What do you think?
Rate this book
The Aftermath
Berlin, 1945 Tadeusz Baumann, a recently liberated Auschwitz inmate, joins forces with the American intelligence service to hunt down Otto Neumann, a high-ranking SS official, who has the blood of thousands of innocents on his hands. Their only hope of finding Neumann is that he might contact his daughter, Gerlinde, before disappearing forever. However, Gerlinde, a former BDM girl, refuses not only to cooperate but even acknowledge that her father did anything wrong, writing off the OSS agents’ accusations against him as enemy propaganda. Tadeusz and Agent Morris must convince her that the elite Nazi upbringing she had is tainted by evil and horrors beyond her imagination and persuade Gerlinde to cooperate before their quarry makes his final escape. Germany has been liberated but the battle for the hearts and minds of the people has just begun.
250 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 1, 2020
127 people are currently reading
248 people want to read
About the author
Ellie Midwood
57 books1,139 followersEllie Midwood is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning historical fiction author, whose works have been translated into 20 languages. She owes her interest in the history of the Second World War to her grandfather, Junior Sergeant in the 2nd Guards Tank Army of the First Belorussian Front, who began telling her about his experiences on the frontline when she was a young girl. Growing up, her interest in history only deepened and transformed from reading about the war to writing about it. After obtaining her BA in Linguistics, Ellie decided to make writing her full-time career and began working on her first full-length historical novel, "The Girl from Berlin." Ellie is continuously enriching her library with new research material and feeds her passion for WWII and Holocaust history by collecting rare memorabilia and documents.
In her free time, Ellie is a health-obsessed yoga enthusiast, neat freak, adventurer, Nazi Germany history expert, polyglot, philosopher, a proud Jew, and a doggie mama. Ellie lives in New York with her husband and their three dogs.
In her free time, Ellie is a health-obsessed yoga enthusiast, neat freak, adventurer, Nazi Germany history expert, polyglot, philosopher, a proud Jew, and a doggie mama. Ellie lives in New York with her husband and their three dogs.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 4, 2020
One of the best I've read by Midwood. It is a "quiet" book, a slow burn with so much substance between the lines that sometimes I just wanted to savor them, and still the story clipped along. I love reading about multi-layered, complex people in complex relationships, and this had it. Very well-developed, the story throws you in the middle of a triangle of people in pain, each trying to deal with the aftermath of what the war has left of them. It is a story about the struggle for absolution, for compassion, and - in the long run - for understanding.
August 21, 2020
Another great book by one of my favourite authors, which I devoured in two sittings! The author gives us Gerlinde, the 16 year old daughter of an important Nazi, heavily involved with the running of the extermination camps. She loves her father and does not believe that millions of people lost their lives in the camps.
Tadeusz, a survivor of the camps, comes to live with Gerlinde, in order to help the Americans locate her father, who has run away to escape arrest for his crimes. Tadeusz has seen all his family killed in Auschwitz and has little desire to live. What follows is fascinating as Gerlinde and Tadeusz get to know each other. The development of their complex relationship is brilliantly written as Gerlinde begins to understand the truth about her father and what really went on at the camps.
Some nice cameos by lesser characters make you think about life in those times and the raw emotion to be found in the victors and defeated.
Highly recommended!
Tadeusz, a survivor of the camps, comes to live with Gerlinde, in order to help the Americans locate her father, who has run away to escape arrest for his crimes. Tadeusz has seen all his family killed in Auschwitz and has little desire to live. What follows is fascinating as Gerlinde and Tadeusz get to know each other. The development of their complex relationship is brilliantly written as Gerlinde begins to understand the truth about her father and what really went on at the camps.
Some nice cameos by lesser characters make you think about life in those times and the raw emotion to be found in the victors and defeated.
Highly recommended!
September 13, 2021
Brought tears to.my eyes!
A beautifully told story. Felt very emotional. Never had thought much about what it was like for the survivors of those who caused so much horror. This made me think about those others who were left behind. Must have been devastating! A thought provoking story!
A beautifully told story. Felt very emotional. Never had thought much about what it was like for the survivors of those who caused so much horror. This made me think about those others who were left behind. Must have been devastating! A thought provoking story!
September 1, 2020
Brilliant. I love Ellie Midwood's writing. In The Aftermath we see just how hard it was for people to come to terms with their family's past. The propaganda machine was so effective. A must read.
August 15, 2020
I've been a fan of Ellie Midwood for a while now and love her books dealing with WWII, the Nazi regime and the horrors they committed against innocent people. Aftermath is another story dealing with the Nazi regime, but in a different way, it shines the light on what happens to those left behind yet still affected by the regime after the end of the war. Told from two different perspectives, one from a concentration camp survivor, the other the daughter of a high ranking Nazi official. I loved the two very different and opposing views of the same event in history. Midwood nailed it with the historical facts and definitely made clear to me the conclusion that hate is a taught and learned emotion, no one is born with hate in them.
Tadeusz Baumann is an Auschwitz survivor who lost his entire family at the camp, but he's not just any prisoner, he's one of the ones responsible for walking people into the gas chambers, then carrying them back out after their dead. Because of what he does he's held in higher regard with the guards and even plays soccer with them, he gets special privileges other prisoners don't and for all this he feels guilty, he feels like he's betraying all those he's escorted into the chambers as well as the family he's lost. His guilt soon turns to a need for revenge and he enlists in the Russian army just so he can kill German soldiers, hoping that will make him feel better. However, he still feels alone, lost and guilty.
Gerlinde is the daughter of a high ranking former Nazi who's fled the city in fear when the Americans began their hunt for war criminals. She finds herself having to share her home with a group of American soldiers and investigators all trying to get her to talk and disclose her father's whereabouts. She's not talking and refuses to believe any of the things the Americans are telling her about her father, who she knows only as the loving father and protector he always was to her, not the monster the investigators are describing. The investigators know that eventually her dad will either try to contact her or visit, so they're not letting her alone for a second.
One of the investigators runs into Tadeusz and learns his story, thinking he could help with Gerlinde he offers him the chance to help them bring down a Nazi war criminal and perhaps settle some of the need for revenge Tadeusz feels. Soon after arriving at the house Tadeusz and Gerlinde begin a conversation, at first it's combative as Gerlinde refuses to believe the Nazi's did anything but help the people, she knew no better as she was sheltered and lied to. Over time the conversation begins to change and the two find more commonalities than differences in their stories.
This book was a great example of what can happen when two people with differing backgrounds and beliefs can accomplish when they get together, sit down and share their stories. They each gain an understanding of where the other is coming from and why they feel the way they do and can even gain admiration for the others experiences. I really enjoyed this one and found it enlightening to watch the transformation of both of the main characters. Both victims, but in such different ways. One tortured and forced to commit horrific crimes, the other shielded and protected away from the reality of what was really happening. If your a fan of historical fiction or anything WWII would love this one, I feel. I know I did. Happy Reading!
Tadeusz Baumann is an Auschwitz survivor who lost his entire family at the camp, but he's not just any prisoner, he's one of the ones responsible for walking people into the gas chambers, then carrying them back out after their dead. Because of what he does he's held in higher regard with the guards and even plays soccer with them, he gets special privileges other prisoners don't and for all this he feels guilty, he feels like he's betraying all those he's escorted into the chambers as well as the family he's lost. His guilt soon turns to a need for revenge and he enlists in the Russian army just so he can kill German soldiers, hoping that will make him feel better. However, he still feels alone, lost and guilty.
Gerlinde is the daughter of a high ranking former Nazi who's fled the city in fear when the Americans began their hunt for war criminals. She finds herself having to share her home with a group of American soldiers and investigators all trying to get her to talk and disclose her father's whereabouts. She's not talking and refuses to believe any of the things the Americans are telling her about her father, who she knows only as the loving father and protector he always was to her, not the monster the investigators are describing. The investigators know that eventually her dad will either try to contact her or visit, so they're not letting her alone for a second.
One of the investigators runs into Tadeusz and learns his story, thinking he could help with Gerlinde he offers him the chance to help them bring down a Nazi war criminal and perhaps settle some of the need for revenge Tadeusz feels. Soon after arriving at the house Tadeusz and Gerlinde begin a conversation, at first it's combative as Gerlinde refuses to believe the Nazi's did anything but help the people, she knew no better as she was sheltered and lied to. Over time the conversation begins to change and the two find more commonalities than differences in their stories.
This book was a great example of what can happen when two people with differing backgrounds and beliefs can accomplish when they get together, sit down and share their stories. They each gain an understanding of where the other is coming from and why they feel the way they do and can even gain admiration for the others experiences. I really enjoyed this one and found it enlightening to watch the transformation of both of the main characters. Both victims, but in such different ways. One tortured and forced to commit horrific crimes, the other shielded and protected away from the reality of what was really happening. If your a fan of historical fiction or anything WWII would love this one, I feel. I know I did. Happy Reading!
September 8, 2020
Like all of the other books I have read by this author, I was hooked from the very start. The two main characters come to life as you get to know them, their history, the way they think and the reasons they are the way they are. No character created by this author is ever 2 dimensional.
This story is set after the end of the war and explores what happens when the daughter of a high ranking Nazi who helped to run a concentration camp is forced to interact with a polish Jew who was forced to live and work in one. His reality is nothing like the girl was led to believe and the book documents her struggles when she hears the truth. American agents, brainwashed Hitler Youth and young German ex-soldiers also join the mix as you see how the war affected them and the aftermath they are left to deal with.
The way the author captures the different personalities is amazing and, though they are fictitious, it is easy to believe they really existed. This book doesn’t end the way I was expecting it to, which is a good thing. It shows it is anything but predictable.
Warning – as soon as you read one book by this author, you are going to want to read them all.
This story is set after the end of the war and explores what happens when the daughter of a high ranking Nazi who helped to run a concentration camp is forced to interact with a polish Jew who was forced to live and work in one. His reality is nothing like the girl was led to believe and the book documents her struggles when she hears the truth. American agents, brainwashed Hitler Youth and young German ex-soldiers also join the mix as you see how the war affected them and the aftermath they are left to deal with.
The way the author captures the different personalities is amazing and, though they are fictitious, it is easy to believe they really existed. This book doesn’t end the way I was expecting it to, which is a good thing. It shows it is anything but predictable.
Warning – as soon as you read one book by this author, you are going to want to read them all.
February 17, 2021
If you've read the author's Metropolis books, you'll want to read this one in which you find out what happens to Otto Neumann after the war. Even on its own, It's a chilling tale. i couldn't imagine having to face the reality that a beloved family member had such an evil side. As the story advances, Gerlinda must face the horrifying facts as she learns about the atrocities that happened around her, and the horrifying events that Tadeusz, her jailer and companion, had to face. Will she be able to reconcile the two sides of her father and see the evil man and good father as one? I know it would break my heart if it had been me having to make that decision. The story takes you on a ride through Berlin after the war, and the divided opinions of the German people. As always, a truly memorable and touching story.
October 3, 2020
Another great story of war torn turmoil.
I love the way Ellie has blended some familiar characters from her recent Metropolis books into this story about a broken Germany left behind after the war.
A heartwarming, yet confronting story. I couldn't put it down. Loved the characters, enjoyed the pace and can't wait to read more from Ellie. I've read all her books.
I love the way Ellie has blended some familiar characters from her recent Metropolis books into this story about a broken Germany left behind after the war.
A heartwarming, yet confronting story. I couldn't put it down. Loved the characters, enjoyed the pace and can't wait to read more from Ellie. I've read all her books.
August 30, 2020
I always enjoy books by this author and this one was no exception. There was more dialogue than in many of her previous books, but the premise of how ordinary people felt after the war ended in Germany was an interesting concept and gave food for thought.
December 4, 2021
As usual, an extremely well written book by Ellie Midwood. I’m pretty sure that it’s safe to say that she is one of my favorite authors; if not my most favorite author! She really makes her books come alive through her writing; and this book was no exception. It was interesting to see it all through the eyes of a Nazi’s family member. I definitely recommend this; along with Ellie Midwood’s other books.
November 27, 2021
Extraordinary and well written! This book brought me closer to my parents and the world they grew up in... and the aftermath they found themselves in and had to live with.
Gratefully, Thomas
Gratefully, Thomas
April 2, 2023
Adolf Hitler’s Thousand Year Reich lasted only 12 years but that was an entire lifetime for the children of the Third Reich. It was all that they knew and all that they believed. This is the story of a young Jewish man, a former Sonderkommano, and an American intelligence officer working together to de-Nazify the teenage daughter of one of Hitler’s top SS officers.
True to form, Ellie Midwood imparts her knowledge of the hierarchy and the workings of the Nazi party in a clear fashion that draws the reader into the story. There are philosophical question both asked and answered by the main characters as we watch Gerlinde go from a hostile BDM girl to a free thinking young woman. While the world asks “why” we watch as various factions within the German population ask the same question.
Once again, Ms Midwood has used fictional characters to bring very real events to life. I’m a fan!!
True to form, Ellie Midwood imparts her knowledge of the hierarchy and the workings of the Nazi party in a clear fashion that draws the reader into the story. There are philosophical question both asked and answered by the main characters as we watch Gerlinde go from a hostile BDM girl to a free thinking young woman. While the world asks “why” we watch as various factions within the German population ask the same question.
Once again, Ms Midwood has used fictional characters to bring very real events to life. I’m a fan!!
October 31, 2021
Easy read but felt too short
Easy to read and interesting but the book felt a bit short and rushed. I didn’t feel that enough time was given to allow the relationship between the 2 main characters to develop convincingly. I’ve read other books by this author which were far better written and edited. This felt like it hadn’t been proof read enough times which was a bit distracting. Still worth a read
Easy to read and interesting but the book felt a bit short and rushed. I didn’t feel that enough time was given to allow the relationship between the 2 main characters to develop convincingly. I’ve read other books by this author which were far better written and edited. This felt like it hadn’t been proof read enough times which was a bit distracting. Still worth a read
April 6, 2022
Chilling!
I have read several books about what happened during the war in various countries. However, Aftermath tells about how survivors and citizens of Berlin had to face life after the fighting ended. How to live with the decisions they made in an effort to survive. How to live through the lack of all material comfort -- including food after the war. This is a most thought provoking book and a good read. I recommend it to everyone so that we never forget.
I have read several books about what happened during the war in various countries. However, Aftermath tells about how survivors and citizens of Berlin had to face life after the fighting ended. How to live with the decisions they made in an effort to survive. How to live through the lack of all material comfort -- including food after the war. This is a most thought provoking book and a good read. I recommend it to everyone so that we never forget.
August 27, 2021
An amazing historical book.
Beatifully written with a real depth of feelings. After the war in Berlin as people were picking their new lives. A young girl a loved Father.The struggles of emotions mixed with hatred. Also a Jewish boy trying to gain her confidence and trust. Excellent and uplifting message and the characters were well chosen and very strong people.
Beatifully written with a real depth of feelings. After the war in Berlin as people were picking their new lives. A young girl a loved Father.The struggles of emotions mixed with hatred. Also a Jewish boy trying to gain her confidence and trust. Excellent and uplifting message and the characters were well chosen and very strong people.
March 4, 2021
The liberation of Berlin and facing the horrors that were committed. A young women who father was very much responsible and a surviving young Jewish Boy come together to start down this road of acceptance of what their future will hold . Well written,holds your attention that’s for sure.
January 25, 2022
Interesting and thought provoking
An interesting account of how the youth of Germany were brainwashed by the Nazi properrganda during World War Two. And how they swallowed the lies that were fed to them from the Nazi elite!
An interesting account of how the youth of Germany were brainwashed by the Nazi properrganda during World War Two. And how they swallowed the lies that were fed to them from the Nazi elite!
September 21, 2022
The Aftermath
A very informed book that showed the Crossed people of Germany. Unfortunately this hate and justification is still in our world. It would be nice to learn from history not to keep on with the hate and distraction.
A very informed book that showed the Crossed people of Germany. Unfortunately this hate and justification is still in our world. It would be nice to learn from history not to keep on with the hate and distraction.
November 28, 2021
She is great
She is a beat writer
Please keep writing romantic books about the Holocaust.
I just love them. Long, sexy and historical.
Thank you so much.
She is a beat writer
Please keep writing romantic books about the Holocaust.
I just love them. Long, sexy and historical.
Thank you so much.
May 2, 2022
This was yet another interesting perspective on the immediate aftermath of WW2.
July 10, 2022
Compelling read
Well written, fast-paced, complex characters. A book that gave good insight to events after the war. I highly recommend this book!
Well written, fast-paced, complex characters. A book that gave good insight to events after the war. I highly recommend this book!
November 13, 2022
Excellent book
If you are a fan of historical fiction you will love this book. It gives you an in-depth view of what life was like in Germany just after WWII. Very goid read
If you are a fan of historical fiction you will love this book. It gives you an in-depth view of what life was like in Germany just after WWII. Very goid read
December 10, 2020
This author's usual: a gem!
A wonderfully written tale of a battle between the heart and the soul. I wonder just how many such battles occurred in the aftermath of WWII?
(All wars, of course.) Well written, thought provoking, very much in this author's style. Loyalty or righteousness....not always an easy choice. I thoroughly enjoyed this "experience".
A wonderfully written tale of a battle between the heart and the soul. I wonder just how many such battles occurred in the aftermath of WWII?
(All wars, of course.) Well written, thought provoking, very much in this author's style. Loyalty or righteousness....not always an easy choice. I thoroughly enjoyed this "experience".
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews