To the two high school students, life had never looked brighter or more wonderful than on that beautiful day in October in 1935 as Erich Reinhold and Nessa Baumgartner snuggle up kissing and hugging under a large oak tree in a local park. Their families got along, they love the city life in Berlin and they are happy and in love. What could be more wonderful than that!

They are both Lutherans and Nessa dreams of a wedding someday in their church.  Then suddenly, like a fast-moving and terrifying storm, everything changes.  Under the new Nuremberg Laws, they are classified as unworthy!  They are Jewish!   Now, all they have and all their hopes and dreams would soon be smashed under the heavy Nazi heel.

Joseph Goebbels, Germany’s powerful Minister of Propaganda,  declares in 1943 that Berlin is finally “Free of Jews”. Yet, at the end of WWII, 1700 Germans Jews emerge from many hidden places.  How they survived the long and hungry years of war with friend and neighbour turning in friends and neighbours is amazing.  How did they manage to live when so many were killed or died? These Jews that somehow managed to escape almost certain death in Berlin were called “U-Boats” or “submariners” as they managed to sink quietly under the surface.  How did they find safe places to live? How did they survive with so little food?

Centred around the love story of Nessa and Erich, SAFE HARBOR by Gerhardt Roberts provides a very realistic and captivating account of the “under the surface” life of Berlin’s U-Boats as they forage for food, live in abandoned flats, are hidden by friends, forge fake ID papers and ration cards so other Jews like them can escape.

With his background as a Professor of German and knowledge of Germany, Roberts (aka R.F. Rabe) really knows how to give an authentic voice to his characters and to make them true to the customs and mannerisms of the era around WWII.  I also valued his use of German words in SAFE HARBOR and just the right amount of details to really transport the reader back into Berlin to make his characters and scenes spring to vivid life.

I have read quite a number of books centered around WWII and Roberts has really nailed that period. There are lots of shocking and horrible situations described; yet, Roberts knows how to balance the tension with a touching or humourous exchange.  I particularly appreciated the contrast of his scenes of what life was like in the United States versus in wartime and post-war time Germany.

If you relish World War II or historical fiction or love a wonderful historical romance, SAFE HARBOR definitely should be on your radar and in your “Must read” pile!   Yes, Robert’s novel is sad in parts, scary in others, but full of gripping courage, page-turning suspense and is definitely not to missed!  So, get your copy and find what a SAFE HARBOR really is!

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