Stella

amzn.to/37LkiGJ

This is a Nazi book.

World War II seems like ancient history, but in the sixties it was only twenty years previous. If you were Jewish you were still on guard, and ironically after the ensuing decades you are once again. There were trials and memorials and by time one hit the seventies there were even movies, like "Marathon Man," never mind "The Boys From Brazil."

And when they found Mengele, or at least his remains, back in the eighties, that kind of put the Nazi story to bed, then it became all about making subsequent generations aware of the history. Sure, we had the case of John Demjanjuk, but not only was the younger generation in the U.S. detached, but so was the younger generation in Germany. Although they have laws about hate/discrimination in Germany today, when I was there back in 2013, our young Jewish tour guide told us she felt safer in Berlin than she did in Israel, because of said laws.

But not so much today. Right wing racism does not only exist in the U.S.

But now the focus is less on the cost of the war, i.e. the Holocaust, and just Hitler himself, even though there have been so many movies that Bruno Ganz's appearance in "Downfall" is still the underpinning of many memes. You see everybody keeps comparing behavior to that of Hitler, and Nazi Germany. And to tell you the truth, for a while there I thought I was safe over here, that we'd evolved, but not anymore, anti-Semitism is worse than at any time in my life. People make anti-Semitic cracks without penalty, they're cheered on. Because after all, all of the world's problems are caused by the Jews.

Then again, if you're Jewish you wince whenever a Jew perpetrates a crime. You look at the name and... However today, as a result of intermarriage, the name is not definitive. But still...

So the best recent Nazi book is Erik Larson's "In the Garden of Beasts," from 2011. The book has no arc, typical of Larson, but the facts! Mind-blowing! Bottom line, the American ambassador's adult daughter fraternized with all the heavy Nazis. And then you go to Berlin and you see the locations from the book... If you're ever gonna go to Berlin read this book first. It's Larson's second best, after "The Devil in the White City." And if you liked the feel of "Babylon Berlin," you'll love "In the Garden of Beasts" too.

Now the truth is "Stella" is translated from the German. And also in truth, the flow is not perfect, whether the flaw is in the original or the translation, but it's only 139 pages long. That's not much of a commitment, right?

So what you've got is a Swiss protagonist who moves to Berlin during the war and...

The perspective is unique, since Switzerland is neutral, all the draconian laws don't apply to him. He lives his wealthy lifestyle almost unhindered.

But, he falls in love with a singer and finds himself hanging with Nazis and...

I don't want to ruin it. But the truth is after you finish this book your jaw will drop. You'll head to the internet and do research. It'll stick with you.

I wholeheartedly recommend "Stella."

If you like Nazi books, that is.

And in truth, baby boomers still remember the fear, and with fascism on the rise...

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