Fatherland (1992) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

Characters/People edit see section history

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• Xavier March: A detective in the Kriminalpolizei and a Sturmbannführer (major) in the SS, March (nicknamed "Zavi" by his friends) is a 41-year-old divorcé living in Berlin. He has one son, Pili, who lives with March's ex-wife, Klara. Both of March's grandfathers died in the First World War, his father was mortally injured serving in the Kaiserliche Marine, the Imperial German Navy, and his mother was killed in a bombing raid in 1942. March served on a U-Boat in the war and became a U-Boat captain in 1946. After the war, his marriage ended quickly. Having served as a U-boat Captain during the war he passed into the police force and rose through the ranks to detective. By 1964 he is a Sturmbannfuhrer in the SS, the equivalent of a Major and is unknowingly being watched by the Gestapo.
• Charlotte "Charlie" Maguire: A 25-year-old American woman, Maguire lives in Berlin reporting for The New York Times. Midway through the novel, she and March fall in love and begin a relationship.
• Hermann Jost: A reluctant SS cadet, 19-year-old Jost discovers the corpse which triggers March's investigation. Midway through the novel, Jost disappears. The official explanation is that he has been sent to the Eastern Front.
• Paul "Pili" March: The 10-year-old son of Xavier March, Pili lives with his mother and her partner in a bungalow in the suburbs of Berlin. Pili is a member of the Jungvolk — the junior section of the Hitler Youth for boys between the ages of 10 and 14. Later in the novel, Pili denounces his father to the Gestapo.
• Max Jaeger: Jaeger is March's partner in the Kriminalpolizei. He is fifty years of age, with a family of four daughters and his wife living in Berlin.
• Walther Fiebes: Fiebes is a detective working in VB3, the sexual crimes division, along the corridor from March's office. Fiebes spends all of his time at work, investigating (Party-defined) sexual crimes cases including rape, adultery, and interracial relationships.
• Rudolf "Rudi" Halder: March's wartime friend, Rudi is a historian working at the immense Central Archives, helping to compile an official history of the German military on the Eastern Front.
• Karl Krebs: Krebs is a well-educated young officer in the Gestapo.
• Odilo Globocnik: A middle-aged Obergruppenführer (general) in the Gestapo, nicknamed "Globus". After March's apprehension by the Gestapo, Globus takes over March's interrogation and torture, administering several brutal beatings.
• Artur Nebe: The chief of the Kripo, Nebe by 1964 is an old man living in a sumptuous apartment in Berlin. Once Nebe ascertains the truth about what March has discovered, he quickly weaves a ruse to dupe March into revealing the whereabouts of the evidence.
• Reinhard Heydrich: Having survived the assassination attempt in Prague in 1942 (which, in reality, had resulted in his death), Heydrich has risen to become Reichsführer-SS and heir-apparent to Hitler. It is suggested that the airplane crash that killed Heinrich Himmler in 1962 was actually planned by Heydrich so Heydrich could become head of the SS.
• Josef Buhler: Add a description of this character.
• Martin Luther
• Eisler
• Rudi Haider
• Kennedy
• Havel
• Friedman
• Reich
• Krause
• Klara
• Herr Sturmbannfiihrer
• Kritzinger
• Henry
• Luger
• Wilhelm Stuckart
• Weidemann
• Herr Brecker
• Himmler
• Zaugg
• Speer
• Goebbels
• Herr March
• Adolf Hitler
• Stiefel
• Herr Luther
• Globus
• Ratka

Quotes edit see section history

• “Down in the cellar the Gestapo were licensed to practice was the Ministry of Justice called ‘heightened interrogation’. The rules had been drawn up by civilised men in warm offices and they stipulated the presence of a doctor.”

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Berlin Kriminalpolizei
• Germany
• Zurich
• Switzerland
• Gestapo
• Europe
• Great Hall
• Kripo
• New York
• America
• Munich
• Krakau
• Auschwitz
• Bialystok
• Gotenland
• Poland
• Vienna
• Spandau
• Canada
• Hamburg
• United States
• France
• Werderscher Markt
• Washington
• Nuremberg
• Zavi
• Fraulein
• Kreuzberg

Organizations edit see section history

• Kriminalpolizei: The Kriminalpolizei, or Kripo, are the main law enforcement in the Nazi controlled areas of Europe. The term is German for 'Criminal Police', and they are the main law enforcement agency in the novel, though two other types of police service exist within the story.

First Sentence edit see section history

Errata edit see section history

The Nazi controlled country is referred to as 'Germania', while the capital city is referred to as Berlin. In actuality Hitler wanted to create a 'perfect' city called Germania, and had ideas for the design of the buildings so that they would dwarf all others in the world. The country he wanted to create was to be called 'Grossdeutschland', or Greater Germany, in English.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Robert Harris (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PR6058.A69147 F37 1992
• Dewey: 823.914

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Science Fiction › Alternate History
• Books › Mystery & Thrillers › Thrillers › Spy Stories & Tales of Intrigue

Movie Connections edit see section history

• Fatherland (1994) (TV) (IMDb): Staring Rutger Hauer and Miranda Richardson

More Books Like This edit see section history