A Promise by Amelia Martin; 5 Hawks Publishing; © 2023; ISBN 9798990-093409; 290 pages; $16.51on Amazon.
SAN DIEGO – Three teens – two of them Jewish, one of them Christian – so enjoy each other’s company that they promise they shall always be friends, no matter what.
The coming of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime made keeping that promise problematic. The Jews in the trio – Aaron and Hannah – moved to other European countries in the build-up to World War II. Elizabeth, the Christian, left behind in Munich, had to squelch expressions of loathing for Nazis in order to protect her family.
The novel traces their friendship up to and beyond their parting. Back stories: Elizabeth’s father and older brother are dedicated Nazis; her younger brother Friedrich is taught in elementary school to hate Jews. Elizabeth couldn’t contradict Friedrich’s teachers and relatives lest the impressionable youngster inadvertently say something to expose her dangerous opinions.
Elizabeth loves Dieter, but so does Olga, the drunken daughter of a Gestapo official. Olga demands Elizabeth break off her relationship with Dieter or threatens to tell damaging tales about Elizabeth to her father.
Hannah initially moves to France and for a while enjoys that country’s liberté, egalité, fraternité. However, when the French surrender to the Germans, life for Jews quickly becomes intolerable. The story follows Hannah through hiding, capture, transit camp, and Auschwitz.
Aaron is able to book passage to Cuba on the SS St. Louis, but Cuba declines to honor previously granted visas. Neither the United States nor Canada will accept the passengers as immigrants, and so the ship returns to Europe, where several countries agree to shelter them. Luckily for Aaron, he goes to England, where he lives under suspicion owning to his German accent. After the war, his uncle in the United States is approved for sponsorship.
So, do the friends ever reunite in fulfillment of their promise to each other? The conclusion of this novel provides the answer.
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Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World.