Dorie - Cats&Books :) asked Karin Tanabe:

Hi Karin. I have just been reading an ARC of your new novel "The Diplomat's Daughter" and have a couple of questions for you. First off I'm wondering how you came up with River Hills as the home of Christian?I live in Mequon, WI, the neighboring suburb of River Hills. I'm wondering how much of the novel is based on facts? The number of Jews who fled to Shanghai, how many German Americans in the internment camp, etc???

Karin Tanabe Hi Dorie,

Thank you very much for your smart questions and for reading the ARC of The Diplomat's Daughter. Much appreciated! (Just want to note that there are some small spoilers ahead for those who haven't read the book yet.)

There were 11,500 German nationals and American citizens of German descent in American internment camps during WW2. Here is an article, if you'd like to read more about it, from a great source on internment during the war.

http://encyclopedia.densho.org/German...

As for China, about 18,000 European Jews came to Shanghai in the late 30s and 40s seeking refuge. They were primarily from Germany, Austria and Poland but other European countries as well.

I chose River Hills as I wanted a town near Milwaukee as most of the Germans who were interned were from the Midwest, with many from Wisconsin. In my research, I also found that some children did end up going to orphanages in Milwaukee when their parents were arrested so I knew I wanted a town near there. I chose River Hills because it looked beautiful and affluent, and I wanted my character Christian to come from that sort of background. I myself have never been to River Hills or the surrounding towns, but it looks lovely!

As for how much of the novel is based on facts, most of it is fiction, but I did try to stay true to the events of the time. As you know, the Japanese-Americans and German-Americans did face unjust internment. Both diplomatic communities were also interned until they sailed home. As for Shanghai, under Japanese rule it was a refuge for European Jews, though there was a ghetto. And Karuizawa in Japan was, and is still, home to a large foreign population, especially during the war when many foreigners were sent there by the Japanese government. That is probably the least known historical fact in the book and something I found very interesting and wanted to highlight.

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