Title: Heir to the Fourth Reich
Author: Di Mier
ISBN: 978-1-77636-335-3
Publisher: Reach Publishers
This reader impression was written and sent to LitNet on the writer's own initiative.
This fast-paced dystopian thriller, written by Di Mier, is fiction – not all events are based on reality. However, it is written in such a clever way, and some facts are so close to reality, that it all seems true. Fact or fiction? One may never know.
“Adolf Hitler required Eva Brown to show her solidarity to Deutschland by attending Reich Führer Himmler’s lectures on the super Aryan race project” (10). Hitler orders her to set an example and make herself available to other men – in particular one specific person, Reinhard Heydrich. When Eva’s baby is born, she knows that the little girl will not be hers – this beautiful baby belongs to the state and will be placed with handpicked parents in order to raise her for the Aryan project. What will happen to her?
Meanwhile, the head of the Research Institution, Doctor Carl Clauberg, a gynaecologist, discovers that sperm, when frozen in liquid nitrogen at -196°, can be used to impregnate a female artificially. On impulse, he phones Gustav Windt, a noted urologist and his closest friend, and shares this discovery with him.
When Gustav and his assistant, Frida Sauerman, are sworn to silence about a small operation on Hitler’s “doppelganger”, they do remain silent. The Führer instructs that Gustav needs to be “eliminated” after the operation (23). During the procedure, Frida becomes aware that the “patient” is Hitler himself. When the operation is over, she quickly takes the testicle which was removed, wraps it and hides it in her bra. When she realises that she is free to go back to the Research Institution, she gently removes the sperm, puts it in a sealed liquid nitrogen flask and marks it “AH”.
Hans Ranke, a man with blonde hair and unwavering blue eyes, plays a big role in this whole story. He works for the NNS as well as Hitler, and is fully aware of Hitler’s plans. He also knows about Frida’s role in the plan. During a bomb attack on the research centre, Ranke hears Frida’s last words about the sperm and a diary, before she dies. When Hans Ranke finds the flask and the diary, shocking things start to happen.
Was Hitler regarded as a passionate lunatic, or was he an old eccentric who was rebuilding Germany? What if his death in 1945 was not the end of the Hitler dynasty? His body was never conclusively identified, and no one could tell if there was any way that Hitler’s DNA was saved. So, the concept of a Fourth Reich takes on a chilling reality in the historical life of Adolf Hitler.
The author takes the reader on an unbelievable journey to the Hitler era. The novel has a strong storyline – it draws the reader into the intrigue. The author uses allusions to create suspicion. The balance between fact and fiction provides credibility to the story, and tension is built throughout. Clever use of language creates the fast-paced, action-filled storyline. Just when the reader thinks he knows where the story is leading, the author changes her tack and takes the reader in a different direction. She keeps the reader wondering until the unexpected end.
This novel will, without any doubt, be enjoyed by readers who enjoy a good thriller.
