During World War II, Germany wasn’t a pleasant environment. It was especially difficult for:
- Dieter, an army officer who served in the Great War. His wounded leg had never fully healed. When called up again, he was initially confined to a desk job in army intelligence. He was passing information to the British and risked being shot as a spy;
- Clara, the woman Dieter loved, had a mysterious past and was afraid for her life;
- Ernst, a top salesman for Krupp before the war, lost his job when Hitler stopped all sales of steel outside the Reich. Unable to find other employment, he accepted a commission in the army;
- Paula, who left and divorced Ernst when he could no longer support her life style;
- Berthold, Ernst’s brother, who enlisted in the Luftwaffe but was too tall to fit in the cockpit of a fighter;
- Karl, a fanatic Nazi and Himmler’s nephew, who served in the SS but was disgraced in battle. With his uncle’s help Karl found a job as a Gestapo inspector, which gave him leverage to pursue Dieter, his competitor for Clara.
As the war progressed and went badly for Germany, life became even less pleasant for:
- Berthold, shot down over the coast of England;
- Dieter, suddenly removed from his desk job, trained hastily as a tank commander, and sent to the Russian front. Himmler arranged that he was to be kept in action until he was killed;
- Clara, hiding under a fake identity because the Gestapo suspected she was Jewish;
- Heinz, a brilliant Panzer general fired by Hitler for lack of satisfactory progress in terrible winter conditions;
- and -
- Klaus, a Bavarian noble who learned that Hitler survived the bomb he planted.
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A House in Berlin is an epic novel covering the period from 1939 to the summer of 1944. It follows actual events, and provides plausible interactions between fictional and historical characters. As things fall apart, Dieter and Clara flee. Karl and his Gestapo henchman wait for them and spring their trap.
From the Author
Call me Bill. This is my author page, intended to introduce me, show off my books, and link people to my various blogs.
Allow me to introduce myself. I’m retired, a widower, and reside in Eastern Kansas, but I moved here from Missouri, thereby raising the average IQ of both states. I continue to be a Mizzou fan, living dangerously in Jayhawk country. I graduated from Missouri State University, which is what it was called now; back then it was called Southwest Missouri State College, or SMS. I also attended Drury College, and later, while living in St. Louis, Washington University. I later became a Missouri Tiger fan due to their radio and television exposure.
My background is in mathematics, computer applications for business, computer programming, and economics. I had a long career with IBM and Allied Systems, Inc., as a computer consultant – systems designer and programmer. I’ve worked within a lot of businesses, large and small. I still believe in capitalism.
Why do I have a blog? I’m not quite certain about this one. It seems to satisfy some urge to get my opinions recorded. It’s fun for me to research, write and polish these essays. Will anyone else ever read them? Will anyone else buy my fiction? Will anyone be influenced? I have no idea.
Here is what my son, who isn’t prejudiced in any way, said about me: “His fiction deals with magic, and technology, and politics of the time. William has traveled the world, become a private pilot, explored the higher realms of physics, and brings all of that to his books. Whether it is Dieter examining a burnt Russian tank, Berty strafing a French column, or Eller's magical battle with the Prime Wizard, his imagination is always active. You will enjoy his works.”
As for my political writing, I’m just expressing my opinions, which I consider mainstream conservative.
Note -- William is a very popular given name for the last name 'Dameron'; a search engine will come up with many hits representing different people calling themselves William or Bill Dameron. This particular William R. Dameron resides/has resided in Eastern Kansas and originally hails from Springfield, Missouri.
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