Über Alles: A Novel of Love, Loyalty, and Political Intrigue In World War II - Softcover

Neff, Robert Arthur

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1938462254 ISBN 13: 9781938462252

Publisher: Old Stone Press, 2016

Synopsis

In less-conflicted times they might never have met, but as Germany lurched toward World War II many lives were forced to change direction. Dieter is the orphaned son of a music professor and one of that teacher’s pupils. His father had been killed in World War I and his mother died in the influenza pandemic of 1917, leaving the young man as a ward of the music school where he had been born. There he played the piano for gratuities and earned the favor of older boys in the school dormitory by sharing their bunk space, until an edict closing the Jewish-managed school evicted him into pre-war Berlin. Dieter became the resident “piano man” in a pub favored by students and Nazi military personnel.

Sofie is the indulged daughter of a prominent Wehrmacht general, and a graduate music student at Berlin’s finest university. She serves as her father’s hostess in his elegant home on Wilhelmstrasse, which is frequented by prominent leaders of the Third Reich. Sofie enjoys the new popular music being written and performed in America – but banned from most German halls. She and her fellow students regularly visit the pub where Sofie is attracted to Dieter. This leads to an invitation to Dieter to tune her piano in the Wilhelmstrasse residence, and an unlikely alliance is formed between the two young people.

They learn that each had a Jewish mother; Dieter’s is deceased and Sofie’s remains in her native Poland where she is a senior operative of the SSW, Poland’s European intelligence-gathering network. When The Oster Conspiracy, an attempt on Hitler’s life by some of his military officers, is uncovered, the blanket of suspicion comes dangerously close to Sofie’s father and the young couple is forced to flee secretly to Prague, Czechoslovakia. There they are relatively safe until a minor Gestapo operative becomes suspicious of their identity and begins to delve into their backgrounds.  

With her father’s help, Sofie relocates to France where she enjoys success as a cabaret singer. Dieter, assisted by Gypsies and two female SSW members, manages to elude capture several times, earning him the inaccurate identity of a mysterious super spy. Eventually his luck runs out; he is captured and imprisoned in Germany’s most unusual concentration camp, Theresienstadt, where the Reich makes a great public display of the talents in “The Village Hitler Gave to the Jews”.

This story might never have been known except that Dieter recorded it faithfully in writing on the backs of music sheets during his four years in Theresienstadt and then smuggled it out with the help of Gypsies and one of the SSW women. It reached Sofie’s mother in wartime London, where the SSW continued as part of the exiled Polish government. Dieter recounts the intrigues and horrors of the Nazi movement, but also the determination of many non-political people to continue their lives below the tempest. He wrote it for Sofie’s eyes, in case their lives never united again, but it serves as a testimonial for all readers of one of the most troubled yet fascinating decades in modern history. 

While Dieter and Sofie are fictional, many of the personalities with whom they interact were real; the historical events presented are accurate and the music they perform together was the entertainment currency of that era.     

About this title

About the Author:

From his early years, Robert Arthur Neff has thrived on international involvement. Military service, business responsibilities, and personal travels have familiarized him with the locations and events entwined in his historical novel, Über Alles, a story he describes as "either a history lesson wrapped in a love story, or the reverse of that." Mr. Neff studied engineering, political science, and law at Cornell University, then he "entered the real world" as a JAG officer in the US Air Force. He was assigned to the 63rd Troop Carrier Wing of MATS, which aggregated squadrons deployed to overseas locations ranging from North Africa to Europe to Canada's DEW Line to New Zealand and Antarctica. These became a new kind of classroom for the itinerant lawyer. After his military service, Mr. Neff knew that he wanted a business career that would continue expanding his knowledge of many cultures and countries. He had the good fortune to find just such a job with the Rockefeller Brothers' International Basic Economy Corporation, headquartered at "30 Rock." Initially his assignments were focused upon Western Europe and The Middle East, but later they shifted to the management of various South American businesses, and that continent became Mr. Neff's home for several years. Prominent international businessmen were demanding more efficient, affordable air cargo services to accommodate the exploding growth of high-value international commerce. A leader in the movement was Mr. Laurance Rockefeller, whose participation in the airline industry collaterally yielded a welcome opportunity for Mr. Neff. He became an officer and director of Seaboard World Airlines, a major all-cargo airline which was pioneering international carriage innovations and also performing world-wide contract carriage for the US Department of Defense. Seaboard and the Flying Tiger Line later merged, and their combined activity eventually became an integral part of the contemporary Federal Express Corporation, from which Mr. Neff is a retiree. Mr. Neff now resides with his wife, Julie, in Pinehurst, NC, and on Beaver Island, MI. They continue to visit other parts of the world frequently, and Mr. Neff has formalized his lifelong interest in writing, drawing extensively upon themes suggested by his work and travels. Favored leisure activities include playing jazz standards on his oversized grand piano, watching and playing tennis, and enjoying the uncomplicated attractions of Nicaragua's Pacific Coast, where he does much of his serious writing.

Review:

"Über Alles is a well-constructed novel focused upon one of the pivotal eras of human history. It succeeds both as an engaging romantic tale and as a solid look back at World War II. Readers will be well rewarded." -Gregory Coleman, President, BuzzFeed; former president, Reader's Digest "Finding a good read to wrap yourself around is tough these days. Writers feel compelled to pen twisted and bizarre plots. Nothing seems real, everything is sensational. So, when a book comes along with a true-to-life story that's so bold, so intriguing, and so well written as to hold a reader captive, it's rare.  Such a book is Über Alles, by Rob Neff.  His poignant love story/wartime thriller is set against the harrowing backdrop of Hitler's Germany. Neff's strong, dimensional characters come to life as they defy the power of the Nazis over the power of love. As someone who lived under the black storm cloud of World War II, Neff presents a singular vantage point that rings true. If you are prepared to vicariously travel back to World War II; if you are willing to tie your heart to a story that will fill-and break-it; if you want a book worthy of your valuable leisure time-then you must read Über Alles." -LAURIE BOGART MORROW, author, The Hardscrabble Chronicles ". . . moves along with a narrative authority that relaxes the reader into focusing on the story and the characters . . . the narrative flow is strong, clear and vivid . . ." -T. Chandler Hardwick, Headmaster (retired) of Blair Academy, Blairstown, NJ  " . . . I found it impossible to put down, reading 100 pages a sitting . . ." -Arnold Koch, journalist, Melrose Free Press, JazFax, Boston Business Journal, AdWeek " . . . an absolutely riveting account of the lives of two musical artists . . . in that decade when the Nazis sought to eradicate anyone they deemed racially impure or sexually deviant . . . You won't be able to put it down . . ." -George Marriner Maull, multiple Emmy-nominated Artistic Director and conductor of The Discovery Orchestra (formerly the New Jersey Philharmonic Orchestra) "As a student of WWII history, I was impressed with the personal insights about key events in the Nazi rise. In the end, this wonderful novel, through its female protagonist, left me with a haunting plea which is timeless: I want the ability to be just a little different, so long as I am honest, hard-working, and law-abiding. I don't want a tone-deaf government minister telling me what songs to sing or what ancestors my companion must have. Am I unreasonable?" -Ret. Major Jason Howk, author and lecturer, NC ". . . kept me engaged-always had me wondering where it would lead next-neither predictable nor overtly twisted. Perfect. My best read in three years. . ." -Dr. Dennis Stark, Academic and Biomedical professional, Cap d'Antibes, France "Robert Neff explodes onto the scene with his first historical novel.  The treachery of the Third Reich and bits of nearly forgotten history unfold through vividly written characters and relationships.  The love between a half-Jewish piano player and a Wehrmacht general's half-Jewish daughter sets the theme in 1938 Germany.  Neff's fictional characters are real in every other sense, and the story of Hitler's city for the Jews, Theresienstadt, evokes needless suffering, loss, and the strength of the human spirit.  Love drives a story that confronts a history we must never forget: Neff has brought a slice of that history alive in this page-turner." -Richard Pabst, CIA, Station Chief/Austria (Ret.)

About this edition

• Publisher: Old Stone Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1938462254
• ISBN 13: 9781938462252
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 420