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A Holocaust Trilogy #1
A Flood of Evil: 1923 to 1933
A German Catholic boy and a Polish Jewish girl join forces to oppose Adolf Hitler as he makes his move to power.
The story opens in Nuremberg, where Berthold Becker is on trial with other major Nazi war criminals. He expects a death sentence, but Anna Gorska arrives and testifies on his behalf. Berthold is sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Forty-five years later, the daughter of Becker's Nuremberg prosecutor asks her father to collaborate with her in a book about the characters in his Nuremberg trial. That book becomes the frame within which the story of Berthold and Anna is told. Book One covers the years from 1923 to 1933, from Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch to his appointment as Chancellor.
The story opens in Nuremberg, where Berthold Becker is on trial with other major Nazi war criminals. He expects a death sentence, but Anna Gorska arrives and testifies on his behalf. Berthold is sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Forty-five years later, the daughter of Becker's Nuremberg prosecutor asks her father to collaborate with her in a book about the characters in his Nuremberg trial. That book becomes the frame within which the story of Berthold and Anna is told. Book One covers the years from 1923 to 1933, from Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch to his appointment as Chancellor.
344 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 9, 2016
7 people are currently reading
270 people want to read
About the author
Lewis M. Weinstein
13 books615 followersReading the reviews of my GR friends, and sometimes adding a comment, is a great way for me to start my day in a literary frame of mind. Then I turn to my own research and writing.
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July 2, 2017
6/29/17 ... I am re-reading my own book in preparation for a bookclub meeting to be held in Berlin on Monday (via SKYPE). I am very interested in getting feedback from German readers, and I have invited them to be critical if they are so inclined.
***
A FLOOD OF EVIL OPENS WITH BERTHOLD BECKER FACING A DEATH SENTENCE AT THE 1945 NUREMBERG WAR CRIMES TRIAL …
… Berthold Becker showed little emotion as his jailer unlocked his cell and escorted him along the dark corridor lined with soldiers. For several weeks he had sat quietly and watched as the trials of the other high-ranking Nazis had proceeded, and for the past two days he had paid somewhat greater attention as the evidence against him was presented, and what he regarded as a pathetic defense followed. It wasn’t his attorney’s fault. He was guilty. He had done horrible things. He couldn’t change what he had done and now he would pay the price. He expected to be hung.
THEN THE DEFENSE ATTORNEY ASKS IF HE CAN INTRODUCE ANOTHER, NOT PREVIOUSLY SCHEDULED WITNESS ...
... The Chief Justice looked to Prosecutor Weintraub who made no objection, and all eyes turned to the now open door at the back of the courtroom and the woman standing there. Berthold choked back the sounds that began to erupt in his throat but could not stop the tears that flooded from his eyes. The woman entering the courtroom had been his closest friend and lover for fifteen years. She was forever in his thoughts. He had not expected to ever see her again.
ANNA GORSKA TESTIFIES AT BERTHOLD’S TRIAL …
… “Berthold Becker was a member of the Nazi Party, and in that capacity, he participated in the commission of at least some of the crimes he has been charged with by this Tribunal. I am sure he expects to be punished.” She paused. “But for reasons I will explain, he should not be put to death.
… “This defendant is not now and never was an evil man. He was dragged into a maelstrom not of his choosing and from which he was unable to escape. It is easy to say he should have done more to stop the Nazis and in hindsight perhaps he would agree.
… “Berthold Becker had a unique vantage point during the entire Nazi terror. He knows and will tell a truth that others deny.” Looking back to the justices, speaking slowly, she delivered each of her final words as if it were a dagger. “You have the power to allow the terrible story of German evil and guilt to be known. Do not take the life of this defendant. Let Berthold Becker live to tell his story.”
FORTY-FIVE YEARS LATER …
... the daughter of Becker's Nuremberg prosecutor, a professor of Holocaust history at Brandeis University, asks her father to collaborate with her in a book about the characters in his Nuremberg trial. “You read Gorska’s testimony,” he says. “There must be more,” his daughter responds. “A German Catholic Nazi is saved from death by a Polish Jewish woman who had been a prisoner at Auschwitz. There must be more.”
THUS IS THE STORY OF BERTHOLD AND ANNA TOLD. BOOK ONE COVERS THE YEARS FROM 1923 TO 1933, FROM ADOLF HITLER'S BEER HALL PUTSCH TO HIS APPOINTMENT AS CHANCELLOR.
***
A FLOOD OF EVIL OPENS WITH BERTHOLD BECKER FACING A DEATH SENTENCE AT THE 1945 NUREMBERG WAR CRIMES TRIAL …
… Berthold Becker showed little emotion as his jailer unlocked his cell and escorted him along the dark corridor lined with soldiers. For several weeks he had sat quietly and watched as the trials of the other high-ranking Nazis had proceeded, and for the past two days he had paid somewhat greater attention as the evidence against him was presented, and what he regarded as a pathetic defense followed. It wasn’t his attorney’s fault. He was guilty. He had done horrible things. He couldn’t change what he had done and now he would pay the price. He expected to be hung.
THEN THE DEFENSE ATTORNEY ASKS IF HE CAN INTRODUCE ANOTHER, NOT PREVIOUSLY SCHEDULED WITNESS ...
... The Chief Justice looked to Prosecutor Weintraub who made no objection, and all eyes turned to the now open door at the back of the courtroom and the woman standing there. Berthold choked back the sounds that began to erupt in his throat but could not stop the tears that flooded from his eyes. The woman entering the courtroom had been his closest friend and lover for fifteen years. She was forever in his thoughts. He had not expected to ever see her again.
ANNA GORSKA TESTIFIES AT BERTHOLD’S TRIAL …
… “Berthold Becker was a member of the Nazi Party, and in that capacity, he participated in the commission of at least some of the crimes he has been charged with by this Tribunal. I am sure he expects to be punished.” She paused. “But for reasons I will explain, he should not be put to death.
… “This defendant is not now and never was an evil man. He was dragged into a maelstrom not of his choosing and from which he was unable to escape. It is easy to say he should have done more to stop the Nazis and in hindsight perhaps he would agree.
… “Berthold Becker had a unique vantage point during the entire Nazi terror. He knows and will tell a truth that others deny.” Looking back to the justices, speaking slowly, she delivered each of her final words as if it were a dagger. “You have the power to allow the terrible story of German evil and guilt to be known. Do not take the life of this defendant. Let Berthold Becker live to tell his story.”
FORTY-FIVE YEARS LATER …
... the daughter of Becker's Nuremberg prosecutor, a professor of Holocaust history at Brandeis University, asks her father to collaborate with her in a book about the characters in his Nuremberg trial. “You read Gorska’s testimony,” he says. “There must be more,” his daughter responds. “A German Catholic Nazi is saved from death by a Polish Jewish woman who had been a prisoner at Auschwitz. There must be more.”
THUS IS THE STORY OF BERTHOLD AND ANNA TOLD. BOOK ONE COVERS THE YEARS FROM 1923 TO 1933, FROM ADOLF HITLER'S BEER HALL PUTSCH TO HIS APPOINTMENT AS CHANCELLOR.
May 1, 2017
Meticulously researched, A Flood of Evil is a comprehensive novel that takes the reader step by step through the events that lead to the Nazi party's rise in Germany. Told through alternating points of view, one gets a personalized account of how humanity was driven to the utmost stage of barbarity. Berthold is a young German boy, caught in the Nazi limelight when his fanatical brother is killed in Hitler's failed Munich putsch. Anna is a fearless young Polish Jew who is just starting out in life as a reporter for a Yiddish paper that reports to the world. Circumstances throw them together and the book begins with Berthold being tried at Nuremberg for war crimes. Anna testifies that he saved so many Jewish lives as well as her own and must not be condemned, that he is no more guilty than the countries who failed to save the Jewish population, knowing what was going on inside Germany.
Years later, the daughter of the prosecutor wants to know the whole story, and bit by bit, it is told through both Berthold's and Anna's eyes.
Weinstein shines in his ability to explain the mindset of the people living, the how's and why's of the rise of the Nazi party. He painstakingly recreates the life and times, the political climate and the people caught up in the coming conflagration. Why did they stay? Didn't they see it coming? Like Leon Uris in Exodus, Weinstein is able to place the reader in the 1930's where they can see if through the character's viewpoint and understanding, without sacrificing story lines. Powerful and compelling, this is a must-read that puts history into perspective with both realism and sensitivity.
Years later, the daughter of the prosecutor wants to know the whole story, and bit by bit, it is told through both Berthold's and Anna's eyes.
Weinstein shines in his ability to explain the mindset of the people living, the how's and why's of the rise of the Nazi party. He painstakingly recreates the life and times, the political climate and the people caught up in the coming conflagration. Why did they stay? Didn't they see it coming? Like Leon Uris in Exodus, Weinstein is able to place the reader in the 1930's where they can see if through the character's viewpoint and understanding, without sacrificing story lines. Powerful and compelling, this is a must-read that puts history into perspective with both realism and sensitivity.
February 6, 2017
I like to start with the most negative aspect of the book, it is a first installment of two books. And sometimes you read a book and you want to keep continuing reading and yet the second book has not been published, that is annoying.
This book starts in 1923 and ends in 1933 and it major characters are a Jewish girl from Poland who becomes a journalist and a German boy whose claim to fame is his brother dying while saving Hitlers life during the Putch or attempted overthrowing of the German Weimar Republic. Through the eyes of these two young people we see Germany and Europe changing post World War 1.
You do not need to know any historical background, is handy if you have some though, to read an enjoy this book. The book is well written not really pushing a message in your face. It is far more subtly written and makes you part of their lives and yet you sense the flood of Evil that is about to follow. You find out why things happened and it leaves you wondering why nobody reacted in a sensible way. History was a train wreck about to happen.
In a sense the story kind of mirrors the uprising of nationalistic sentiments we have in Europe these days, they come on the slipstream of an economic crisis when globalization is a fact. We feel the need to return to our safe cocoons and forgetting that we are long past that safety and there is no way back. Another ugly aspect is blaming the outsider for about anything and accepting OTT interference by the state. Reading this book about a world from almost 100 years ago and seeing the similarities does provoke a feeling of uneasiness which the writer never really exploits.
Well written and easy to read and to follow and all the while being part of the main characters life and world around them. Weinstein did not chose for a huge dramatic pallet which has probably kept the book from coming to overlong. It is not it is an easy and short read that is over way too soon. But I've got an earlier novel of this writer which I am now more than curious to read.
You are well advised to read this novel as it is a fun read and has the ability to broaden your knowledge.
This book starts in 1923 and ends in 1933 and it major characters are a Jewish girl from Poland who becomes a journalist and a German boy whose claim to fame is his brother dying while saving Hitlers life during the Putch or attempted overthrowing of the German Weimar Republic. Through the eyes of these two young people we see Germany and Europe changing post World War 1.
You do not need to know any historical background, is handy if you have some though, to read an enjoy this book. The book is well written not really pushing a message in your face. It is far more subtly written and makes you part of their lives and yet you sense the flood of Evil that is about to follow. You find out why things happened and it leaves you wondering why nobody reacted in a sensible way. History was a train wreck about to happen.
In a sense the story kind of mirrors the uprising of nationalistic sentiments we have in Europe these days, they come on the slipstream of an economic crisis when globalization is a fact. We feel the need to return to our safe cocoons and forgetting that we are long past that safety and there is no way back. Another ugly aspect is blaming the outsider for about anything and accepting OTT interference by the state. Reading this book about a world from almost 100 years ago and seeing the similarities does provoke a feeling of uneasiness which the writer never really exploits.
Well written and easy to read and to follow and all the while being part of the main characters life and world around them. Weinstein did not chose for a huge dramatic pallet which has probably kept the book from coming to overlong. It is not it is an easy and short read that is over way too soon. But I've got an earlier novel of this writer which I am now more than curious to read.
You are well advised to read this novel as it is a fun read and has the ability to broaden your knowledge.
June 28, 2019
In the 90's a book came out the Schonken Guide to Jewish Books: It was a guide devoted to finding the best readings on specific Jewish subjects. Such as laws, Old Testament, religion. When I purchased the book, the first chapter I turned to was the Holocaust. I wanted to know the best books to read on the Holocaust. The section delved into many subjects and spoke about where to start your journey, Possibly with the book Night or The Anne Frank Diary, a book on Kristallnacht. I bring this subject up because in reading Flood of Evil, I kept thinking back to the guide and saying to myself this is the book, this is where someones journey should begin. I do not pretend to be an expert on the subject but I have probably read a hundred Holocaust themed books in my life both Non-fiction and Historical Fiction, seen the important movies. I say this because there were so many other areas I learned about in reading this book. the book begins in 1923 and you are given the Polish perspective of what was happening in Germany. It then goes into Germany and intertwines a Jewish and Christian family. Along the way you will learn about Hitler's Journey and how often he could have been defeated or derailed. The Vatican's involvement in his rise to power. You will get closer looks at the personalities of Goebbels and Heydrich.
Lewis Weinstein has written a very succinct book, it is easy to understand and his style of writing keeps your attention. While this is an adult novel, it could easily be used on the young adult level as an introduction to the Holocaust. Lastly this is the first volume in a two volume series it covers the year 1923 to 1934. I understand the author is working on the second volume now. I eagerly await its publication.
Lewis Weinstein has written a very succinct book, it is easy to understand and his style of writing keeps your attention. While this is an adult novel, it could easily be used on the young adult level as an introduction to the Holocaust. Lastly this is the first volume in a two volume series it covers the year 1923 to 1934. I understand the author is working on the second volume now. I eagerly await its publication.
November 27, 2018
A wonderful and beautiful written in-depth story seen through the eyes of the protagonists in opposite factions. The rise of fascism, the fanatism created by Hitler to the apotheosis of his rise... an excellent read!
April 27, 2018
With fascism currently on the rise, 'A Flood of Evil', is an extremely important, beautifully written and well-researched novel. Showing the rise of the Nazi Party up to Hitler taking absolute power in 1933, this compelling story is a must read for anybody interested in a deeper understanding of this important period history. Can't wait for book 2.
March 19, 2018
I’m currently reading the annotated and critical edition of Mein Kampf and Hitler’s text sometimes scares and at other time bores the hell out of me. But the footnotes (which make up more than half of the almost 2000 pages) are quite interesting. There’s hardly any topic left out from being investigated. Nevertheless I needed a break from Hitler’s rants, but I also wanted to stay in the time after World War I and before the Nazis came to power, which proved to be a tipping point in German history.
It turned out that Lewis Weinstein’s was just right book to fill this need. The novel is set in Germany (mostly Munich), and Poland (Warshaw and a shtetk called Ciechanów) in the years between 1923 and 1933. It’s part historical lesson, part political thriller, part love story. There’s also a framing story, set in 1990, which is revisited every few chapters.
At the start we learn that one of the main protagonists, Berthold Becker, is almost sentenced to death during the Nuremberg trials. The reason why his life was spared is due to the witness account of the other protagonist, Anna Gorska. What makes this case special is the fact that Berhold is a Catholic and member of the Nazi Party, while Anna is a Jew who survived Auschwitz. The two of them met in 1930 and became close friends and eventually lovers.
The novel’s background is obviously well researched and the historical facts faithfully presented. Scenes in which the fictional characters meet the historical ones (and there are quite a few of those) are of course invented, but fit in well with the overall picture. Berthold and Anna interact with a number of well-known people: Members of the whole Nazi mischpoke like Hitler, Goebbles, and Heydrich appear as well as the then Polish Prime Minister Józef Piłsudski, and the later Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, to name but only a few. In how far this seems realistic is anyone’s guess, but it’s definitely fascinating to read.
At some points the prose suffers from “show don’t tell” symptoms, and sometimes characters explain to other characters things they should already know, but the reader doesn’t. In the case of describing Jewish life, especially in Poland, that was fine with me, because I don’t know much about it. In the case of Germany’s history, of which I know much more, I just accepted it. Other readers may get different impressions.
The main story of the book ends in May 1933 when the real horror of Nazi regiment had just begun. There will be a sequel covering the years 1934 to 1946 and I can’t wait to get my hands on it and see how the story of Berthold and Anna concludes. This book once again demonstrates that indie authors deserve to be read.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
It turned out that Lewis Weinstein’s was just right book to fill this need. The novel is set in Germany (mostly Munich), and Poland (Warshaw and a shtetk called Ciechanów) in the years between 1923 and 1933. It’s part historical lesson, part political thriller, part love story. There’s also a framing story, set in 1990, which is revisited every few chapters.
At the start we learn that one of the main protagonists, Berthold Becker, is almost sentenced to death during the Nuremberg trials. The reason why his life was spared is due to the witness account of the other protagonist, Anna Gorska. What makes this case special is the fact that Berhold is a Catholic and member of the Nazi Party, while Anna is a Jew who survived Auschwitz. The two of them met in 1930 and became close friends and eventually lovers.
The novel’s background is obviously well researched and the historical facts faithfully presented. Scenes in which the fictional characters meet the historical ones (and there are quite a few of those) are of course invented, but fit in well with the overall picture. Berthold and Anna interact with a number of well-known people: Members of the whole Nazi mischpoke like Hitler, Goebbles, and Heydrich appear as well as the then Polish Prime Minister Józef Piłsudski, and the later Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, to name but only a few. In how far this seems realistic is anyone’s guess, but it’s definitely fascinating to read.
At some points the prose suffers from “show don’t tell” symptoms, and sometimes characters explain to other characters things they should already know, but the reader doesn’t. In the case of describing Jewish life, especially in Poland, that was fine with me, because I don’t know much about it. In the case of Germany’s history, of which I know much more, I just accepted it. Other readers may get different impressions.
The main story of the book ends in May 1933 when the real horror of Nazi regiment had just begun. There will be a sequel covering the years 1934 to 1946 and I can’t wait to get my hands on it and see how the story of Berthold and Anna concludes. This book once again demonstrates that indie authors deserve to be read.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
January 17, 2017
Very few writers can successfully write historical fiction as compellingly as Lewis M. Weinstein. I first discovered his talent when I read his 2000 novel, THE HERETIC. Through his ability to imagine the past as it might have been allows present day readers to delve into history with such an interest that they begin to see how the past draws our attention while demanding us to understand.
A couple of years ago, I was kindly given the opportunity by Lewis to be an early reader of his latest work, A FLOOD OF EVIL. As in the past when reading Lewis' work, I became lost in the story. In this first book of a two book series, we follow the story of a German Catholic boy by the name of Berthold Becker and a Polish Jewish girl by the name of Anna Gorska as they find themselves in the midst of a world ruled by bigotry, fear, and hatred. This is Hitler's world; a world that forces Berthold and Anna to unimaginable levels of fear and, in turn, courage.
With his latest novel, Mr. Weinstein is at his best when he challenges readers to look into the face of evil; to look into the depths of abject degradation -- for in this he is fearless. It is not lost on me, as I hope it won't be lost on present day readers that the rhetoric of hate and fear that was stirred up by Hitler could just as easily be seen in some of the rhetoric of one of the politicians running for President today. It would be too easy for us to look away or to minimize the talk of would-be leaders when they speak to our fears in an attempt to organize a systematic hatred of any one group of people. To downplay as the world did during the years that led up to WWII would be foolish and disrespectful to our collective past. Indeed, when Hitler first arrived on the stage of politics, were there not people who minimized as well? By the time the world took note of the danger of having allowed a man of such vitriolic hatred such a platform, it was too late. Here is where Lewis' novel takes root. A FLOOD OF EVIL is a cautionary tale that warns against such ignorance and hate. Yes, it was indeed left to the real life versions of characters like Berthold & Anna to risk their own safety and security because they could not accept a world where evil men like Hitler were given a stage to perform and from which to rule.
It truly is unfathomable to understand what the Jews of Europe were made to endure at the hands of the Nazis, but in Lewis Weinstein's capable hands, it is possible to imagine. And, in today's world, where we might be closer than we'd care to admit to being in a position where such hatred and power might be in line to become reality, A FLOOD OF EVIL is made that much more compelling and timely.
A couple of years ago, I was kindly given the opportunity by Lewis to be an early reader of his latest work, A FLOOD OF EVIL. As in the past when reading Lewis' work, I became lost in the story. In this first book of a two book series, we follow the story of a German Catholic boy by the name of Berthold Becker and a Polish Jewish girl by the name of Anna Gorska as they find themselves in the midst of a world ruled by bigotry, fear, and hatred. This is Hitler's world; a world that forces Berthold and Anna to unimaginable levels of fear and, in turn, courage.
With his latest novel, Mr. Weinstein is at his best when he challenges readers to look into the face of evil; to look into the depths of abject degradation -- for in this he is fearless. It is not lost on me, as I hope it won't be lost on present day readers that the rhetoric of hate and fear that was stirred up by Hitler could just as easily be seen in some of the rhetoric of one of the politicians running for President today. It would be too easy for us to look away or to minimize the talk of would-be leaders when they speak to our fears in an attempt to organize a systematic hatred of any one group of people. To downplay as the world did during the years that led up to WWII would be foolish and disrespectful to our collective past. Indeed, when Hitler first arrived on the stage of politics, were there not people who minimized as well? By the time the world took note of the danger of having allowed a man of such vitriolic hatred such a platform, it was too late. Here is where Lewis' novel takes root. A FLOOD OF EVIL is a cautionary tale that warns against such ignorance and hate. Yes, it was indeed left to the real life versions of characters like Berthold & Anna to risk their own safety and security because they could not accept a world where evil men like Hitler were given a stage to perform and from which to rule.
It truly is unfathomable to understand what the Jews of Europe were made to endure at the hands of the Nazis, but in Lewis Weinstein's capable hands, it is possible to imagine. And, in today's world, where we might be closer than we'd care to admit to being in a position where such hatred and power might be in line to become reality, A FLOOD OF EVIL is made that much more compelling and timely.
July 8, 2016
This is one of the best books I have ever read! It is "historical fiction" of the highest order, and a thoroughly engrossing story of the beginning relationship between a young German man and a young Polish-Jewish woman against the backdrop of Hitler's appearance and rise to power as The Feuhrer. While it follows his rise, it also, gives us an insight into why he had such appeal to the German People, and his horrific hatred of the Jews; the inability of The Church or of neighboring nations to take a more active approach to recognize, or deal with the growing menace Hitler's Germany was becoming. On the fictional side, it shows how this young German man and this
young Polish-Jewish woman are drawn into the maelstrom of WW II. At the end of which he is being tried as a German "war criminal" ans she is the sole survivor of her family's ordeal at the Auschwitz "death camp". This is Book 1 of Mr Weinstein's proposed 2 book series. Book 2 will cover from the "start" of The War until the "war trials" afterward. I am, eagerly, awaiting Book 2 to discover "the rest of the story". A really wonderful read! My comments can not do justice to it!
young Polish-Jewish woman are drawn into the maelstrom of WW II. At the end of which he is being tried as a German "war criminal" ans she is the sole survivor of her family's ordeal at the Auschwitz "death camp". This is Book 1 of Mr Weinstein's proposed 2 book series. Book 2 will cover from the "start" of The War until the "war trials" afterward. I am, eagerly, awaiting Book 2 to discover "the rest of the story". A really wonderful read! My comments can not do justice to it!
December 22, 2016
“A Flood of Evil” by Lewis M. Weinstein is a work of historical fiction about the hatred of one group of people by another. The story opens dramatically with the Nuremberg War Crimes Trial of 1945. Berthold Becker is on trial for war crimes and is facing the death penalty. The defense attorney calls Anna Gorska to testify.
The story jumps to the current day as the daughter of the Nuremberg Prosecutor Weintraub, is a professor at Brandeis University. She asks her father to collaborate with her on a book about the case he prosecuted in Nuremberg. The story then goes to the years of 1923 to 1933 to tell the story of a German Catholic boy, Berthold, and a Polish Jewish girl, Gorska.
The book is well written and meticulously researched. Weinstein has a writing style that draws the reader into the scene. This is a complex story about the organized systematic hatred of one group of people. Weinstein brings the rhetoric of hatred, fear and abuse of power of the Hitler Regime to life in the personal story of two people. The characters are so realistic it is easy for the reader to become involved in their lives. I am impressed with Weinstein’s writing skills.
I read this as an eBook on my Kindle app for my iPad. The book is 342 pages and was published on June 9, 2016.
The story jumps to the current day as the daughter of the Nuremberg Prosecutor Weintraub, is a professor at Brandeis University. She asks her father to collaborate with her on a book about the case he prosecuted in Nuremberg. The story then goes to the years of 1923 to 1933 to tell the story of a German Catholic boy, Berthold, and a Polish Jewish girl, Gorska.
The book is well written and meticulously researched. Weinstein has a writing style that draws the reader into the scene. This is a complex story about the organized systematic hatred of one group of people. Weinstein brings the rhetoric of hatred, fear and abuse of power of the Hitler Regime to life in the personal story of two people. The characters are so realistic it is easy for the reader to become involved in their lives. I am impressed with Weinstein’s writing skills.
I read this as an eBook on my Kindle app for my iPad. The book is 342 pages and was published on June 9, 2016.
May 3, 2021
As someone who has not only read a ton of Holocaust and WWII books and who had several holocaust survivors in her family, let me say unequivocally, this story is not only for people like me who are intensely familiar with the background, it is especially for people like most of you, who aren’t.
As the synopsis is readily available, I won’t repeat. I started to write for A Flood of Evil, but I can’t understand how someone could read that and not go on to A Promise Kept. The first book introduces the characters and their various situations and what informed their decisions to do things we all would consider a bit mad with our 20/20 hindsight, but the meat of the story is in A Flood of Evil. Although it is possible to read the second as a stand-alone story you will miss a great deal of the background situation if you do, and with a third book on the horizon, in what now is a trilogy, I strongly recommend you read them all, and in order.
What stands out with this book is its cinematic structure. The chapters are very short, beguiling the reader to move forward. The events, like the history this takes place in, is relentless. Mr. Weinstein has clearly spent a lot of time making sure that the sequence of true events are correct so that it is not only an engaging novel, but is accessible way to learn this abominable history in a captivating manner. He even includes a historical chronology a list of characters fictional and historical so there can be no mistake of who is really existed and who is an representational character.
What is an interesting literary device is putting one of the major characters in situations where she gets to interview famous historical figures. While this might seems a little unlikely in real life, it certainly works for the story in order to gain a shortcut to insight of what those characters were thinking at the time. However, when you talk to any true-life survivor you come to the conclusion that their survival is based on a series of remarkable coincidences, last-minute decisions, or just crazy luck, so the situations expressed in these novels are not the more astonishing for the fact they are fiction.
Highly recommended read.
As the synopsis is readily available, I won’t repeat. I started to write for A Flood of Evil, but I can’t understand how someone could read that and not go on to A Promise Kept. The first book introduces the characters and their various situations and what informed their decisions to do things we all would consider a bit mad with our 20/20 hindsight, but the meat of the story is in A Flood of Evil. Although it is possible to read the second as a stand-alone story you will miss a great deal of the background situation if you do, and with a third book on the horizon, in what now is a trilogy, I strongly recommend you read them all, and in order.
What stands out with this book is its cinematic structure. The chapters are very short, beguiling the reader to move forward. The events, like the history this takes place in, is relentless. Mr. Weinstein has clearly spent a lot of time making sure that the sequence of true events are correct so that it is not only an engaging novel, but is accessible way to learn this abominable history in a captivating manner. He even includes a historical chronology a list of characters fictional and historical so there can be no mistake of who is really existed and who is an representational character.
What is an interesting literary device is putting one of the major characters in situations where she gets to interview famous historical figures. While this might seems a little unlikely in real life, it certainly works for the story in order to gain a shortcut to insight of what those characters were thinking at the time. However, when you talk to any true-life survivor you come to the conclusion that their survival is based on a series of remarkable coincidences, last-minute decisions, or just crazy luck, so the situations expressed in these novels are not the more astonishing for the fact they are fiction.
Highly recommended read.
July 14, 2016
In A Flood of Evil, Louis Weinstein has written a novel that is both compelling and riveting. The love, strength and courage between Anna, the Jewish journalist and Berthold, the German boy which takes place during the rise to power of Adolph Hitler, is a real page turner. The mix of historical facts and and realistic characters makes this a must read book. The author skillfully makes you able to believe that history is most certainly able to repeat itself.
Can't wait for Part 2!!
Can't wait for Part 2!!
October 20, 2016
The title, A FLOOD OF EVIL, refers to what would happen to the world if Adolf Hitler ever achieved power.
In 1946, Nazis were tried in Nuremberg. As the story begins, one young man, Berthold Becker, is the defendant who is eligible for the death sentence because of his Nazi activities. He has admitted his guilt, but before the prosecutor, Abraham Weintraub, completes his presentation, a Jewish woman, Anna Gorska, testifies that Becker should not be put to death. She told the court, “Bertold Becker, although a Nazi, did more than any of the great Allied nations to save Jewish lives. Many lives, not just mine. That is reason enough to spare his life.” France participated willingly, even enthusiastically in the roundup of French Jews knowing they were headed for extermination. American and British forces could have bombed camps and rail lines but didn’t. The US also granted very few European Jews the opportunity to emigrate.
The story jumps to 1990 when Weintraub’s daughter, Marissa Morgan, a history professor at Brandeis University, decides to write about the people involved in the Nuremberg case. She wants her father to co-author the book. He agrees, reluctantly, and soon discovers that both Becker and Gorska are still alive though they live in different countries. The story is told primarily through the eyes of Anna and Berthold. It alternates between 1990 and the pre-war years.
Anna and Berthold met at a party for one of her cousins who also happened to be his best friend. Later on, she went to college (unusual for an Orthodox Jewish woman) and a journalist. Because of the actions of Becker’s brother, he became an unwilling insider in the Nazi party.
History does repeat itself, particularly when people do not know that history: What happened, how it happened, why it happened. Through Gorska and Becker’s stories, A FLOOD OF EVIL Book 1 1923-1933 is the story of Poland, Germany, the rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazism. While Hitler had not yet become Chancellor, it tells of the steps he took to reach that position and of the support of others to help him achieve it.
Adolf Hitler was elected to office. Those who remember that wonder how that could have happened in Germany, a country with an educated citizenry. In the aftermath of World War I and the depression, “Our lives are an unending humiliation and we have nothing more to lose.” For Goebbels’ purposes...rumors were as good as facts, lies as good as truth and any attention, even outright condemnation, had its value.” Hitler ignorant of history and economics and a failure in everything he tried. In selling himself with Goebbels’ assistance, he was a genius.
Following extensive research to write A FLOOD OF EVIL, Lewis M. Weinstein explains how German officials thought they could control Hitler if he took office, why the Vatican decided to not intervene to stop the rise of Nazism even if not outwardly support Germany. German Chancellor Papen believed he had accomplished a master stroke. His brilliant conceived plan had put Hitler in a position which required him to act responsibly. The ministries which controlled foreign policy, finance, economics, labor and agriculture were all headed by experienced professionals, none of them Nazis, and control of the army remained with President Hindenburg.”
One reason for widespread anti-Semitism was that if the Jewish view rejecting Jesus as Messiah being foretold in the Torah is correct, it would be devastating to Christianity. However, there was widespread support among priests and bishops to remove “perfidious Jews” from Easter liturgy. The Vatican not only refused to do so, Cardinal Secretary of State Eugenio Pacelli in Rome, who was to become Pope Pius XII, was not receptive warnings and failed to pass them on to the Pope. A FLOOD OF EVIL explains Pacelli’s reasons for not acting to stop Hitler and the Holocaust.
As we approach the 2016 Presidential election in the United States, we are beginning to understand what happened and why it happened. Young Nazis were frightened, angry, confused, and ready to believe Hitler’s lies. Jews have been long time scapegoats when people have problems they don’t understand and can’t face. Today, the main scapegoats are people of different races and religions, many of whom were born in the US. Goebbels was interested in stories about Hitler in the foreign press, and didn’t care if they were positive or negative.
At the end of the Vietnam War, the veterans who served in the military at their country’s request, were greeted with hostility instead of a warm welcome and gratitude. This was the first war the US had lost and we didn’t know why or why we were there in the first place. This feeling was exacerbated with the US war in Iraq. These feelings were a repeat of why so many Germans supported or joined the Nazi party. “When we came home from the war (World War I), we were confused. We didn’t know what had happened, why Germany had not been victorious. But at least we thought the German people would welcome us back. They did not. There was no respect for us and our fight for the Fatherland. There were no jobs. There was no place for us in Germany. Everywhere we turned, we were made to feel unworthy. It was mainly the Communists and Jews who rejected us. Some of my friends joined the Nazi party.”
Among the many interesting points Weinstein raises in A FLOOD OF EVIL are the following:
“Some have called our propaganda a synthesis of unconnected and oversimplified ideas...We Nazis offer an easy-to-absorb clarification for those who are confused and frightened. We take the incomprehensible hodgepodge of political rhetoric and create a coherent myth for the masses, which they can understand and support.”
Berthold: “What will we become?”Anna: “Whatever it is, I think it will be very different from whatever our dreams have been until now. But we will share our futures, whatever they will be.”
On assimilation: Poland has changed. The world is crumbling around us. Survival requires that we change on the outside even as we remain as Jewish as we can on the inside.
If we are too intent on becoming like everyone else, we’ll lose what makes us unique.”
At the beginning of the book, Weinstein lists the major characters in the novel telling in what country they lived and whether they are historical or fictional as well as presenting a historical chronology. There is a glossary and bibliography at the end of the book. Book Two will cover the years through 1946.
“Writing a short article was always much more difficult than a long one.” A FLOOD OF EVIL is written in chronological order with the 1990 interviews interspersed to help the flow of information. It focuses on the people and events in a sort of diary form while descriptions are sparse. It is well-written and kept my interest. I am anxiously awaiting Book Two because I care about the characters and want to know what happened to them during the Hitler years and afterwards.
I preread the first part of the book after being contacted by the author through a previous review.
In 1946, Nazis were tried in Nuremberg. As the story begins, one young man, Berthold Becker, is the defendant who is eligible for the death sentence because of his Nazi activities. He has admitted his guilt, but before the prosecutor, Abraham Weintraub, completes his presentation, a Jewish woman, Anna Gorska, testifies that Becker should not be put to death. She told the court, “Bertold Becker, although a Nazi, did more than any of the great Allied nations to save Jewish lives. Many lives, not just mine. That is reason enough to spare his life.” France participated willingly, even enthusiastically in the roundup of French Jews knowing they were headed for extermination. American and British forces could have bombed camps and rail lines but didn’t. The US also granted very few European Jews the opportunity to emigrate.
The story jumps to 1990 when Weintraub’s daughter, Marissa Morgan, a history professor at Brandeis University, decides to write about the people involved in the Nuremberg case. She wants her father to co-author the book. He agrees, reluctantly, and soon discovers that both Becker and Gorska are still alive though they live in different countries. The story is told primarily through the eyes of Anna and Berthold. It alternates between 1990 and the pre-war years.
Anna and Berthold met at a party for one of her cousins who also happened to be his best friend. Later on, she went to college (unusual for an Orthodox Jewish woman) and a journalist. Because of the actions of Becker’s brother, he became an unwilling insider in the Nazi party.
History does repeat itself, particularly when people do not know that history: What happened, how it happened, why it happened. Through Gorska and Becker’s stories, A FLOOD OF EVIL Book 1 1923-1933 is the story of Poland, Germany, the rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazism. While Hitler had not yet become Chancellor, it tells of the steps he took to reach that position and of the support of others to help him achieve it.
Adolf Hitler was elected to office. Those who remember that wonder how that could have happened in Germany, a country with an educated citizenry. In the aftermath of World War I and the depression, “Our lives are an unending humiliation and we have nothing more to lose.” For Goebbels’ purposes...rumors were as good as facts, lies as good as truth and any attention, even outright condemnation, had its value.” Hitler ignorant of history and economics and a failure in everything he tried. In selling himself with Goebbels’ assistance, he was a genius.
Following extensive research to write A FLOOD OF EVIL, Lewis M. Weinstein explains how German officials thought they could control Hitler if he took office, why the Vatican decided to not intervene to stop the rise of Nazism even if not outwardly support Germany. German Chancellor Papen believed he had accomplished a master stroke. His brilliant conceived plan had put Hitler in a position which required him to act responsibly. The ministries which controlled foreign policy, finance, economics, labor and agriculture were all headed by experienced professionals, none of them Nazis, and control of the army remained with President Hindenburg.”
One reason for widespread anti-Semitism was that if the Jewish view rejecting Jesus as Messiah being foretold in the Torah is correct, it would be devastating to Christianity. However, there was widespread support among priests and bishops to remove “perfidious Jews” from Easter liturgy. The Vatican not only refused to do so, Cardinal Secretary of State Eugenio Pacelli in Rome, who was to become Pope Pius XII, was not receptive warnings and failed to pass them on to the Pope. A FLOOD OF EVIL explains Pacelli’s reasons for not acting to stop Hitler and the Holocaust.
As we approach the 2016 Presidential election in the United States, we are beginning to understand what happened and why it happened. Young Nazis were frightened, angry, confused, and ready to believe Hitler’s lies. Jews have been long time scapegoats when people have problems they don’t understand and can’t face. Today, the main scapegoats are people of different races and religions, many of whom were born in the US. Goebbels was interested in stories about Hitler in the foreign press, and didn’t care if they were positive or negative.
At the end of the Vietnam War, the veterans who served in the military at their country’s request, were greeted with hostility instead of a warm welcome and gratitude. This was the first war the US had lost and we didn’t know why or why we were there in the first place. This feeling was exacerbated with the US war in Iraq. These feelings were a repeat of why so many Germans supported or joined the Nazi party. “When we came home from the war (World War I), we were confused. We didn’t know what had happened, why Germany had not been victorious. But at least we thought the German people would welcome us back. They did not. There was no respect for us and our fight for the Fatherland. There were no jobs. There was no place for us in Germany. Everywhere we turned, we were made to feel unworthy. It was mainly the Communists and Jews who rejected us. Some of my friends joined the Nazi party.”
Among the many interesting points Weinstein raises in A FLOOD OF EVIL are the following:
“Some have called our propaganda a synthesis of unconnected and oversimplified ideas...We Nazis offer an easy-to-absorb clarification for those who are confused and frightened. We take the incomprehensible hodgepodge of political rhetoric and create a coherent myth for the masses, which they can understand and support.”
Berthold: “What will we become?”Anna: “Whatever it is, I think it will be very different from whatever our dreams have been until now. But we will share our futures, whatever they will be.”
On assimilation: Poland has changed. The world is crumbling around us. Survival requires that we change on the outside even as we remain as Jewish as we can on the inside.
If we are too intent on becoming like everyone else, we’ll lose what makes us unique.”
At the beginning of the book, Weinstein lists the major characters in the novel telling in what country they lived and whether they are historical or fictional as well as presenting a historical chronology. There is a glossary and bibliography at the end of the book. Book Two will cover the years through 1946.
“Writing a short article was always much more difficult than a long one.” A FLOOD OF EVIL is written in chronological order with the 1990 interviews interspersed to help the flow of information. It focuses on the people and events in a sort of diary form while descriptions are sparse. It is well-written and kept my interest. I am anxiously awaiting Book Two because I care about the characters and want to know what happened to them during the Hitler years and afterwards.
I preread the first part of the book after being contacted by the author through a previous review.
November 7, 2021
I was very much looking forward to this novel because of my interest in the topic, so much so that I requested a free review copy, and I’m sad to report that it didn’t meet my expectations, and sadder still because I have always had pleasant online interactions with the author, and having to tell a nice gentleman like Mr Weinstein that I didn’t love his book feels terrible.
The main and biggest issue for me was the novel’s didacticism. This is a frequent enough issue in Historical Fiction that one astute reader here said once, paraphrasing, that in good Historical Fiction the historical background has to serve the interest of the characters, to serve as a way to highlight their personalities, choices, actions, etc. The setting should always be in service to the characters, history has to be in service to story. In this novel, however, the characters seem to just be the conduit for writing about the history.
And that’s why it’s a problem to me. The plotline is presented in such a didactic way that, at one point there isn’t even a minimum effort to disguise it, when Berthold’s mother is confronting her other son, Nazi supporter Dietrich, and she says this:
This is supposed to be a conversation between mother and son, a mother trying to understand how her child got his mind warped by the Nazi ideology and desperate to make him see the wrongs of the party he’s joined, and yet, it reads not like a natural exchange between close family but like a Show and Tell exposition at school, the teacher asking the little schoolboy step in front of the class and tell his piece. “So, Dietrich my dear, do tell us what you find so cool about this Hitler chap, because surely it can’t be his mustache. And whilst you’re at it, please talk like a 2016 Republican candidate, in case someone didn’t get the Orange Man = Mustache Man memo, but do try to not give people an unfortunate mental image that you’re giving your Make Germany Great Again speech in a Bavarian hillbilly accent, will you? We’re in a Very Serious Novel here.”
This is supposed to be the story of an ordinary German who never supported the regime but worked from the inside to thwart it in any way he could, and the story of an ordinary Polish Jew who became first a pen warrior warning of the impending doom of her people and then sharing that fate with them in the concentration camps. But we don’t see it, don’t see them transform into what they’re supposed to be as per the description. We’re simply told. We aren’t shown how come a family of everyday Germans ended up having one son be an anti-Nazi that’ll rescue a tonne of people and the other son no less than Hitler’s personal chauffeur willing to take a bullet meant for his boss. And the same goes for the girl from an Orthodox Jewish family in an obscure shtetl that somehow thinks often like a Jew from our times with hindsight knowledge rather than what her sheltered and conservative background would suggest. Neither protagonist works towards the conclusion that Hitler is dangerous and has evil plans, they work backwards from hindsight and already knowing what’s going to happen; one chapter even ends in “this wasn’t known until six million were killed.” And it isn’t even a result of the characters telling their story as old people who survived but the result of using them as mere conduits for commentary on historical events and figures.
Because of this, they don’t feel like genuine people that live their story either. Instead, they’re like human cameras, human recorders, thrown into selected situations and places. Berthold, for example, is said to be Catholic, but it reads like his Catholicism is merely a manner to have him interact with the Church’s hierarchy, because he sure doesn’t convince at it. It’s not easy to convey my point, but I’ll try: it’s like the “tree glasses” scene in Inglorious Basterds. The small details a dyed-in-the-wool Catholic would detect and that give Berthold away as the most generic Christian instead of a Catholic are all throughout the novel, but to give one blatant example, his scene at the cathedral is a giveaway. There’s a joke that you can always spot the tourists and atheists at historic churches because of how they behave, and let me tell you that when I reached that scene, my thought was that if Hans Landa were persecuting Catholics, our boy Berthold would be in hot water.
If it were just that one aspect, it would be trivial, a minimal faux pas, but there’s more stuff of this nature. More and more scenes accumulate that paint a picture of writing by inserting characters in scenarios that sometimes are unnecessary for the plot or confusing as to their purpose, and others that are there to make Berthold or Anna be bigger Mary Sues than they already are. For example, Berthold, whose only friend in life is conveniently Jewish, gets into a fistfight at university to defend this friend, whom the text says got his glasses knocked off his face by the Nazi bullies, but once Berthold beats the bullies, his friend just walks on by his side wowing his saviour’s boxing prowess, glasses completely forgotten and no mention of them again. That punch to his face must’ve cured him of the need to wear glasses or something.
And, besides having only one friend in life that had to be Jewish, Berthold also has to have a girlfriend that happens to be Jewish. He falls in (insta-) love with a girl from Ciechanów who is a gifted journalist, we’re told, and arranges for her to interview German college students about their thoughts on Nazism, in a series of scenes that read more like extracts from history books than, again, natural conversation. And, again, these are used to paint Berthold as the poster child of the Good German stereotype, when one of the German Jewish students tells Anna apologetically that she’s too educated and clean for an Eastern Jew. Congratulations, Berthold, you’re such an enlightened saint that even German Jews are racist against other Jews compared to you, who are so not a Nazi that you end up sleeping with this Jewish girl. It reads uncomfortably close to the Token Black trope, using people of colour as props to underline a character doesn’t have a racist bone in their body.
Berthold runs around being inserted in key people’s decisions like some kind of Aryan Forrest Gump. A Nazi figure that’s in the history books is a Nazi figure Berthold has to meet, even when it doesn’t make the most sense. And that’s how this supposedly ordinary German gets to see Hitler during the Beerhall Putsch (what was a kid doing there?), gets used for propaganda (against his will, naturally) by Goebbels, gets trounced in a “friendly” boxing match by Heydrich, gets to party with Hanfstaengl and have his wife play matchmaker for him, gets to make snide comments on Schacht without a backstory in economics, gets to pass on damaging info on the Nazis to Cardinal Faulhaber . . . They are all here! A veritable Rogues Gallery of top figures. It is just too much and stretches credulity so thin it breaks. And it’s only the first book.
Anna is better as a character, more authentically a product of her culture than Berthold of his, but she, too, is used as a mouthpiece. She comes from an unassuming family in a small town and has grander dreams, which she achieves unbelievably fast and with no real merit other than the plot needing her to. She goes to study to the big city, and right away she’s meeting the most famous Jewish woman in all of Poland, which is credible enough given her job as a journalist, but soon that is shot down when she starts meeting famous Poles in a quick succession: Pilsudski, Begin, Bielski, Eventash, etc. And did I mention that her best friend is, of course, the one famous Jewish girl from Ciechanów, Róza Robota, she of Auschwitz-Birkenau Sonderkommando revolt fame? Anna even poses as a pseudo-Elie Wiesel author insert with her I-blame-God spiel . . . before the gas chambers have even started, before the Kristallnacht.
My last, but no less important, issue is that the characters are protected by plot armour that saves them from situations that would’ve played out differently in real life. It’s not quite Too Stupid To Live levels of plot armour, but fantastical enough to test suspension of disbelief, like the scene with Heydrich finding out these two discovered the truth behind a concentration camp massacre, from which they walk away free. You mean to tell me that Reinhard Heydrich of all people let you know in person that he has the goods on you, knows you’re having a romance with a Jewish journalist with inconvenient information on the regime, and he let you go with only a few threatening Hollywood Villain lines? Real German journalists at that time lost their freedom and lives for less damning information than that, and I’m expected to believe this scene is plausible. And, though this isn’t quite the spoiler since it’s on the prologue, I’m hiding it just in case, the kicker:
“A Flood of Evil” could be good with another pair of editorial eyes it needed to constructively mould the story, because the combination of the above mentioned issues make the narration fragmentary and the characterisation so unengaging it’s hard to care for the protagonists. I do understand what Mr Weinstein intended to write, but I think it got lost in the execution. I could guess from what books certain parts came, where the excerpts were lifted from to write situations and conversations, what the author’s Weltanschauung is, but because I’ve read the same books, there was no story for me. A glance at the bibliography provided at the end once I was finished reading only confirmed my guesses: I have indeed read them, too, so the last thing I expected was a regurgitation of the points in them. I’m aware that other readers that might not be as familiar with or particular about WWII history will react differently, but I simply can’t look past that the novel is severely affected by the issues I listed, and I can’t continue to the second book and finish the trilogy. I already know what is coming, know what Róza will do, can see who the rest of the yet-to-appear Rogues Gallery is going to be, so in all likelihood there’s no enjoyment to be had for me there.
Thank you to the author for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
The main and biggest issue for me was the novel’s didacticism. This is a frequent enough issue in Historical Fiction that one astute reader here said once, paraphrasing, that in good Historical Fiction the historical background has to serve the interest of the characters, to serve as a way to highlight their personalities, choices, actions, etc. The setting should always be in service to the characters, history has to be in service to story. In this novel, however, the characters seem to just be the conduit for writing about the history.
And that’s why it’s a problem to me. The plotline is presented in such a didactic way that, at one point there isn’t even a minimum effort to disguise it, when Berthold’s mother is confronting her other son, Nazi supporter Dietrich, and she says this:
“Are you hurt badly, Mama?” Dietrich asked.
“A little cut is all,” Elisabeth said. “It will heal.” She seemed to be weighing something, then made a decision and added, “Go on, Dietrich. Tell us more about Germany and Hitler.”
Dietrich straightened to his full height, his powerful physique well displayed. He was obviously pleased to be taken seriously by his mother. He took a seat at the table and began.
“When we came home from the war, we were confused. We didn’t know what had happened, why Germany had not been victorious. But at least we thought the German people would welcome us back. They did not. There was no respect for us and our fight for the Fatherland. There were no jobs. There was no place for us in Germany. Everywhere we turned, we were made to feel unworthy. It was mainly the Communists and Jews who rejected us. Some of my friends joined the Nazi Party.”
This is supposed to be a conversation between mother and son, a mother trying to understand how her child got his mind warped by the Nazi ideology and desperate to make him see the wrongs of the party he’s joined, and yet, it reads not like a natural exchange between close family but like a Show and Tell exposition at school, the teacher asking the little schoolboy step in front of the class and tell his piece. “So, Dietrich my dear, do tell us what you find so cool about this Hitler chap, because surely it can’t be his mustache. And whilst you’re at it, please talk like a 2016 Republican candidate, in case someone didn’t get the Orange Man = Mustache Man memo, but do try to not give people an unfortunate mental image that you’re giving your Make Germany Great Again speech in a Bavarian hillbilly accent, will you? We’re in a Very Serious Novel here.”
This is supposed to be the story of an ordinary German who never supported the regime but worked from the inside to thwart it in any way he could, and the story of an ordinary Polish Jew who became first a pen warrior warning of the impending doom of her people and then sharing that fate with them in the concentration camps. But we don’t see it, don’t see them transform into what they’re supposed to be as per the description. We’re simply told. We aren’t shown how come a family of everyday Germans ended up having one son be an anti-Nazi that’ll rescue a tonne of people and the other son no less than Hitler’s personal chauffeur willing to take a bullet meant for his boss. And the same goes for the girl from an Orthodox Jewish family in an obscure shtetl that somehow thinks often like a Jew from our times with hindsight knowledge rather than what her sheltered and conservative background would suggest. Neither protagonist works towards the conclusion that Hitler is dangerous and has evil plans, they work backwards from hindsight and already knowing what’s going to happen; one chapter even ends in “this wasn’t known until six million were killed.” And it isn’t even a result of the characters telling their story as old people who survived but the result of using them as mere conduits for commentary on historical events and figures.
Because of this, they don’t feel like genuine people that live their story either. Instead, they’re like human cameras, human recorders, thrown into selected situations and places. Berthold, for example, is said to be Catholic, but it reads like his Catholicism is merely a manner to have him interact with the Church’s hierarchy, because he sure doesn’t convince at it. It’s not easy to convey my point, but I’ll try: it’s like the “tree glasses” scene in Inglorious Basterds. The small details a dyed-in-the-wool Catholic would detect and that give Berthold away as the most generic Christian instead of a Catholic are all throughout the novel, but to give one blatant example, his scene at the cathedral is a giveaway. There’s a joke that you can always spot the tourists and atheists at historic churches because of how they behave, and let me tell you that when I reached that scene, my thought was that if Hans Landa were persecuting Catholics, our boy Berthold would be in hot water.
If it were just that one aspect, it would be trivial, a minimal faux pas, but there’s more stuff of this nature. More and more scenes accumulate that paint a picture of writing by inserting characters in scenarios that sometimes are unnecessary for the plot or confusing as to their purpose, and others that are there to make Berthold or Anna be bigger Mary Sues than they already are. For example, Berthold, whose only friend in life is conveniently Jewish, gets into a fistfight at university to defend this friend, whom the text says got his glasses knocked off his face by the Nazi bullies, but once Berthold beats the bullies, his friend just walks on by his side wowing his saviour’s boxing prowess, glasses completely forgotten and no mention of them again. That punch to his face must’ve cured him of the need to wear glasses or something.
And, besides having only one friend in life that had to be Jewish, Berthold also has to have a girlfriend that happens to be Jewish. He falls in (insta-) love with a girl from Ciechanów who is a gifted journalist, we’re told, and arranges for her to interview German college students about their thoughts on Nazism, in a series of scenes that read more like extracts from history books than, again, natural conversation. And, again, these are used to paint Berthold as the poster child of the Good German stereotype, when one of the German Jewish students tells Anna apologetically that she’s too educated and clean for an Eastern Jew. Congratulations, Berthold, you’re such an enlightened saint that even German Jews are racist against other Jews compared to you, who are so not a Nazi that you end up sleeping with this Jewish girl. It reads uncomfortably close to the Token Black trope, using people of colour as props to underline a character doesn’t have a racist bone in their body.
Berthold runs around being inserted in key people’s decisions like some kind of Aryan Forrest Gump. A Nazi figure that’s in the history books is a Nazi figure Berthold has to meet, even when it doesn’t make the most sense. And that’s how this supposedly ordinary German gets to see Hitler during the Beerhall Putsch (what was a kid doing there?), gets used for propaganda (against his will, naturally) by Goebbels, gets trounced in a “friendly” boxing match by Heydrich, gets to party with Hanfstaengl and have his wife play matchmaker for him, gets to make snide comments on Schacht without a backstory in economics, gets to pass on damaging info on the Nazis to Cardinal Faulhaber . . . They are all here! A veritable Rogues Gallery of top figures. It is just too much and stretches credulity so thin it breaks. And it’s only the first book.
Anna is better as a character, more authentically a product of her culture than Berthold of his, but she, too, is used as a mouthpiece. She comes from an unassuming family in a small town and has grander dreams, which she achieves unbelievably fast and with no real merit other than the plot needing her to. She goes to study to the big city, and right away she’s meeting the most famous Jewish woman in all of Poland, which is credible enough given her job as a journalist, but soon that is shot down when she starts meeting famous Poles in a quick succession: Pilsudski, Begin, Bielski, Eventash, etc. And did I mention that her best friend is, of course, the one famous Jewish girl from Ciechanów, Róza Robota, she of Auschwitz-Birkenau Sonderkommando revolt fame? Anna even poses as a pseudo-Elie Wiesel author insert with her I-blame-God spiel . . . before the gas chambers have even started, before the Kristallnacht.
My last, but no less important, issue is that the characters are protected by plot armour that saves them from situations that would’ve played out differently in real life. It’s not quite Too Stupid To Live levels of plot armour, but fantastical enough to test suspension of disbelief, like the scene with Heydrich finding out these two discovered the truth behind a concentration camp massacre, from which they walk away free. You mean to tell me that Reinhard Heydrich of all people let you know in person that he has the goods on you, knows you’re having a romance with a Jewish journalist with inconvenient information on the regime, and he let you go with only a few threatening Hollywood Villain lines? Real German journalists at that time lost their freedom and lives for less damning information than that, and I’m expected to believe this scene is plausible. And, though this isn’t quite the spoiler since it’s on the prologue, I’m hiding it just in case, the kicker:
“A Flood of Evil” could be good with another pair of editorial eyes it needed to constructively mould the story, because the combination of the above mentioned issues make the narration fragmentary and the characterisation so unengaging it’s hard to care for the protagonists. I do understand what Mr Weinstein intended to write, but I think it got lost in the execution. I could guess from what books certain parts came, where the excerpts were lifted from to write situations and conversations, what the author’s Weltanschauung is, but because I’ve read the same books, there was no story for me. A glance at the bibliography provided at the end once I was finished reading only confirmed my guesses: I have indeed read them, too, so the last thing I expected was a regurgitation of the points in them. I’m aware that other readers that might not be as familiar with or particular about WWII history will react differently, but I simply can’t look past that the novel is severely affected by the issues I listed, and I can’t continue to the second book and finish the trilogy. I already know what is coming, know what Róza will do, can see who the rest of the yet-to-appear Rogues Gallery is going to be, so in all likelihood there’s no enjoyment to be had for me there.
Thank you to the author for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
September 13, 2016
I've always been interested in the how and why of the Nazi rise to power. There are plenty of stories about the holocaust, the evils of the Nazis, the torture, etc. It's good to know about this, but there's not a lot to say about it other than it happened, it was terrible, and it should hopefully never happen again. Reading more about what happened just gets depressing, unless it's a story about how someone either escaped, or somehow did something good in spite of the evils.
This book, though, is different. It didn't say much about any of that, although perhaps the next in the series will do so. But this book told about how it got started, and what it was like for the people living in the middle of it all during the early days. And that's what I liked about the story.
It starts out with the trial of a Nazi who is facing death for his part in the atrocities. Just another evil Nazi who deserves to die, it seems. But his death is averted by the testimony of a Jewish woman whose family was all killed by the Nazis, and she herself was forced to prostitute herself to the Germans to survive death. Yet she pleaded for his life, and he was saved. The book is about why she did this. And we find out that perhaps not all of the Nazis were evil. And perhaps many of the allies were more evil than he was. It's a love story about a brave couple who did all they could to try to stop Hitler's rise to power. There were probably many such people who got caught up in this movement, some who were too weak to resist, and others who were too afraid to speak out but did what they could to oppose it. It is a reminder not to judge individuals for the actions of their leaders, if nothing else.
It's also educational and useful to avoid any repetition of this rise to power. I couldn't help but see parallels to the Trump phenomenon, and I can better understand why people compare him to Nazis. It has nothing to do with whether he hates Jews - I don't really know if he does or doesn't; but I see the parallels in the way he appeals to the lower levels and tries to put blame on "lesser human" people who need to be controlled, the way he keeps denying his views when they turn out to be unpopular or inconvenient, changing them to fit his audience at the time, etc.
I went back and reread the prologue after finishing the book and found it to be much more meaningful and emotional after knowing the full story. Now, I'm waiting for Book Two, to see what happens during the actual war.
This book, though, is different. It didn't say much about any of that, although perhaps the next in the series will do so. But this book told about how it got started, and what it was like for the people living in the middle of it all during the early days. And that's what I liked about the story.
It starts out with the trial of a Nazi who is facing death for his part in the atrocities. Just another evil Nazi who deserves to die, it seems. But his death is averted by the testimony of a Jewish woman whose family was all killed by the Nazis, and she herself was forced to prostitute herself to the Germans to survive death. Yet she pleaded for his life, and he was saved. The book is about why she did this. And we find out that perhaps not all of the Nazis were evil. And perhaps many of the allies were more evil than he was. It's a love story about a brave couple who did all they could to try to stop Hitler's rise to power. There were probably many such people who got caught up in this movement, some who were too weak to resist, and others who were too afraid to speak out but did what they could to oppose it. It is a reminder not to judge individuals for the actions of their leaders, if nothing else.
It's also educational and useful to avoid any repetition of this rise to power. I couldn't help but see parallels to the Trump phenomenon, and I can better understand why people compare him to Nazis. It has nothing to do with whether he hates Jews - I don't really know if he does or doesn't; but I see the parallels in the way he appeals to the lower levels and tries to put blame on "lesser human" people who need to be controlled, the way he keeps denying his views when they turn out to be unpopular or inconvenient, changing them to fit his audience at the time, etc.
I went back and reread the prologue after finishing the book and found it to be much more meaningful and emotional after knowing the full story. Now, I'm waiting for Book Two, to see what happens during the actual war.
October 12, 2016
I learned so much history from this book. Can not wait for book two! For those waiting for book two, if you have not read "The Heretic" it is excellent!!!!
December 4, 2017
A Flood of Evil is the story of the rise of Nazism seen through the eyes of two young lovers, one a German catholic young man and the other a bright and ambitious young Polish Jewess.
It is a most effective narrative tool and deals with a time perhaps not quite as well known as the twelve terrible years when the Third Reich was in power. The most disturbing aspect of the book is how the main German character Berthold Becker becomes involuntarily ensnared by the Nazis from a very young age. He both hates and is terrified by them but, despite, this, he becomes some kind of totem and is even taken under the wing of the odious Goebbels. Hitler's propaganda chief is one of several real-life characters in the book.
In Poland Anna Gorska is aware of the anti-Semitism in her own country and her burgeoning journalist career brings her into contact with the Polish leader Jozef Pilsudski who does all he can to hold back the growing tide of anti-Jewish feeling.
Berthold is virtually forced to join the Nazi party and chooses use his position to feed information about the party's plans and attitudes to important Jews in Munich where he lives and, through Anna, to the Polish government. The book closes with Hitler's accession to power in Germany in January 1933.
Lewis Weinstein has set himself a very difficult task. Whilst this book is a fairly straightforward narrative told very well and with a whole host of interesting characters, the sequel we know from the beginning of this book is going to try to answer that most impenetrable of all questions of the Third Reich - why? I look forward to see how he tackles it.
David Lowther. Author of The Blue Pencil, Liberating Belsen, Two Families at War and The Summer of '39, all published by Sacristy Press.
It is a most effective narrative tool and deals with a time perhaps not quite as well known as the twelve terrible years when the Third Reich was in power. The most disturbing aspect of the book is how the main German character Berthold Becker becomes involuntarily ensnared by the Nazis from a very young age. He both hates and is terrified by them but, despite, this, he becomes some kind of totem and is even taken under the wing of the odious Goebbels. Hitler's propaganda chief is one of several real-life characters in the book.
In Poland Anna Gorska is aware of the anti-Semitism in her own country and her burgeoning journalist career brings her into contact with the Polish leader Jozef Pilsudski who does all he can to hold back the growing tide of anti-Jewish feeling.
Berthold is virtually forced to join the Nazi party and chooses use his position to feed information about the party's plans and attitudes to important Jews in Munich where he lives and, through Anna, to the Polish government. The book closes with Hitler's accession to power in Germany in January 1933.
Lewis Weinstein has set himself a very difficult task. Whilst this book is a fairly straightforward narrative told very well and with a whole host of interesting characters, the sequel we know from the beginning of this book is going to try to answer that most impenetrable of all questions of the Third Reich - why? I look forward to see how he tackles it.
David Lowther. Author of The Blue Pencil, Liberating Belsen, Two Families at War and The Summer of '39, all published by Sacristy Press.
November 5, 2018
Very compelling historical fiction chronicling Adolf Hitler's rise to power, ushering in Nazi Germany. Using the interconnected families to weave this story was an excellent way to present it....am looking forward to the sequel.
June 7, 2020
This is an historical novel of the first order. It is a very readable history of the origins of the Nazi horror in Germany prior to WWII; covering the years 1923-1933 as seen through the eyes of a young German man who becomes a Nazi and his Jewish girlfriend, an accomplished journalist. It is a history, yes, but it is also a novel with a captivating story-line that any reader will appreciate and enjoy. I am proud to say the author is one of my Goodreads friends. Another fine job, Lewis.
November 4, 2018
I put this book on my Kindle some time ago actually waiting until I thought book 2 would be close to publication. But vacation was nearing and I knew I was ready to re-enter World War 2 again. Excellent construction and characters - I really came to care for the characters. You have a better feel for them as they span the present day and relive their experiences. You see the effect that this had on their lives and then you drop into the moment of their youth where events swirled around them and are drawn into the events of history and have to decide what part they should play in it.
This is also an excellent view into how Hitler came to be in power. I don't think I ever knew the inside dealing and the way German politics work. If Book 2 is delayed that should not be a problem because I would want to re-read this anyway.
This is also an excellent view into how Hitler came to be in power. I don't think I ever knew the inside dealing and the way German politics work. If Book 2 is delayed that should not be a problem because I would want to re-read this anyway.
October 14, 2016
Lew Weinstein is a master at Historical Fiction. His description of the lead up to Hitler's Germany is eerily similar to what we are seeing in this year's presidential election. People then asked "how could Hitler rise to power"? Well, we're living it, but I digress. The story is more than just a story of Hitler's Germany - it is also a story of two unlikely lovers and the readers gets to learn how this relationship blossomed. Can't wait for Vol. 2!
July 11, 2016
Lloyd summed it up very well. I think it is a very good introduction to what must have existed: opposition to Hitler in his rise to power and during the war possible underground resistance, some of which is well known. I look to Part 2 coming out.
June 23, 2021
This novel, Book One, covers the years 1923-1933. The man protagonists are German Catholic boy Berthold Becker and Polish girl Anna Gorska. They have fallen in love; a love by the Nazi rules, is illegal. This novel covers the early rise of Adolph Hitler and the Nazis in Germany. The young lovers both struggle to work together in order to prevent Hitler's rise to power. Needless to say, they have their work cut out for them. Given what the reader knows about the early success of The Third Reich, and its ultimate doom. It is well written, and is historically accurate. There are some fictional characters in the novel, but that can be attributed to artistic license. Each and every time I read such novels about The Third Reich I ask myself, "What were people thinking?" There is a saying, "The only thing we learn from history is that we do not learn." Perhaps WW1 General Erich Ludendorff, a 1923 Putsch conspirator, wrote it a letter to German President Paul Von Hindenburg, " You have delivered up our holy German Fatherland to one of the worst demagogues of all time. I solemnly prophesy that this accursed man will cast our Reich into the abyss and bring our nation to inconceivable misery. Future generations will damn you in your grave for what you have done." That statement, indeed, came to past.
June 28, 2022
I only read a few pages of this book, however, I was not gripped by the dialogue. Perhaps it was because the book did not start and maintain a single person's perspective, so I couldn't connect to a character or immerse myself in the story. I also don't think it helped to go from 1945 straight to 1990 (my attention wavered).
June 2, 2021
Very interesting book! I learned a lot about the politics in Germany during the period of time before Hitler rose to power. I've not come across much in historical fiction that covers this period. I do intend to read the sequel, "A Promise Kept". Nice work, Mr. Weinstein!
May 23, 2017
Interesting weaving of fact with fiction to create a fast reading novel of a couple that works to act against the rise of Hitler and Nazis in their "small" way.
January 22, 2018
No one does historical fiction like Lewis Weinstein. Anxious for the sequel!!
March 20, 2023
Dry but well intended. Longer review tbr
February 5, 2017
Flood of Evil is part one of a two part novel that tells how a German national joins forces with a Polish girl to oppose Hitler in his rise to power. Lewis M. Weinstein has meticulously researched his subject matter so that the novel is historically accurate while simultaneously conveying the growing menace of those dark times. I look forward to part two.
December 13, 2016
This is definitely not my choice of reading material; I know so little about that time in our history. A friend recommended this book so I read it. I enjoyed it, found it interesting, learned from it and recommend it.
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