Luck of the Weissensteiners: The Three Nations Trilogy, Book 1 by Christoph Fischer

This story begins in the decade prior to World War II, in a small town in Czechoslovakia called Bratislava, and follows two families through the war. I've read several books over the years written both by survivors and first hand accounts of witnesses to the tragedies and atrocities committed during the Holocaust. It was obvious to me from the attention to detail in the story that the author was meticulous in his research. The minutiae of everyday life somehow made the events portrayed much more real to me. Sometimes I feel disconnected when I read, that wasn't the case here. I was grateful for the slow pace at which the story moved in the beginning; it gave me time to absorb what was happening and develop a connection to the characters.

Fischer accurately portrays the cares and concerns of life in this time period for people living both in the city and the country. That attention to detail is reflected in the daily lives of the Weissensteiners and Winkelmeiers. Greedy men gobbled up land and possession that had been taken from Jews without regard for the hardships their former owners had to endure because of that loss.

Fischer captures the tension Jews felt as Hitler's armies pressed closer to Bratislava. Wilma's fear after being attacked on the bridge is palpable. The fear of being discovered as Jewish was very real and the penalties were stiff. I couldn't agree with the Winkelmeiers sending Greta and Ernst back to her family. After all, they were his grandparents. But they too had a very real fear of being discovered in the act of harboring and protecting their Jewish daughter-in-law and grandson.

What Fischer accomplished for me that no other author to date has, was present how rational, thinking people could possibly accept the lies they were being fed about the Jewish people in a way that I could almost understand. That has always confused me. Yet, as I watched how Wilhelm responded to the allegations, and gradually began accepting them, I developed an understanding of how thorough the Hitler propaganda machine really was.

This was not a comfortable nor easy book to read. Given the subject matter, I don't think it should be. I was at times tense, nervous, scared, relieved and hopeful. Although I wasn't able to read the book through without putting it down and getting some distance from the story, I am still giving it five stars. The story affected me deeply and helped me to understand a little better a very dark time in human history.

For me, this is a must read book. We should never forget what was done to so many millions of people. Fischer has given a voice to a sector I'd not yet heard from in this era. Well researched, well written, well edited. An excellent story. I would definitely read the other books in this series. I was gifted a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is available from Amazon and Smashwords.