I am Germany by Michael Witt Starts at the fall of the Berlin Wall as Henry Schultz watches his former home from afar; he decides to return home and search for his childhood friend/ first love, Anna Himmell. Henry, a recent widow, we learn of his experiences as the Nazis came to power until his family fled Germany and moved to the United States. Upon his return to his childhood village, Edelberg, he sees how it has transformed as part of East Germany under Soviet rule, and he reunites with his childhood friends who shed light now just on what has happened in the 60 years since he last saw her, but she sheds some light on the events leading up to his family leaving, and then she begins to tell the horror she experienced.

The book got a little weird and confusing to me at that point, and I skimmed through some of the stuff. There are many books about concentration camps and some of the other Nazi atrocities, but this story focuses on the ones aimed at those with disabilities and how a young woman attempts to intervene. At times I was confused, but the story is fine; how the author led up to it that was confusing. Overall, this was a story from a different perspective, and that was well done despite its horrific subject matter.

I very much wanted to love I Am Germany, but unfortunately, I did not. While I like the author's choice of the woven timelines of Henry and Anna, the characterization and a plot that reveals their past and present lives lacks credibility.

I truly appreciate the authentic descriptions of Germany itself; the towns, the countryside, the dark history, and the proud heritage. However, young Anna is believable as a musical prodigy, but not so much as a very knowledgeable, outspoken and bold critic of the Nazi regime. Anna's brother and the other Nazis, however, are expertly depicted as brainwashed members of the Party. Likewise, the portraits of the German citizens who were torn between patriotism and the freedom of America, are quite believable. The plot is too filled with coincidence, however, to be credible.

An emotional and eye opening work of historical fiction that transports you back to WWII Germany and the terrifying power the Nazi party had over its citizens. The atrocities at Wartheim Castle were something that I never knew about until I read this very thoughtful and moving novel.

Henry Schultz's family left Nazi Germany and settled in the United States before the war broke out.  Now, in 1989 Henry watches the Berlin Wall fall on TV and decides it is time to go back to Germany.  Henry hopes to visit his former home and connect with his enchanting neighbor, Anna Himmel.  Arriving in Germany, Henry is surprised by all of the changes.  He finds Anna quickly, still residing in their childhood town.  Anna has changed, but she has not lost her spirit.  Anna desperately wants to tell Henry the story of her attempt to rescue a young girl from death, the affects her brother suffered working for the Reich and the consequences for her intervention.  

I Am Germany tells the important story of a population killed outside of the concentration camps, disabled children. Through Anna and Henry's alternating points of view from 1989 and and 1940, a harrowing story of the awful and truthful events in Hartheim Castle come to light.  With the two points of view and timelines, it did take a little while for me to settle into the story.  However, once Anna began her tale of rescue from Hartheim, I was fully engaged.  While I was aware of the additional killing of those who were disabled in Nazi Germany, I was unaware of the entirety of the act.  Anna learns that her brother is employed at Hartheim Castle, a fairytale setting, and will be engaged in heinous acts.  Anna's brother collects children with disabilities from their parents and tells them they will be receiving treatment, only to be killed upon reaching the castle.  This was a very real program at Hartheim and part of Action T4, an action of mass murder by involuntary euethenasia.  To add insult to the act, the parents were told that their children died at a later date of tuberculosis.  Through the writing the additional consequences of these killings are shown, the psychological effects on the employees forced to carry out the killings and dispose of the bodies as well as the people in the surrounding town showered in the ashes of the children.  I Am Germany is a powerful story of confronting the past and resilience in the face of evil. 
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

The author uses two timelines to carry us along in his exploration of the depths of remembrance and self-realization as it relates to our characters actions and circumstances forced on them by those they love. This is more than a story of WWII from inside Germany. It is more than a study of how so civilized a people could find themselves suddenly the villains of the world.

One survivor is Henry who was rescued from Germany by his forward-thinking mother, who drug her teenage son to a new live in the United States and then the underlying guilt of the adult Henry when he determines to face the horrors of his beloved country and the comfortable life he has had compared to his friends who remained.

And the life of Anna - Henry's first love and the embodiment of an ancient and civilized Germany.

The author takes us into the mind of Anna, and into the very depths of the worst of Germany. This is a book of realization and shows us heartbreak - but a book of facing the atrocities of Germany's past with no philosophical cover. It has left me changed.

I Am Germany by Michael Witt is a poignant story about Heinrich Schultheiss, who changed his name after coming to America, Henry Schultz, half-Jewish, his early years, and his years as an older man. Anna Himmel, Henry's secret love, before his marriage years. When Henry lived in Germany as a child and Anna lived next door. She was a child prodigy, a violinist.

Henry returns to Germany to find Anna, he does but after 50 years, she is not who he thought he would find. She has a secret. He had left Germany with his parents in 1936 just 16 years old. They moved to Iowa and started a life there away from what was going on in Germany.

The secret she has has torn her life apart, and she reluctantly tells Henry about Hartheim Castle, The building became notorious as one of the centers for the Nazi killing program known as Action T4, in which German citizens deemed mentally or physically unfit were systematically killed with poison gas. Henry goes there to find out for himself about what atrocities were exacted on the Jewish people in Germany.

To me, this was a sad story, the horrible things that happened before, during, and after the war, the building of the wall, and the wall being taken down. A very poignant story, a story of a young woman with a talent that surpassed other people, who turned into a broken cynical elderly woman who suffered unspeakable things. In the telling of her story, I think that she was able to come to terms with her younger life.

I think that this is an important book to read about Hartheim Castle, 30.000 people (18.000 people with handicaps and mentally ill people, about 12.000 concentration camp prisoners, and forced laborers) were killed in Hartheim until the end of the year 1944. A book that should be read by everyone interested in the war.

I give this book 5 stars, if I could I would give more.

I am Germany is a HIstorical Fiction story written in an original way from author Michael Witt's writing style to subject matter to character introspection and reflection. There are basically two timelines, one in pre WWII 1930s Germany and the other in 1989-90 during the tearing down the Berlin wall. Many themes and emotions knit the story together including shock and horror, disbelief, tenacity, love, courage, forgiveness and hope.

At first the writing and structure struck me as a bit disjointed but really grew on me quickly and I became immersed and invested for the duration. Henry Schultz and Anna Himmel, were childhood friends in Germany and Henry's first love. Besotted doesn't begin to cover it. Anna's passion was her treasured violin. But in the 1930s Anna warned his family to leave Germany for America as the first wave of the Holocaust began, evil which very few knew about. What Anna had seen at Hartheim Castle was so nightmarish she wondered whether it was real. She tried to help a young disabled girl escape the clutches of Nazi murderers who told themselves (and Anna) what they were doing was merciful. But when Anna discovered the truth her blood ran cold and her life changed. Her brother added another layer to the story.

At first Henry's family was hesitant but fortunately moved to Iowa prior to the war where Henry had carved a new path for himself, married and became a business owner. In the second timeline in 1989, after his beloved Helen died just under two years ago, he found himself a bit more ready to face the world after gut wrenching mourning. He felt the urge to return to Germany to find Anna and to visit his old home. His grandson, as always, had many questions for his grandfather before he left and after his return. Henry arrived in a different Germany, did a bit of research and discovered Anna was still alive. They arranged a meeting and talked for hours. At first Anna was reticent to tell her story as reliving the terror was frightening and so very real. But she finally told him what she had suffered and endured during the war. He was aghast. The two old friends grew closer in united heartache as they talked about anguish, loneliness, ravages of war and trying find a way to forgive and move on, both for different reasons.

Historical Fiction readers seeking the unusual, do read I Am Germany. The simple and raw writing creates a truly powerful reading experience, dark and poignant, disturbing yet hopeful. I like that there are only a handful of characters to follow which enables the reader to become emotionally attached and moved.

My sincere thank you to Koehler Books and NetGalley for allowing me the privilege of reading this gripping and memorable book.

Michael Witt in his novel narrates I AM GERMANY to conjure his readers to deeply explore the historical events before World War 2 had started. An elderly man, half-Jew, and a widower, Heinrich Schultheiss returns to Germany after fifty years of living in America in 1936 with his parents. He had left Nazi Germany for Iowa shortly before the war at the age of sixteen. He comes back to the day the berlin wall fell and allowed him to travel freely between two Germany, West, and East Berlin without a special visa. As traveling in unified Germany he recollects that his childhood memories which are personal and a good part of his boyhood had been wiped off when Allied bombs pounded the monster out of Berlin in 1944 and 1945. There it was - except the Brandenburg Gate with the Greek Goddess of military victory - Victoria Gate. Every building, old store, and the house of chocolate vanished into thin air. He was horrified to see his childhood home Edelberg gone too.

This novel stirs up the aftermaths of the night of the allied bombing in April 1945. On his return, Heinrich is looking for his first love, Anna Himmel- To him, she was a human goddess, Anna had been more than a child prodigy violinist and the daughter of the owner of Germany's most famous violinist company. She made a concert debut at age twelve. He had been crazily in love with her. He thought she was German high in art and culture. Anna upon meeting Heinrich tells her scary personal story that happened during the dark political time in 1945 that built the wall. Edelberg was bombed out of Europe and her brother Brenhard is dead - killed soldering in Stalingrad. Her brother despised Hitler's regime and had become a Nazi warrior, he was also Heinrich's best friend because he had something Ethereal and Magnetic. Heinrich and Anna were alarmed when they came to expose the number of European people who died and the children who were murdered between 1945 and 1989. This novel is filled with disturbing events in history and the tale of innocent victims. This a great piece of a story and written plot for those who love to get caught in the moments before World War 2. Thanks to NetGalley and Koehler Books Publisher for an advance copy for my honest review.

Michael Witt has a great writing style and I thought that the story was a good historical novel. The characters felt like they belonged in the time-period and I thought it worked well. The story was interesting and I enjoyed going through this plot.

"The teary but obedient Frau Himmel slipped up to Anna’s room and whispered through the door, “I am so dreadfully sorry, dear, but I can do nothing or will get whipped myself.” I stopped respecting Herr Himmel forever at that moment. I now hated him. As for Bernhard, he screamed to his father, “If you touch my sister again, I will punch you hard!” Then Bernhard was beaten himself."

I was deeply disappointed in this novel unfortunately. In my opinion, the characters were not credible. Anna trying to save a little girl sounds good, however, how could she not know about the recklessness of this action when Nazi Germany was at its pick, notwithstanding her own experiences? The plot was, for me again, not credible and clumsy because of some useful coincidences. Sometimes I wondered of the sense of it, and whether some chapters were missing particularly as far as the characters ' development was concerned. A quick read with not enough depth for me.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel from NetGalley and I am leaving voluntarily an honest review.