Enemies: A War Story

Fascinating fictionalized account of the eight German saboteurs who were put ashore in Florida and New York during World War II. They were to destroy aspects of America’s war production, but most, apparently, had no intention of doing so.
Herbert Haupt was a naïve young man interested in good times and ran away to Mexico to avoid responsibilities. The story of his odyssey with his friend Wolfgang Wergin is incredible. They spent three weeks in Mexico until they ran out of money. They couldn’t return to the US until paying a duty on the car Wolfgang sold when they were broke. Since they were both naturalized Americans of German birth, the German consulate got them passage on a ship going to Japan. From there, they went to Germany. Herbie jumped at the chance to return to the US with the saboteurs; Wolfgang declined, believing the G-men would get them. He ended up fighting in the German army on the Russian front. Not until 1956 was Wergin able to return to the United States.
The seven other saboteurs are fleshed out. One was a survivor of Gestapo torture and imprisonment; another was badly wounded in the Wehrmacht. George Dasch intended all along to turn them all in as his way of fighting the Nazi regime.
The account of Herbert Hoover and the FBI is disgusting. The saboteurs’ treatment and trial were never about justice, but about appearances and a moral victory over Germany. Six were executed. Dasch and Burger were repatriated to Germany in 1948, but their lives were ruined.
And Hoover wanted glory. He was more guilty than the saboteurs, lying to them, trying to hide the fact that Dasch went to the FBI rather than the FBI discovering a nefarious plot afoot. Hoover should have been executed.

Our story begins when three friends living in Chicago in 1941 decide to take a road trip to Mexico. Herbie Haupt, Wolf Wergin and Hugo Troesken are young and adventurous as they pile into Wolf's car and head south, thinking they would find jobs South of the border.

After Hugo decides to leave the others, poor decision after poor decision plagues the remaining amigos as they journey to Japan, through France, and finally Germany which is deep in the throes of WWII. A chance to get back to America presents itself, and, though the conditions are less than ideal, the boys elect to sign up, thinking they can outsmart the Nazis when on American shores.

Based on a true story, Enemies is a tale of two friends caught up in "Why not?" who suddenly find out just what "Why not?" really means.

Even knowing the ending, I was captivated by this account of decisions gone terribly wrong.

I read this EARC courtesy of Net Galley and Books Go Social pub date 04/29/18

What started out as a near innocent road trip to Mexico by 3 young Americans turns out to be a 1941 wartime escapade. Based on true events, the book was impossible to put down with more characters woven in to the story with plenty of background information on them. Praise to the author for that. I am not going to give too much away, but the excitement of the German submarine landing and the boys further travels (and capture) are very well described. Then the large FBI figure of Edgar Hoover looms over them with some really sad, but frustrating, moments. Surely this is the stuff of a cracking film?

A WWII story based on actual events in three main character's lives. An amazing read, I thoroughly enjoyed .
A story well told. Based on actual fact, the writer tries to stick to the actual events as much as possible, but makes the story very interesting by telling it like a novel. It doesn't sound like a history lesson. It does make one aware of what it must have been like for people connected with Germany during WWII .

This is the true story of two young German men who have spent most of their lives in America. On a whim, they decide to cross the Mexican border for a couple weeks of fun. Through a series of unfortunate events they eventually end up in Germany in the thick of WWII. One of them is conscripted in the German army. The other signs on with a group of saboteurs who secretly enter the US to destroy aluminum plants.

At first I had difficult immersing myself in this story, but by the halfway point I was hooked. This story introduces yet another facet of the war that I have never considered: that of naturalized American citizens forced to fight against their adopted country. I cannot imagine the inner turmoil that these two men must have wrestled with over and over.

I appreciate that the author records the actual court records in his narrative. This lends authenticity to the story and shows how complex the proceedings were.

I also appreciated this quote from the author in his notes following the end of the story. "There are valuable lessons in this story, if we are willing to heed them. First and foremost is that things are rarely as clear as we'd like them to be, and despite our desire for easy answers in complex times, humanity dwells amidst the varying shades of gray."

This book gave an interesting approach to a story concerning aspects of WWII. The build up was done well leading to the final events and gave you food for thought. Recommended for those interested in this period of history.

This is a docudrama providing the activities thought to lie behind the real history of German saboteurs landed in America during WWII. The narrative provides the flesh and blood behind the eight individuals. The story and its ending make a distinctly bad impression, giving the reader much to ponder long after the book has been read. I am willing to accept the details of the story, which seem to make the real villain the Director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover. The style of writing is a uneven, with some items covered in excruciating detail and some characters much more complete. Emphasis in the book is on the characters more than the action, with WWII providing the back drop rather than the story.

Wow! This was a great fiction based on a true story! It definitely brought history to life. I devoured this book it was so addictive to read. I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

Thankyou to NetGalley, BooksGoSocial and the author, Kenneth Rosenberg, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of Enemies: A War Story in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I found the book to be extremely well written and informative. I had trouble putting this book down, it had me gripped.
Definitely well worth a read, especially if you enjoy reading about this period of time.

What an incredible story! I kept having to check that it was based on true events because it just reads like an amazing adventure story set in WW2. So well written it is a page turner, not a history lesson, the twists and turns are impossible to pick. The paranoia of America in those days is something not often shown or referred to, so this was brave of the author and made for an original read. I hope he unearths another untold tale, I would definitely read it!

When I started reading this book, I didn't realize that it was based on actual events. I even decided that I didn't like a couple of the "characters". As I kept reading, I was drawn in by the story and began to understand the characters and even like some that at first put me off. I was half way through the book before I realized that this had actually happened. That real life is often stranger than fiction.

I commend the author on his ability to relay history in way that reads as a novel. I have rarely found a book so compelling. The author alludes in the afterward to readers becoming angry about him showing these men in a compassionate light. I found it refresher. Men are not 100% one thing. Yes, some where legitimate Nazis for a time. Some had affairs. But none of them were pure evil as the newspapers of the time portrayed them.

I wish that the tribunal's transcripts would have been made public a lot sooner, and that Dasch and Berger could have been pardoned. Or better yet, that they could have been given public trials. Maybe a 22 year old kid would have been spared, or even some of the others. At the same time, I understand the US's need for 'a win" during the drawn out war. I am just glad that all things hidden are eventually revealed; for the "saboteurs'" sakes and the comeuppance of Hoover.

I highly recommend this book to teens and adults who love history, espionage, WWII or really to anyone who loves a good read.

ENEMIES: A LOVE STORY

A novel that is based on actual events, concerning two German young men, who have lived in the United States the majority of their life’s, taking place during World War II, is loosely the premise. Although, given the time in history and that they innocently crossed the border to Mexico for a couple of weeks, the intrigue has just begun. Reads like a fine wine novel, but is really a true story with a few enhancements for enjoyment. Some books are - why did I read, whereas this book is, I feel fortunate that I was given the ability to test drive this wonderfully written doc-history novel. The twists and turns of what would I do in such a situation arose many times. Each time, whether it was what the young man did or not, I actually felt the tension and could not and did not put the book down. Currently, with the happenings of the United States and the rest of the World, “Enemies” feels contemporary and like something that can happen again. As the saying goes, “Bite my tongue”. But read the book as biting it”.

I want to thank Net Galley for a gratis copy of Enemies:A War Story. My review is located on Net Galley; Good Reads; Facebook; Twitter and Other fine locations.

A fictionalised account of real-life events set in WWII. The author made this a great story, and manages to tell it as if it is purely fiction, which can often draw more people into a story. If you enjoy history, spies and WWII this is probably a good one to pick up.