La Buena Gente

Una novela sobre la Segunda Guerra Mundial inspirada en un caso real: el bisabuelo de Ursula Werner fue secretario de Estado de Economia durante el regimen de Hitler. En su familia no se hablaba de el, hasta que en 2011 la autora encontro una cantidad de cartas y recortes de periodicos ocultos en la casa de su tia, en Hamburgo.

Alemania, 1944. Los ninos viven su infancia pese a todo, y los adultos intentan mantener los ojos y los oidos cerrados. Mientras tanto, algunos se juegan la vida por ayudar a otros...

Cuando estalla la Segunda Guerra Mundial, Edith y Oskar Eberhardt trasladan a su familia -su hija Marina, su yerno Franz y las hijas de estos- desde Berlin hasta una pequena casa en la tranquila ciudad de Blumental, cerca de Suiza. Oskar, un miembro del gabinete de Hitler, esta ausente casi todo el tiempo, y Franz combate en la guerra, de modo que las mujeres de la casa se quedan solas, llevando una existencia tranquila en una pintoresca poblacion.

Sin embargo, la vida en Blumental no es tan idilica como parece. Un joven capitan nazi aterroriza a los ciudadanos a quienes deberia proteger. Los vecinos se espian mutuamente, y algunos desaparecen de manera misteriosa.

Mientras tanto, Marina colabora con un sacerdote protestante que ayuda a refugiados judios a cruzar la cercana frontera con Suiza. Todo se complicara cuando Oskar regrese a casa con la noticia de que el Fuhrer viajara a la zona y que piensa visitar a los Eberhardt.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

Based on the author's discoveries about her great-grandfather, this stunning debut novel takes place over three days when World War II comes to the doorstep of an ordinary German family living in an idyllic, rural village near the Swiss border.

When World War II breaks out, Edith and Oskar Eberhardt move their family--their daughter, Marina; son-in-law, Franz; and their granddaughters--out of Berlin and into a small house in the quiet town of Blumental, near Switzerland. A member of Hitler's cabinet, Oskar is gone most of the time, and Franz begins fighting in the war, so the women of the house are left to their quiet lives in the picturesque village.

But life in Blumental isn't as idyllic as it appears. An egotistical Nazi captain terrorizes the citizens he's assigned to protect. Neighbors spy on each other. Some mysteriously disappear. Marina has a lover who also has close ties to her family and the government. Thinking none of them share her hatred of the Reich, she joins a Protestant priest smuggling Jewish refugees over the nearby Swiss border. The latest "package" is two Polish girls who've lost the rest of their family, and against her better judgment, Marina finds she must hide them in the Eberhardt's cellar. Everything is set to go smoothly until Oskar comes home with the news that the Fuhrer will be visiting the area for a concert, and he will be making a house call on the Eberhardts.

Based on the author's discoveries about her great-grandfather, this extraordinary debut, full of love, tragedy, and suspense, is a sensitive portrait of a family torn between doing their duty for their country and doing what's right for their country, and especially for those they love.