Friedrich’s counsel influences the war’s outcome . . . for the Allies.
As Ashes . . . unfolds, Friedrich crosses paths with the son he never knew he had, a young SS man that represents everything wrong with Germany. Tensions grow. Horrors occur. German military leaders are desperate to end WWII. Friedrich is sent on a secret mission that puts him in the crosshairs of German spies in neutral Portugal, where he meets famed actor, Leslie Howard. What follows is one of the great mysteries of World War II. The book’s dramatic ending will leave the reader breathless.
410 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 23, 2025
About the author
Alan A. Winter
7 books10 followers"Writing is rewriting," so said my teacher John Bowers. And I have lived by that lesson for more than 35 years. When I finished a draft of a book, it is just that, words on paper. It may be a story, it might even be a good story, but it is not writing. Writing, at least for me, takes numerous drafts until I am pleased with the finished work, that the sentences are lyrical, that the pace is perfect, and that the ending has just the right punch. That is writing.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 27, 2025
Vivid and engaging!
Author Winter has a gift for weaving fact and fiction into a seamless narrative. This final installment brings readers into the heart of Nazi Germany, from Kristallnacht to Hitler’s manipulative negotiations. The details are so vivid that you feel the fear, tension, and desperation of the time. The espionage subplot in Portugal and the dramatic conclusion tie everything together perfectly.
Author Winter has a gift for weaving fact and fiction into a seamless narrative. This final installment brings readers into the heart of Nazi Germany, from Kristallnacht to Hitler’s manipulative negotiations. The details are so vivid that you feel the fear, tension, and desperation of the time. The espionage subplot in Portugal and the dramatic conclusion tie everything together perfectly.
September 29, 2025
A book I enjoyed
The tension between loyalty, survival, and doing what’s right is brilliantly portrayed. The backdrop of Hitler’s rise and the horrors of the Holocaust make the personal story even more poignant. It’s a chilling reminder of how individuals can resist, even when surrounded by darkness.
The tension between loyalty, survival, and doing what’s right is brilliantly portrayed. The backdrop of Hitler’s rise and the horrors of the Holocaust make the personal story even more poignant. It’s a chilling reminder of how individuals can resist, even when surrounded by darkness.
September 27, 2025
Unflinching and Brilliant
Few novels tackle the complexity of Nazi Germany with such clarity and daring. It not only highlights the atrocities but also reveals the desperate efforts of those inside Germany trying to stop Hitler. The balance of politics, war, and Friedrich’s personal struggles is masterfully handled. This book is both devastating and inspiring, a story that will stay with me forever.
Few novels tackle the complexity of Nazi Germany with such clarity and daring. It not only highlights the atrocities but also reveals the desperate efforts of those inside Germany trying to stop Hitler. The balance of politics, war, and Friedrich’s personal struggles is masterfully handled. This book is both devastating and inspiring, a story that will stay with me forever.
September 23, 2025
A must read
When Ashes Cried is a haunting finale that captures the moral collapse of Germany during WWII. What struck me most was how Friedrich becomes witness and reluctant participant in history, caught between duty and conscience. Really recommended read.
When Ashes Cried is a haunting finale that captures the moral collapse of Germany during WWII. What struck me most was how Friedrich becomes witness and reluctant participant in history, caught between duty and conscience. Really recommended read.
September 13, 2025
A haunting, masterfully woven historical novel
When Ashes Cried by Alan A. Winter is a gripping conclusion to a trilogy that dares to reimagine the rise of Nazi Germany through the eyes of Friedrich Richard, an amnesiac soldier entangled in Hitler’s inner circle. With chilling clarity and emotional depth, Winter blends fact and fiction to expose the missed chances to stop Hitler, the horrors of Kristallnacht, and the twisted logic behind the Holocaust.
The novel’s illustrated format adds a visceral layer to the storytelling, while Friedrich’s personal journey, especially his encounter with a son he never knew, grounds the sweeping historical drama in raw human emotion. Suspenseful, revelatory, and deeply unsettling, this book reads like a memoir of a man caught between complicity and conscience.
Perfect for readers of historical fiction who crave truth beneath the surface.
When Ashes Cried by Alan A. Winter is a gripping conclusion to a trilogy that dares to reimagine the rise of Nazi Germany through the eyes of Friedrich Richard, an amnesiac soldier entangled in Hitler’s inner circle. With chilling clarity and emotional depth, Winter blends fact and fiction to expose the missed chances to stop Hitler, the horrors of Kristallnacht, and the twisted logic behind the Holocaust.
The novel’s illustrated format adds a visceral layer to the storytelling, while Friedrich’s personal journey, especially his encounter with a son he never knew, grounds the sweeping historical drama in raw human emotion. Suspenseful, revelatory, and deeply unsettling, this book reads like a memoir of a man caught between complicity and conscience.
Perfect for readers of historical fiction who crave truth beneath the surface.
November 24, 2025
📚When Ashes Cried
✍🏻Alan A.Winter
Blurb:
When Ashes Cried completes the trilogy of an amnesiac German soldier, Friedrich Richard whose story begins in Wolf, when he is sent to Pasewalk Hospital for treatment to restore his lost memory. There, he befriends the patient in the next Adolf Hitler. Friedrich becomes the readers’ eyes and ears as Hitler and his inner circle rise to power. In Sins of the Fathers, we witness how Germany spirals into a black hole of terror as it expels its Jews and prepares for war. Friedrich and German military leaders are about to launch a coup d’état when Neville Chamberlain flies to Munich to appease Hitler and derail the coup.
In this third volume, When Ashes Cried, Kristallnacht¬¬¬ is unleashed to force Germany’s remaining Jews to leave. At the same time Hitler moves to conquer Europe and Russia, he secretly negotiates with the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees in London to accept Germany’s remaining Jews . . . for a price. Through Friedrich, the reader learns of Stalin’s efforts to thwart Hitler’s adventurism, how the T-4 program has greater implications than euthanizing only the weak, how Hitler creates a false flag to initiate World War II, and how Friedrich’s counsel influences the war’s outcome . . . for the Allies.
As Ashes . . . unfolds, Friedrich crosses paths with the son he never knew he had, a young SS man that represents everything wrong with Germany. Tensions grow. Horrors occur. German military leaders are desperate to end WWII. Friedrich is sent on a secret mission that puts him in the crosshairs of German spies in neutral Portugal, where he meets famed actor, Leslie Howard. What follows is one of the great mysteries of World War II. The book’s dramatic ending will leave the reader breathless.
My Thoughts:
Author Winter has a gift for weaving fact and fiction into a seamless narrative. This final installment brings readers into the heart of Nazi Germany, from Kristallnacht to Hitler’s manipulative negotiations. The details are so vivid that you feel the fear, tension, and desperation of the time. The espionage subplot in Portugal and the dramatic conclusion tie everything together perfectly.
Thanks NetGalley, iUniverse Publishing and Author Alan A. Winter for the advanced copy of "When Ashes Cried" I am leaving my voluntary review in appreciation.
#NetGalley
#iUniverse
#WhenAshesCried
#AlanA.Winter
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✍🏻Alan A.Winter
Blurb:
When Ashes Cried completes the trilogy of an amnesiac German soldier, Friedrich Richard whose story begins in Wolf, when he is sent to Pasewalk Hospital for treatment to restore his lost memory. There, he befriends the patient in the next Adolf Hitler. Friedrich becomes the readers’ eyes and ears as Hitler and his inner circle rise to power. In Sins of the Fathers, we witness how Germany spirals into a black hole of terror as it expels its Jews and prepares for war. Friedrich and German military leaders are about to launch a coup d’état when Neville Chamberlain flies to Munich to appease Hitler and derail the coup.
In this third volume, When Ashes Cried, Kristallnacht¬¬¬ is unleashed to force Germany’s remaining Jews to leave. At the same time Hitler moves to conquer Europe and Russia, he secretly negotiates with the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees in London to accept Germany’s remaining Jews . . . for a price. Through Friedrich, the reader learns of Stalin’s efforts to thwart Hitler’s adventurism, how the T-4 program has greater implications than euthanizing only the weak, how Hitler creates a false flag to initiate World War II, and how Friedrich’s counsel influences the war’s outcome . . . for the Allies.
As Ashes . . . unfolds, Friedrich crosses paths with the son he never knew he had, a young SS man that represents everything wrong with Germany. Tensions grow. Horrors occur. German military leaders are desperate to end WWII. Friedrich is sent on a secret mission that puts him in the crosshairs of German spies in neutral Portugal, where he meets famed actor, Leslie Howard. What follows is one of the great mysteries of World War II. The book’s dramatic ending will leave the reader breathless.
My Thoughts:
Author Winter has a gift for weaving fact and fiction into a seamless narrative. This final installment brings readers into the heart of Nazi Germany, from Kristallnacht to Hitler’s manipulative negotiations. The details are so vivid that you feel the fear, tension, and desperation of the time. The espionage subplot in Portugal and the dramatic conclusion tie everything together perfectly.
Thanks NetGalley, iUniverse Publishing and Author Alan A. Winter for the advanced copy of "When Ashes Cried" I am leaving my voluntary review in appreciation.
#NetGalley
#iUniverse
#WhenAshesCried
#AlanA.Winter
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
March 16, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Every once in a while I have to crawl out of whatever reading rabbit hole I’ve fallen into and reset my brain a little. Lately that rabbit hole has been dark romance, which I love, but sometimes you need a completely different kind of story to clear the palate. "When Ashes Cried" ended up being exactly that for me.
I’ve always had a soft spot for historical fiction, especially stories set during World War II, and this one takes a really interesting approach by following Friedrich Richard, an amnesiac German soldier who ends up witnessing some of the most pivotal moments leading up to and during the war. Seeing history unfold through his eyes gives the story a unique angle. Instead of just watching events happen from the outside, you’re inside the rooms where decisions are being made and seeing how dangerous those conversations really were.
What kept me reading was the idea that Friedrich is moving through history while still trying to piece together who he even is. That tension between personal identity and the larger political machine around him made the story feel layered. I also thought the moments where he crosses paths with real historical figures added an interesting texture to the narrative.
The parts that really stuck with me were the heavier historical moments. The book doesn’t shy away from how dark that time period was, especially when it touches on events like Kristallnacht and the broader persecution happening across Germany. Those sections carry a lot of emotional weight and remind you how fragile history can be when power falls into the wrong hands.
I also appreciated how the story weaves in espionage, secret missions, and the internal conflict among German military leaders who were desperate to stop what was happening. It adds a layer of tension that makes the final part of the book feel especially intense.
Overall, this was a solid historical read and a good change of pace for me. If you’re someone who enjoys World War II fiction that blends real history with fictional characters navigating the chaos of that time, this one offers an interesting perspective on how those events might have looked from inside the machine itself.
Every once in a while I have to crawl out of whatever reading rabbit hole I’ve fallen into and reset my brain a little. Lately that rabbit hole has been dark romance, which I love, but sometimes you need a completely different kind of story to clear the palate. "When Ashes Cried" ended up being exactly that for me.
I’ve always had a soft spot for historical fiction, especially stories set during World War II, and this one takes a really interesting approach by following Friedrich Richard, an amnesiac German soldier who ends up witnessing some of the most pivotal moments leading up to and during the war. Seeing history unfold through his eyes gives the story a unique angle. Instead of just watching events happen from the outside, you’re inside the rooms where decisions are being made and seeing how dangerous those conversations really were.
What kept me reading was the idea that Friedrich is moving through history while still trying to piece together who he even is. That tension between personal identity and the larger political machine around him made the story feel layered. I also thought the moments where he crosses paths with real historical figures added an interesting texture to the narrative.
The parts that really stuck with me were the heavier historical moments. The book doesn’t shy away from how dark that time period was, especially when it touches on events like Kristallnacht and the broader persecution happening across Germany. Those sections carry a lot of emotional weight and remind you how fragile history can be when power falls into the wrong hands.
I also appreciated how the story weaves in espionage, secret missions, and the internal conflict among German military leaders who were desperate to stop what was happening. It adds a layer of tension that makes the final part of the book feel especially intense.
Overall, this was a solid historical read and a good change of pace for me. If you’re someone who enjoys World War II fiction that blends real history with fictional characters navigating the chaos of that time, this one offers an interesting perspective on how those events might have looked from inside the machine itself.
September 26, 2025
Some books don’t just tell a story—they shake you to your core. "When Ashes Cried" is one of those works. From the very first pages, I felt torn between wanting to set it aside and feeling compelled to keep going. The subject matter was heavy, even unappealing at first, but as I read on, I realized no horror novel could ever rival the true nightmare laid out here. This was history, laid raw an unvarnished truth—and it demanded to be faced.
What struck me most was how it is written with such closeness to the heart of evil itself. Written like a personal diary, the narrative unfolds as though we are walking beside a man who somehow found himself within Hitler’s inner circle. His proximity granted him not only influence but also the terrible burden of witnessing the rise of one of humanity’s darkest regimes. That closeness makes the account impossible to dismiss. It feels real because it was real—and that is what makes it so devastating.
This is not an easy book. With each chapter, I felt myself sobering, weighed down by the cruelty and madness described. The photographs scattered throughout only deepened the impact, turning words into images I’ll never forget. At times, I wished I hadn’t learned what I was learning. And yet, I knew I needed to know. Some truths are too important to look away from, no matter how painful.
Reading this book felt like standing in the room, watching history unravel in real time. It made me reflect not only on the past but also on the frightening ways those same ideologies seem to resurface today. That’s what makes When Ashes Cried essential—not just as history, but as a warning.
I walked away shaken, enlightened, and changed. I can’t say I wanted to read it, but I am certain I needed to. And for that reason, I would recommend it to anyone willing to confront the unflinching truth of what humanity is capable of.
What struck me most was how it is written with such closeness to the heart of evil itself. Written like a personal diary, the narrative unfolds as though we are walking beside a man who somehow found himself within Hitler’s inner circle. His proximity granted him not only influence but also the terrible burden of witnessing the rise of one of humanity’s darkest regimes. That closeness makes the account impossible to dismiss. It feels real because it was real—and that is what makes it so devastating.
This is not an easy book. With each chapter, I felt myself sobering, weighed down by the cruelty and madness described. The photographs scattered throughout only deepened the impact, turning words into images I’ll never forget. At times, I wished I hadn’t learned what I was learning. And yet, I knew I needed to know. Some truths are too important to look away from, no matter how painful.
Reading this book felt like standing in the room, watching history unravel in real time. It made me reflect not only on the past but also on the frightening ways those same ideologies seem to resurface today. That’s what makes When Ashes Cried essential—not just as history, but as a warning.
I walked away shaken, enlightened, and changed. I can’t say I wanted to read it, but I am certain I needed to. And for that reason, I would recommend it to anyone willing to confront the unflinching truth of what humanity is capable of.
November 18, 2025
Fiction That Reads Like History—And Matters Now
I grew up listening to my parents talk about WWII—about the devastation, the cruelty toward the Jewish people, and how not all Germans supported Hitler’s regime. Though a work of fiction, Winter’s grounds the story in real events and even includes photographs of actual Germans who were involved. This makes the narrative feel authentic and historically valuable. Beyond the larger historical maneuvers of countries edging toward WWII, the novel also delves deeply into a more personal story: a man who lost his memory during WWI. After reconstructive surgery gave him a new face and a new name, he was left with the haunting mystery of his own forgotten past. This is both a compelling historical novel and a reminder of the dangers of unchecked hate and power. It is a story that not only honors history but also speaks to the present—and deserves to be read.
I grew up listening to my parents talk about WWII—about the devastation, the cruelty toward the Jewish people, and how not all Germans supported Hitler’s regime. Though a work of fiction, Winter’s grounds the story in real events and even includes photographs of actual Germans who were involved. This makes the narrative feel authentic and historically valuable. Beyond the larger historical maneuvers of countries edging toward WWII, the novel also delves deeply into a more personal story: a man who lost his memory during WWI. After reconstructive surgery gave him a new face and a new name, he was left with the haunting mystery of his own forgotten past. This is both a compelling historical novel and a reminder of the dangers of unchecked hate and power. It is a story that not only honors history but also speaks to the present—and deserves to be read.
March 20, 2026
When Ashes cried certainly did have me hooked from the very first page of this amazing book a found on netgallery.
The book its self was filled with so much information throughout and based off of the world war 2 setting gave me more chills than anything else, with what went down during the second war.
I really did enjoy the narrator throughout the read aloud option as that was my favourite too.
Thank you to netgallery for allowing me to read/listen to this book.
The book its self was filled with so much information throughout and based off of the world war 2 setting gave me more chills than anything else, with what went down during the second war.
I really did enjoy the narrator throughout the read aloud option as that was my favourite too.
Thank you to netgallery for allowing me to read/listen to this book.
December 10, 2025
A book I would recommend
Alan A. Winter writes with clarity and depth, making even the darkest moments feel real and purposeful. The attention to historical detail is extraordinary, but the focus always remains on the characters and their humanity. A book to recommend.
Alan A. Winter writes with clarity and depth, making even the darkest moments feel real and purposeful. The attention to historical detail is extraordinary, but the focus always remains on the characters and their humanity. A book to recommend.
February 24, 2026
great historical fiction
WHen Ashes Cried is a masterwork of research and story telling. The characters are so finely interwoven into the history that the novel is seamless. BRAVO!
WHen Ashes Cried is a masterwork of research and story telling. The characters are so finely interwoven into the history that the novel is seamless. BRAVO!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews