Shadows Walking: A Novel
"What leads men and women of good will to violate fundamental ethical principles? How do they justify their behavior? Are we all capable of such acts? And if so, how can we guard ourselves from making these choices? These are the questions at the heart of my endeavor. ... My novel describes [an "ordinary" Nazi doctor,] able, for a while, to justify his actions and believe he was still fulfilling his sworn responsibilities to "do no harm." It tells the story of his descent into this abyss. And it allows me to raise two questions: first, what, if anything, can a perpetrator do to redeem himself? and second, what should society do if it becomes aware of his deeds? I have tried to be as faithful and attentive to historical events as I can be. ... Everything [inShadows Walking] either did happen or, I believe, could have happened. I want to evoke an historical reality--from the experiences Johann Brenner and Philipp Stein might have had in their childhood, to their involvement in the First World War and its chaotic aftermath during the fourteen years that "Germany tried democracy," to the impact of the Nazi regime on their lives and choices. These are crucial public events, affecting everyone who lived through them. The novel's more incidental facts, too--from the color of the American automobiles in Nuremberg in the immediate aftermath of World War II, to the improbable herd of goats in the streets of war-ravaged Berlin, to the slaughterhouse next to the train station in Freiburg--are drawn from my study of the sources, from reading other historical accounts, and from my personal experiences." -- from the author's "Afterword and Acknowledgments."For more detailed information about the more than eighty historical persons, places, incidents and events, as well as guides to further reading on aspects of Germany in the first half of the 20th century, please visit the website that I have designed as an enhancement of my novel: go to the world wide web on your URL address bar and type    shadowswalking.com