A House in Berlin is an epic novel covering the period from 1939 to the summer of 1944. It follows actual events, and provides plausible interactions between fictional and historical characters. *****During World War II, Germany wasn't a pleasant environment. It was especially difficult for: - Dieter, an army officer who served in the Great War. His wounded leg had never fully healed. When called up again, he was initially confined to a desk job in army intelligence. He was passing information to the British and risked being shot as a spy; - Clara, the woman Dieter loved, had a mysterious past and was afraid for her life;- Ernst, a top salesman for Krupp before the war, lost his job when Hitler stopped all sales of steel outside the Reich. Unable to find other employment, he accepted a commission in the army;- Paula, who left and divorced Ernst when he could no longer support her life style; - Berthold, Ernst's brother, who enlisted in the Luftwaffe but was too tall to fit in the cockpit of a fighter;- Karl, a fanatic Nazi and Himmler's nephew, who served in the SS but was disgraced in battle. With his uncle's help Karl found a job as a Gestapo inspector, which gave him leverage to pursue Dieter, his competitor for Clara.As the war progressed and went badly for Germany, life became even less pleasant for: - Berthold, shot down over the coast of England;- Dieter, suddenly removed from his desk job, trained hastily as a tank commander, and sent to the Russian front. Himmler arranged that he was to be kept in action until he was killed;- Clara, hiding under a fake identity because the Gestapo suspected she was Jewish;- Heinz, a brilliant Panzer general fired by Hitler for lack of satisfactory progress in terrible winter conditions; - and - - Klaus, a Bavarian noble who learned that Hitler survived the bomb he planted. ****As things fall apart, Dieter and Clara flee. Karl and his Gestapo henchman wait for them and spring their trap.
