Books set in Nazi Germany

When I read, I always underline significant sentences, examples of great writing, compelling descriptions, and quotes about life to reflect on. Since most of my reading is e-books, I have a handy library of underlined books at my fingertips. Today, I’m sharing three titles featuring Nazi Germany both fiction and narrative non-fiction with the thought of sharing a few quotes.

What stands out from these novels? What might be meaningful for this time of profound change and uncertainty?

The Mitford Affair by Marie Benedict

Between the World Wars, the six Mitford sisters dominate the English political, literary, and social scenes. Though they’ve weathered scandals before, the family falls into disarray when Diana divorces her husband to marry a fascist leader and Unity follows her sister’s lead, inciting rumours that she’s become Hitler’s mistress.

Probing the torrid political climate leading up to World War II and the ways that sensible people can be sucked into radical action, The Mitford Affair follows Nancy Mitford’s valiant efforts to deal with her sisters and the cost of placing loyalty to her country above loyalty to her family.

A Few Quotes that resonate for me:

Concerned about the British Fascist party that arose in the 1930s, Nancy Mitford says: “They only need to look a little further, to Germany, to see what happens when a fascist leader is given any power … without the willing adherence of men and women like Diana and Unity [two of Nancy’s sisters], these fascist leaders have no power.”

Through Unity, Diana becomes acquainted with Hitler. “Rarely do their conversations touch on actual politics – Hitler does not believe that is a woman’s realm – but when they do, she acts the part of an ardent fascist.”

Unity is devoted to Hitler and believes that she will be “the one to lift him up to his God-given place as the Supreme Furher of Europe.“

The Mitford sisters’ father was a British peer. In 1938, he made a speech in the House of Lords. “I think we can all agree about the inevitability of Austria becoming part of Germany.” As she listens to her father, Nancy Mitford wonders how is it that her family has become a megaphone for Hitler.

In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson

The time is 1933, the place, Berlin, when William E. Dodd becomes America’s first ambassador to Hitler’s Germany in a year that proved to be a turning point in history … Dodd watches with alarm as Jews are attacked, the press is censored, and drafts of frightening new laws begin to circulate. As that first year unfolds and the shadows deepen, the Dodds experience days full of excitement, intrigue, romance and ultimately, horror, when a climactic spasm of violence and murder reveals Hitler’s true character and ruthless ambition.

This is the first Erik Larson book I read. It’s an engrossing page-turner that reads almost like fiction.

A Few Quotes:

In 1933, George Messersmith, America’s consul general in Berlin, briefed Dodd mentioning “Germany’s rapid descent from democratic republic to brutal dictatorship … Messersmith wrote of the widespread violence that had occurred in the several months that immediately followed Hitler’s appointment and of the increasing control the government exerted over all aspects of German society.” He also wrote of “Germany’s once-vibrant free press, which had been placed under government control … [such that] the press censorship may be considered an absolute.”

“The Gestapo’s reputation for omniscience and malevolence arose from a confluence of two phenomena: first, a political climate in which merely criticizing the government could get one arrested, and second, the existence of a populace eager not just to step in line and become coordinated but also to use Nazi sensitivities to satisfy individual needs and salve jealousies.”

“… we are living at present in a sea of denunciations and human meanness.“

“Throughout that first year in Germany, Dodd had been struck again and again by the strange indifference to atrocity that had settled over the nation, the willingness of the populace and of the moderate elements in the government to accept each new oppressive decree, each new act of violence, without protest. It was as if he had entered the dark forest of a fairy tale where all the rules of right and wrong were upended.”

The Ragged Edge of Night by Olivia Hawker

Germany, 1942. Franciscan friar Anton Starzmann is stripped of his place in the world when his school is seized by the Nazis. He relocates to a small German hamlet to wed Elisabeth Herter, a widow who seeks a marriage—in name only—to a man who can help raise her three children. Anton seeks something too—atonement for failing to protect his young students from the wrath of the Nazis. But neither he nor Elisabeth expects their lives to be shaken once again by the inescapable rumble of war.

Set in Nazi Germany, The Ragged Edge of the Night is a powerful story of a priest turned husband turned resistance leader. Hateful forces had grown so powerful that they destroyed a nation and were marching on to threaten the world. Highly recommended.

A Few Quotes

“One never knows, these days, who listens and reports, and who listens and agrees.”

“We march inexorably toward our destination. There is no curve or gentle slope to relieve us; straight ahead lies the conclusion of our national folly, the terrible work we set in motion at some unknown point in time.”

“Nothing is so unworthy of a civilized nation as allowing itself to be governed, without opposition, by an irresponsible clique that has yielded to base instinct. It is certain that today, every honest German is ashamed of his government. Who among us has any conception of the dimensions of shame that will befall us and our children when one day the veil has fallen from our eyes and the most horrible crimes – crimes that infinitely outdistance every human measure – reach the light of day?”

“If we had taken up this habit of kindness long ago, before we fell into darkness, what suffering might we have spared the world and ourselves?“

“Every outrage, every death, each new act of inhumanity wrings from us another drop of resolve.”

This is not the first time I’ve shared historical fiction and non-fiction titles that offer insights on today’s situation.

• In July 2024, I mentioned several with the title Historical Fiction and the Spectre of Donald Trump
• in February 2025, I posted thoughts based on a biography of Mildred Harnack, a woman who was active in the resistance to Hitler, titled All the Frequent Troubles of our Days.
• In May 2024, I wrote about Anne Applebaum’s book Twilight of Democracy which has much to say about authoritarianism including conditions in the US
• and in 2023 I featured Madeleine Albright’s book Fascism: A Warning.

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M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel THAT WAS THEN is a contemporary thriller. Mary’s other novels, THE ADMIRAL’S WIFE, PARIS IN RUINS, TIME AND REGRET, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook or on her website www.mktod.com.