The German Officer’s Boy by Harlan Greene

In spare, vivid, and compelling prose, Greene imagines their world, their relationship, and their last horrific encounter, as they tried to wrest love and meaning from a world that would itself soon disappear in a whirlwind of disaster and madness. Historians have tried to explain away Herschel Grynszpan's claim that he was involved in a love affair with vom Rath Greene, instead, traces the lives of the underprivileged and persecuted Herschel Grynszpan and the wealthy German diplomat Ernst vom Rath as they move inevitably towards their ill-fated affair. In this historical novel, award-winning writer Harlan Greene may be the first author to take the Polish Jew at his word. Lost and overlooked in the aftermath is the arresting story of Herschel Grynszpan, the confused teenager whose murder of Ernst vom Rath was used to justify Kristallnacht. What really happened that afternoon in November 1938, when the young Polish Jew walked into the German embassy in Paris and shots rang out? The immediate consequence was concrete: Nazis in Germany retaliated with the 'Night of Broken Glass,' recognized as the beginning of the Holocaust. Prelude to Kristallnacht: desire and duty collide in a dangerous love story. Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press 1 edition (February 1, 2005) I read this is in one evening- that is how utterly amazing this book was. Harlan Greene has brought to life 'the boy who started World War II' in a headlong narrative both tender and terrifying.' - Katherine Govier. 'A highly original and compassionate account of how the fires of a forbidden love engulfed Europe. Stephan Schmetterling's Inside Reader Listġ) The German Officer's Boy by Harlan Greene. Not yet a published author, I believe we will see soon maybe an historical essay? In any case, Stefan's list is for sure an interesting dig for new 'out of the ordinary' books. Elisa_rolle Show me the books he loves and I shall know the man far better than through mortal friends - Silas Weir MitchellStephan is one of my LiveJournal friends, and also a judge for the Rainbow Awards.

The German Officer’s Boy by Harlan Greene