Central Europe: The Death Of A Civilization And The Life Of An Idea, Jukic - B

           "For the peoples of Central Europe today — Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Hungarians and others — Eastern Europe is an outdated designation, particularly because it can be deployed to relegate a country to Russia's sphere of influence." Central Europe existed in the 19th century in two German-speaking empires, the German and the Austro-Hungarian, but that construct was destroyed by the two world wars and the communist occupation. This book seeks to explain how it came to be, "how and why it was absolutely destroyed," and how it lives on as an idea. It is an attempt to "disentangle" the history of the region from the sum of its parts.

           In 1790, Leopold II of Austria was elected the Holy Roman Emperor. The empire was a vast entity consisting of "titles, rights, privileges, and obligations as much as territories," and as Voltaire famously quipped, "neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire." Most of the territories of the Habsburg's were not even in the Holy Roman Empire. The ancient realm was terminated in 1806, and the region reverted to its two loosely organized empires, Austria and Prussia, and the dozens of smaller principalities that had always existed outside their remit. Throughout the region, the first half of the century saw increasing liberalism, attempts at creating constitutions, and a general groundswell of interest in relaxing the rigidity of the governing bodies. Change was in the air.

         Revolution broke out throughout the continent in 1848, and immediately led to regime change in Paris and the resignation of Metternich in Austria. Both Berlin and Vienna saw masses in the streets and demands for constitutional monarchies, personal freedoms, and parliaments. Many of those who spoke the multiple non-Germanic languages of the Austrian Empire demanded freedom, and in Hungary they took up arms. The forces of repression prevailed, but without a return to absolutism. "Prussia became a constitutional state" with a parliament, and Austria's emperor was replaced with his young nephew. Although the revolutions had failed, societies were much improved with multiple personal freedoms granted and vast increases in modernization that made Berlin and Vienna two great European capitals.

         In the 1840s and 1850s, a young Otto von Bismarck began to envision a Germany free of any Austrian entanglements. He viewed the Habsburg desire to continue as a German-Slavic and Magyar state as counterproductive, and concluded that Germany united under Prussia was the best outcome for the nation. As Minister-President, Bismarck maneuvered Austria into a war it lost in a month, and then created a North German Confederation. The Austrian response was to create the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, which satisfied most Hungarians but outraged the South Slavs. Bismarck followed up with a war with France that led to the German Empire. And although Central Europe appeared to be consolidating, it still "remained a confusing patchwork of states and societies." The last decades of the century saw increased industrialization and public education, but also consistent rises in nationalism and anti-Semitism.

        The Great War and its ensuing peace decimated the region and created a world of instability and uncertainty. "Old hierarchies crumbled and violence took their place. People were brutalized, impoverished, disoriented, and polarized by four years of war." All of the new countries — Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Hungary, and Yugoslavia — tried to create successful societies out of disparate populations with little in common and no history of working within democratic structures. All were under different stressors that were further aggravated by the Depression. "The New Europe that promised so much in 1918 seemed to everyone to be crumbling before their very eyes." Hitler's war destroyed Central Europe and left it occupied by the Red Army.

           The Soviets encouraged a Pan-Slavic political ideology to support the new communist system in Europe. However, "it rapidly dawned that the new model was simply a transplantation of Soviet Stalinism." The Prague Spring shocked the communist world and required 500,000 Warsaw Pact troops and 6,000 Soviet tanks to suppress. In the 1970s, the concept of Central Europe belonging in the West and not "captive" began to receive more and more attention in the minds of its citizens. Central Europe dramatically left communist oppression behind after the Wall came down in November 1989.

         In 2011, Otto von Habsburg, son of the last emperor, was mourned in St. Stephen's Cathedral and laid to rest in the Imperial Crypt in the Capuchin Church in Vienna. Central Europe had come back to life. "By correcting the aberration of communism, the nations of Eastern Europe rejoined the Western mainstream where they belonged. Poland, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and the Baltic States joined the EU in 2004." The idea of Central Europe lives on.

A Funeral In Berlin, Deighton - B

          This sixty-year-old classic was recently recommended in the Journal’s Saturday edition of  'the 5 best,' likely because of its nitty-gritty and excellent depiction of the Cold War’s front line. Harry Palmer is in and out of Berlin getting ready for the defection of a Soviet chemist/enzyme expert. The whole thing feels a bit off, but Harry proceeds as directed by London. The mystery woman who shows up in Harry’s bed—as well as in the bed of Harry’s middleman in Berlin—turns out to be an Israeli spy hunting for a war criminal. The middleman, Johnny Vulkan, actually is the war criminal, working both sides to get paperwork that will allow him to access stolen Jewish money in Switzerland. The whole thing goes cock-up, with Vulkan dead. Harry walks away.

Deadman's Pool, Rhodes - B +

         The Isles of Scilly are twenty-five miles from Cornwall. The five islands are the furthest east and south in the UK and the scene of this excellent, but disturbing, police procedural. Ben is the deputy chief who, while on the uninhabited St. Helen’s, discovers the buried body of a teenaged girl suffering from extreme malnutrition and possibly scurvy. The following day, a weeks-old newborn is left on the steps of the police station. How does this happen in a small set of communities where everyone knows everyone else? Because smuggling has been part of the isles’ history for centuries, Ben wonders whether large international traffickers are behind the crime. The ME confirms that the dead girl was underground for years, and the local doctor advises that the baby is related to the young girl. Ben concludes that somewhere in his jurisdiction, a young woman has been imprisoned for the purpose of ongoing rape. He organizes the town, begins searching every house, checks every basement, and feels as if he’s making progress. Confirmation comes when someone takes his year-old son, Noah. A frantic search ensues, and the killer/rapist is jailed, and all of the innocents are well. This is an excellent book, and I’m delighted to see there are seven others in the series.

The Second Traitor, Gerlis - B

          As the war begins, Cooper is soon back in London working for the intelligence services and assigned to the Invasion Warning Sub-Committee. The Germans are planning to invade, and the UK is concerned about spies, saboteurs, and collaborators. Cooper gets back to work and is promoted for his efforts defending the realm. His Soviet handlers assure him that the pact with the Germans is tactical and that he is supporting a future ally of the UK. The Sub-Committee unearths a list of sympathizers and begins to ascertain who is up to what. The Soviets are concerned that the British will make a separate peace, leaving them alone facing Germany. They want Britain to know as much as possible about Germany's plans for invasion in order to ensure they are prepared to fight. They want Cooper to go to Rotterdam and meet one of their men in the Kriegsmarine, and Cooper convinces MI6 to send him there after he concocts a phony lead. He pulls off the coup on behalf of the two services. It seems as if just about everyone knows the date of Sea Lion, but because of the RAF's success in the air over the south, it's called off. The purpose of the Sub-Committee is no more, and Cooper and his boss are packed off to SOE. Both novels are smart, sophisticated, and magnificent on the details of the era, but just not compelling.

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The Burning Grounds, Mukherjee - B +

           Sam comes home one night to find his former sergeant—and once close friend—Surendranath Banerjee waiting for him. It’s been three years since Suren quit the Imperial Police and left for Europe. His departure from Calcutta was clouded by suspicion, and because Sam vouched for him, Sam’s own reliability has been quietly questioned ever since—something Suren doesn’t know.  Sam’s feelings are mixed. Suren asks for Sam’s help locating a missing cousin, but he doesn’t initially confess the real reason he’s back: his father ordered him home to protect the family honor after Suren revealed he’d fallen in love with a European woman in Paris. When the two men visit the cousin’s photography shop, they find it wrecked—and someone firebombs the place while they’re still inside. Clearly, Cousin Dolly is in serious trouble. The next morning at the office, Sam is assigned to investigate the murder of JP Mullick, a wealthy and influential figure in the Bengali business community. Sam strikes a deal with Suren: help with the murder case, and he’ll help find the missing cousin. The old team is back in action. They are immediately confronted with another killing—the decedent’s secretary, murdered just after Sam interviews him. Their investigation takes them through Calcutta’s underbelly and into its most elite circles, ultimately unraveling both mysteries. In the end, Suren returns to tell Sam he’s heading back to Paris, and Sam volunteers to go along—after all, someone needs to vouch for him with the girl’s family.

         This is the sixth book in a series I think very highly of. The author let three years pass with Suren gone; I’m hoping the reunion comes much sooner next time.

Exit Strategy, Child - B

         Jack steps off a bus in Baltimore to catch a concert and move on the next day. But while sitting in a coffee shop, he spots a couple of sleazebags in the middle of scamming an older couple. Naturally, he steps in—restores their money and promptly sends the four goons dispatched to teach him a lesson to the hospital. He soon crosses paths with an ex-Army officer who’s in serious trouble and asks for Jack’s help. The man is being blackmailed into providing information about container ships entering the harbor. As the two dig deeper, they uncover a far larger conspiracy involving a private contractor aiming to spark a war—with the Pentagon’s blessing. With Reacher’s trademark sharp analysis and unmatched skill set, he dismantles the entire operation. This is the 31st Reacher novel, and as I’ve said before, Andrew just doesn’t carry the ball as well as Lee.

Gotham At War: A History of New York City from1933 to 1945, Wallace - B

          This is the third and final book in the Gotham series covering the history of the city from 1625 until 1945. It is a portrayal of the New York as it reached its place as the capital of the world.
          There were many in pre-war New York who were inclined to wish well those who would eventually go to war with America. The Irish were indifferent to Britain’s plight and cheered Ireland’s neutrality. Although a minority, many German-Americans supported the new regime and even built Hitler Youth Camps on Long Island and in New Jersey. Until the war actually broke out, Italian-Americans were enraptured by Mussolini.
          The city’s largest ethnic group, its 1,785,000 Jews, vigorously tried to bring Hitler’s atrocities to the country’s attention and worked tirelessly to bring Jews to America. The city was also home to many pacifist organizations that represented all of the major Protestant denominations.
          One New Yorker who knew exactly where he stood—in total opposition to Hitler and fully behind Britain—was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He spent the late 1930s devising ways to help Britain, initiated Lend-Lease, and met Churchill to sign the Atlantic Pact. He worked to build up our military and reminded the U.S. that the Atlantic could not protect us from aggressive German conduct. He solicited the support of magazine and newspaper journalists, particularly in New York, to counter the opinions of the America First movement in the heartland. It was also necessary to overcome big business’s enthusiasm for trade with Germany. Just about every international firm, including GE, GM, Ford, Dow, the oil companies, and many more, did business in Germany. Sullivan & Cromwell even had an office in Berlin. Leading the way toward a rethinking of German policy among the elites was the Council on Foreign Relations. After the 1940 election, the New Dealers and the Wall Street elites—long political opponents—began to come together to create the governmental-business juggernaut that would propel America’s massive industrial capacity to victory.
          The Port of New York became the great embarkation point for ships loaded with materials to help the Allies. Thus, the city was the first part of America to become involved in the war, as those convoys and ships were under U-boat attack. The Brooklyn Navy Yard was working non-stop to build warships, as was the Todd Shipyards. Under La Guardia’s direction, the city built up its Civil Defense capabilities. War became a reality on December 7, 1941, bringing the U-boats to America's coast. One submarine even surfaced just off Coney Island. In 1942, the submariners of Germany participated in what they called “the Great Turkey Shoot” on the eastern seaboard. They just sat offshore and torpedoed innumerable ships backlit against the shoreline. America eventually pushed them east and won the Battle of the Atlantic. Over the four years of war, three million troops shipped out from New York, and 21,459 freighters sailed through the Narrows. The city was home to thousands of small specialist firms that manufactured everything from submarine periscopes to the Norden bombsight. Its universities were on the leading edge of radar development, and two Columbia émigrés, Enrico Fermi and Leo Szilard, researched nuclear fission and convinced Albert Einstein to introduce the topic to FDR.
          The income tax financed approximately half of the war’s cost, and the rest was covered by the issuance of war bonds. Wall Street was miffed to be excluded from the process. Treasury Secretary Morgenthau recruited Madison Avenue to help, and they came up with the ingenious idea of purchasing bonds through payroll deduction. The New York-based Office of War Information encouraged Tin Pan Alley to come up with something comparable to “Over There.” The best the Brill Building could produce was “The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B” and “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me).” Broadway, however, managed to create a revolutionary new musical—Oklahoma!—which ran for five years, ten times longer than any previous musical. With half a million city men in uniform, women filled most of the white-collar jobs in the city and also became welders, pipefitters, and riveters.
          For the 20% of the city that was Jewish, the war was an unfolding nightmare. They were aware of the genocide happening in Europe but could do nothing about it. The State Department was historically anti-Semitic, and Roosevelt, the consummate politician, knew he did not have the votes to change the immigration laws. Virtually no Protestant or Catholic newspaper reported on the Holocaust.
          With millions passing through the largest city in the world, New York truly became the city that never sleeps. Times Square was packed twenty-four hours a day. Venereal disease skyrocketed as sex, both straight and gay, was readily available. The nightclubs, bars, and theaters were packed. The Stork Club hosted not only Frank Sinatra and Walter Winchell but also a recuperating Lt. Jack Kennedy. NBC and CBS prospered as they provided up-to-date war news for the insatiable public. New York even replaced an occupied Paris as the home of couture.
          Led by Mayor La Guardia and Robert Moses, New York began to focus on providing jobs and housing for returning vets. The NYC Housing Authority planned public housing, while the private sector built Stuyvesant Town and began to plan Levittown. Moses was ready for parks, bridges, highways, and a new airport in Queens. The postwar years would alter forever the landscape of the city.
          The New Dealers and the corporate “dollar-a-year men,” the Wall Street Warriors, were headed for a collision over whether the government or the private sector would dominate the economy. The first skirmish went to the New Dealers when FDR defeated Dewey in 1944. As for the world itself, the New York elites were focused on free trade, as all agreed that the interwar tariffs had greatly contributed to global instability. America was unanimous in its opposition to Europe’s colonies and hoped those empires would be dismantled. New York’s China Lobby was instrumental in repealing the Chinese Exclusion Act and began the drumroll of defeating the Communist Party in China’s civil war. Almost all supported FDR’s plans for a United Nations.
         For Americans, the war was bookended by two days everyone would remember for a lifetime: the Day of Infamy and the president’s death on April 12. New York was shocked and mourned its hometown hero. Less than a month later, 500,000 celebrated V-E Day in Times Square. A month after that, four million lined the streets of the city for a ticker-tape parade for Ike. On August 14, the Empire of Japan surrendered. One of the major topics in the immediate aftermath of the war was the decision on the location of the UN headquarters. The Soviet Union vetoed San Francisco, and Britain encouraged it to be on America’s eastern seaboard. Moses offered Flushing Meadow Park, but it looked like Philadelphia’s prize to lose. A week before it was to be finalized, real estate developer Bill Zeckendorf called Mayor O’Dwyer to propose the 17 acres he owned on the East River. The mayor got in touch with the Rockefellers, who offered to pay $8.5 million for the land and give it to the UN, which accepted immediately. Zeckendorf said to his wife, “We have just moved the capital of the world.”
          This is a very long and all-encompassing book that I had some trouble reading. It seemed to jump all over the place. Nonetheless, it is a beautiful homage to the city that was number one in America—and at times the world—in just about every imaginable arena. That greatness is further embellished by the fact that it was the generation America admires the most that accomplished it. Once again, kudos to the Greatest.

Double Whammy, Hiaasen - B+

          This novel is almost four decades old and one of the author’s early works. It’s the first in the Skink series, featuring the former governor of the state living in a cabin on a lake in northern Florida, eating fried bass and roadkill as he puts his former life behind him. RJ, a PI/photographer, is sent to Lake Jessup by Dennis Gault, an eccentric rich man who wants him to prove that Dickie Lockhart is cheating at bass tournaments. He teams up with Skink, and they discover that Dickie’s crew has been killing to cover up their cheating. Dickie is murdered at a fishing tournament by men hired by Gault, who then frames RJ, forcing him to go on the run. RJ’s friend, a Miami police captain named Al, and a state trooper, Jim—formerly the governor’s bodyguard—manage to prove RJ’s innocence. RJ, Skink, Al, Jim, and RJ’s ex, Catherine, team up to sabotage the Dickie Lockhart Memorial Bass Fishing Tournament, run by an evangelical reverend who’s as crooked as the day is long. Spoil it they do—in spectacular, hilarious fashion. Thanks to Wendell Erwin for this one

Every Spy A Traitor, Gerlis - B

         This novel is set in the 1930s and features Charles Cooper, a well-educated, cultured Englishman who meanders through life. Upon receiving an inheritance, he quits his job and travels across the continent. He allows himself to be talked into an excursion to Moscow, where he ends up as a Soviet spy—more from pushy recruitment and passive compliance than any belief in the cause. He has no interest in the USSR and certainly no desire to be a spy. Upon his return to London, he is recruited by the Annexe, part of the security services, and becomes an unenthusiastic member of competing agencies working against each other. He is forced into the role as the British require him to participate in a murder in Brussels, while his Soviet self at home bludgeons a professor capable of identifying him as working for the Reds. A name change and his failure to report cause the Soviets to lose track of him. While Britain hunts for a mole—him—he quietly pursues his assignment, infiltrating the British Communist Party. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact throws Europe into turmoil, setting the stage for war and virtually destroying the BCP. In Moscow, the OMS that Cooper was part of is disbanded, and he eliminates his last handler in London. The Annexe, too, is shut down, and his boss hands him some money and tells him to disappear—an order he enthusiastically follows.

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The March Fallen, Kutscher - B +

         It’s early 1933, and Gereon and Charly are planning their wedding. Gereon is off to Köln during Carnival when, on February 27th, the Reichstag fire erupts in Berlin. He is recalled as Berlin begins a communist witch hunt. The Alex is filled with brownshirts as the SA are now adjunct policemen. One of the first casualties of the new regime is DCI Böhm of Homicide, whose downfall comes from pursuing the death of a homeless veteran when he should have been supporting the new Germany. Charly is in the middle of a case involving a young woman charged with burning down a shelter, killing many—including her own father, a morphine-addicted, crippled veteran. Rath is briefly assigned to the Political Section to interview communists but is soon back on his murder case as two more veterans are found murdered with the same trench knife. It looks like the cases are merging, as the young woman Charly is pursuing is also being chased by the man believed to be behind the veterans’ murders.

         After tireless efforts around Berlin and Bonn, Gereon eliminates his most likely suspect, leaving only the suspect in Charly’s case. And someone has just killed him. Gereon concludes the actual killer is a veteran currently making a name for himself with a novel that the Nazis love and are promoting. Rath confronts him; he acknowledges his guilt and is compelled to assign the royalties from his book of lies to Hannah, Charly’s young waif. For Gereon, it was the proper outcome, as he could not prove the murders. Charlotte Ritter resigns from the police force because she despises the Nazi regime and refuses to work for them. Over the summer, Charlotte and Gereon marry. This spectacular series gets better and better.

         The television series’ season five has been completed but not yet released in the U.S. There are five more novels that run through 1938 that have yet to be translated.

          This series has excelled in presenting the decadence of the end of the Weimar era, the depths of poverty that led to the conflicts between the Nazis and the communists, and, most fascinatingly, the plight of the honored but injured veterans. This volume oozes the hatred and antisemitism that accompanied the Nazi ascension to power in early 1933. “The Jews are our misfortune. This was the solution to all Germany’s problems in the present, in the future, and in the past.”