Winter of the world

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Winter of the World (Original: Winter of the World ) is a historical novel by the British writer Ken Follett from 2012. It is the second part of the trilogy "The saga of the century" after the fall of the titans . As in the first part, Ken Follett tells the story of different families from different countries and their entanglements.

Blurb

“It is a time of upheaval, a time of darkness. But also of the hope that fills even the deepest darkness. While the situation in Europe escalates dangerously, three young people heroically try to master their fate: The Englishman Lloyd Williams witnesses Hitler's rise to power and decides to fight against fascism. The German noblewoman Carla von Ulrich is appalled by the injustice that is being done in the name of the people and goes into resistance, while the American Daisy, hungry for life, only dreams of social advancement - and experiences a bitter surprise! Love and hate, adaptation and resistance form a fateful network in front of the great panorama of the Second World War, the dramatic turn of the 20th century ”.

Subject

The novel deals with the stories of several families from Germany , the United Kingdom , the Soviet Union and the United States who are set in the times of totalitarian regimes. The focus is on the story of the diplomat Walter von Ulrich and his British wife Maud and their next generation. The framework for action is formed by the years 1933 to 1949 against the backdrop of world powers and the fate of people in World War II . It describes the seizure of power by the National Socialists in 1933, the Hitler-Stalin Pact , euthanasia , the swing youth , Pearl Harbor , Midway , atomic bomb research and espionage, the Spanish Civil War and the Battle of Belchite .

While in the first part (Fall of the Titans) Maud Fitzherbert (after Ulrich's marriage), Gus Dewar and Grigori Peshkov represent the main characters, in “Winter of the World” it is their children whose life stories are told. Leitmotifs are people's hope, as well as their power, politics and wealth, as well as espionage, imprisonment, escape, murder, war, unfulfilled dreams, cold emotions and misanthropy , which create the tension between the young protagonists Carla von Ulrich, Daisy Peshkov, their half-brother Volodja, Lloyd Williams and Woody Dewar make up. The year 1933 fundamentally changed the fate of their bourgeois livelihoods. The global economic crisis and increasing political radicalization make their future more difficult. Maud and Walter von Ulrich, a politically active couple, tried hard to make their children responsible citizens. They develop in the opposite direction. While the daughter Carla is constantly asking questions about political grievances, including witnessing the SA storming her mother's newspaper publisher, the older brother Erik is recruited by the National Socialists. Although his parents appeal to his mind and humanity, they no longer reach their son. It wasn't until much later, as a medic on the Eastern Front , that Erik realized his mistake.

At the same time in England, Ethel, a former maid who was promoted to MP, is involved in non-violent protest against fascist currents in her country. Ethel's son Lloyd personally experienced the Reichstag fire and with it world history during a stay in Germany, experienced the terror of the extremists first hand and, like his mother, is committed against fascism. Lloyd realizes that the law is not written on paper, but is made “by a brown uniform”. Follett cites almost all important historical events from a global perspective and "makes history tangible". The driving element is the emotional world of the main characters, the fateful entanglements of the young generation and the equality of men and women. In this work, too, “strong women” are an important leitmotif.

Summary

The story begins in 1933 in Berlin against the background of the German defeat in World War I , the associated crisis and the seizure of power by the National Socialists . Although the Reichstag elections take place in a climate of intimidation, the National Socialists fail to win an absolute majority. After gaining support from nationalists and Catholics, Hitler passed the Enabling Act and thus achieved a dictatorial position. All political opponents are expelled from the Reichstag and arrested, including Walter von Ulrich, a member of the Social Democrats . His wife Maud leads an opposition to the NSDAP , which is banned. In the course of these turbulent events, Ethel Leckwith, an old friend of Maud and a former member of the British Parliament, and her son Lloyd Williams, a student of modern languages ​​at Cambridge University , are in Germany . Lloyd intends to improve his knowledge of German and his mother wants to write a book about the brutality of fascism . Lloyd witnesses how Robert von Ulrich, a cousin of Walter von Ulrich, and his companion Jörg are arrested by the Gestapo on charges of homosexuality . In captivity, Robert and Lloyd experience how Jörg is killed by starving dogs in the Oranienburg concentration camp . Carla, the underage daughter of Walter and Maud, is secretly in love with Werner Franck, the son of a wealthy industrialist and National Socialist. Carla, who has a career wish to become a doctor, helps the maid Ada with the birth of her child, who is seriously ill. Meanwhile, Carla's brother Erik von Ulrich joins the Hitler Youth .

Lloyd and Ethel decide to return to England . In Cambridge, Lloyd met Daisy Peshkov, who was looking for a connection with the British aristocracy in Great Britain and thus promised seriousness. Her father Lev Peshkov is an ex- gangster in Buffalo . Lloyd is irresistibly drawn to the young woman. This, however, prefers the young Viscount Aberoven "Boy" Fitzherbert, a prominent member of the British Union of Fascists . Your goal is to join British high society . Lloyd is disappointed, but does not give up hope of winning Daisy over. The British fascists are planning a parade through London , but Labor Party members Lloyd and his family are supposed to prevent this. During the parade, Lloyd recognizes Daisy at the side of "Boy". She tells him that she recently got married. Lloyd decides, together with his cousin Dave Williams, the son of Billy and his friend Lenny Griffiths, to leave England and take part in the Spanish Civil War between the coup plotters under General Franco and the democratically elected Popular Front government. During the war, Lloyd meets Wolodja Peschkow, a member of the Red Army with whom he fought against the National Socialists in Berlin. Lloyd makes his personal experiences with the disorganization and brutality of the communists . Yet he prefers communism to fascism. The Franco rebels gain the upper hand, come to power and there is a wave of arrests of political opponents. Lloyd returns home disappointed.

In the United States , Woody and Chuck Dewar, sons of Senator Gus Dewar and his wife Rosa, take two different approaches: While Woody would like to be a photojournalist, Chuck's career aspiration is a career in the US Navy . Woody falls in love with Joanne Rouzrokh, but she does not reply.

In Europe, the imminent war is becoming more and more likely. After the annexation of Austria and Czechoslovakia , Germany invades Poland on September 1, 1939 . The Hitler-Stalin Pact is still in force, but it is assumed that this situation will not last. After much hesitation, the British Prime Minister Chamberlain gives Germany an ultimatum to withdraw his troops from Poland. Hitler does not answer and so the British army is mobilized. Many mansions of the British aristocracy made their land available for training and preparation of the army, among them the manor of the Fitzherberts. Daisy and "Boy" are expecting a child, but their marriage is not a happy one, as "Boy" is constantly absent and cares more about aviation than his wife. Daisy struggles with her fate and realizes that she was blinded by her desire to be a member of London high society. She realizes that she has feelings for Lloyd and invites him to a romantic evening. Then “Boy” appears and arranges for Lloyd to be released from the army the next day. Lloyd finds a photo and discovers the identity of his birth father. Reluctantly, his mother, Ethel, reveals to him that he is the son of Earl Fitzherbert.

Volodja Peschkow travels to Germany to deliver secret information to the Red Army. He meets with Werner Franck, his sister Frieda and Heinrich von Kessel, a friend of Carla von Ulrich. Carla has since given up her dream of becoming a doctor due to the prejudices and resentments of the National Socialists towards the role of women and now wants to become a nurse. Her brother Erik studies medicine with his friend Hermann Braun . German troops conquer the Benelux countries and the north of France , they take Paris . In England the Prime Minister Chamberlain has since been replaced by the energetic Churchill . The Hitler-Stalin Pact is broken by Germany in 1941 and the Wehrmacht pushes the Red Army back to shortly before Moscow during the German-Soviet War . In the war winter of 1941/1942 the tide turned, and the Soviets were able to push back German attack groups in the course of their counter-offensive . It comes to a catastrophe for the German army. Volodya gains valuable information that will be important for his further career.

Woody Dewar is flirting with Joanne Rouzrokh again after years, and this time he can win her over. The two plan their marriage. Greg Peshkov, son of Lev and his lover Marga, brother of Daisy, graduated from Harvard University with honors in physics . On the other hand, he dreams of a political career in the US State Department . He becomes the father of George, a colored child, with the young aspiring actress Jacky Jakes. Greg loves his child but chooses to only take on the role of his uncle.

Lloyd is allowed to return to England and meets with Daisy. The two plan a future after the war and a family with children. Lloyd, himself an illegitimate child, shrinks from it. For this reason he only wants paternity after marriage. Daisy, still married to "Boy" Fitzherbert, asks him for a divorce, which he refuses. Lloyd has to go back to the military and Daisy tries to connect with his mother, Ethel.

In Germany, the von Ulrichs discover a hospital in which sick or disabled people are killed as part of the National Socialists' euthanasia program . After Walter von Ulrichs complained, he was arrested and tortured by the Gestapo. After the abuse, he is released home, where he dies in the arms of his wife Maud. Carla and her friend Frieda sneak into that hospital in question, where they are looking for evidence of the killings. In order not to arouse suspicion in public opinion, the hospital is closed. Carla is disappointed in Werner Franck; involved in Soviet intelligence activities, the latter refuses to take part in the action. Carla leaves him.

But after a year Carla finds a desperate Werner. He explains to her that he worked as a spy for the Soviet Union and therefore could not take part, because from the prison, in which he would then possibly be sitting, he could no longer have provided the Soviet Union with any information. Then Carla forgives him and from then on they are a couple.

Chuck Dewar works for the US Navy at a naval base in Hawaii . He confesses to his brother Woody his homosexuality and his relationship with his colleague Eddie Parry. In December 1941, the rest of the Dewar family decided to visit Chuck in Hawaii. Gus, Rosa, Woody and Joanne get caught in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . Joanne is killed and Woody is now a broken man. After the attack, the US declares war on Japan and Germany. During the Pacific War , Chuck falls while trying to save Eddie from the fighting. American troops invade Italy and France when the Eastern Front collapses for the Wehrmacht. There are fewer and fewer doubts about the outcome of the war.

In France, Lloyd witnessed the death of “Boy”. On the one hand he feels sadness, on the other hand he feels joy at finally being able to marry Daisy.

In England, Woody Dewar meets history student Bella, who is studying in Oxford , at a party . Both feel affection for each other, but then Woody has to go back to the war. Allied troops have started to invade Germany and encircle Berlin. In April 1945, Hitler committed suicide in his Berlin bunker. With that the war in Europe is over. Germany is divided into zones of occupation . Soviet soldiers live in occupied Germany just as brutally as the National Socialists, killing and raping many women. When Carla tries to save a girl, she is raped herself. Nine months later she got little Walter. Werner and Erik are in Soviet prison camps. Berlin is destroyed and the population is starving. Money has lost its value. Some women prostitute themselves with the Allies for water, food and favors. In the Soviet occupation zone, the political opposition to communism is suppressed. When Werner and Erik return from Soviet captivity, Werner finds Carla with little Walter and draws wrong conclusions. But Carla explains herself and the two get married. They adopt a Jewish orphan girl, look after little Walter and have a daughter. However, they are forced to lead a life of hardship. Erik joins the Communist Party and becomes a member of the Soviet police.

Lloyd has returned home and wants to run for MP. Daisy helps him with his campaign, but fears disadvantages because of her past with her fascist ex-husband. Lloyd wins the election with the Labor Party. The war hero Churchill is defeated in the elections. Lloyd and Daisy can finally get married. Out of their relationship, two children, Eva and Davey, are born. Lloyd pursues a career and becomes special assistant to Foreign Minister Ernest Bevin and finally State Secretary of the Federal Foreign Office. His mother, Ethel, becomes Minister of Education and Billy Williams becomes Minister of Mines. The Foreign Ministers Marshall, Bevin and Lloyd are confronted with the difficult situation in post-war Germany and decide on a new currency for the Federal Republic of Germany.

While the war in Europe is over, the one in the Pacific continues. Japan refuses to surrender to the advancing Americans. The US begins building the atomic bomb . Their drop on Hiroshima and Nagasaki forces Japan to surrender. Stalin also expanded his nuclear weapons development program. Among the Russian nuclear physicists is the young Zoya, wife of Volodja Peshkov. Volodya tries to spy on construction plans for the American atomic bomb in the USA and to steal them. In doing so, he discovered the feeling of American freedom. In 1949 the USSR got the atomic bomb. The Cold War begins .

Quote

“Erik sang the song with solemn seriousness. He supported the Soviet regime as blindly as he once supported the Nazis. Carla had been confused and angry about it at first; In the meantime, however, she had recognized that there was a sad logic behind this behavior: Erik is one of those people who were so afraid of life that they preferred to live under an authoritarian regime. They needed someone to tell them what to do or think. These people were stupid and dangerous, and there were an awful lot of them ”.

reception

"Winter of the World" topped the bestseller lists for several weeks.

Awards

criticism

“Exciting story: Follet's“ Winter of the World ”. More than 1000 pages, tons of history chewed through and dozens of characters and supporting characters - and that should be exciting? Is it when Ken Follett's ("The Pillars of the Earth") new novel "Winter of the World" is mentioned. In the second volume of his trilogy of the century, the Welshman takes on the subjects of the Nazi empire and World War. His heroes are sometimes a bit wooden, the good too good and the bad too bad. But the novel is exciting and thanks to thorough research you read a history book on the side. "

- Online Focus

“Deep insights into the brown hell. Ken Follett has often made politics the exciting subject of his novels. However, he finds the most grateful material in the Second World War. The Welshman turns this into a family saga in Winter of the World, which, more exciting than any history book, takes on the battle against the brown hell. "

- Mandy Hannemann in News.de

“Great love and irrepressible hatred, adjustment and fearless resistance and all that, before the panorama of World War II. Ken Follett has once again managed to create a fateful network of connected people without losing track of the plot. The third volume of the saga of the century is currently in progress. The fans can be excited! "

- Stephanie Erler in Book World

“Nobody knows how to bring book pages to life like Ken Follett. Regardless of whether it is a thriller, a historical novel or, in this case, contemporary history, the 63-year-old writes as convincingly as if he had been there himself "

- current book

"Ken Follett knows how to let us readers experience this dark chapter of history first hand, the horror, the inhumanity, the cruelty, the destruction, but also the love and the hope"

- WDR 4 online

“So he lets his characters in the new book, the families and their descendants from the first volume, the historical personalities experience. You see Hitler in the burned-out Reichstag and are present at the dramatic Reichstag session on the so-called Enabling Act, you follow the power struggle in London between Attlee and Churchill, and you witness how the goofs from the Politburo take the apathetic and depressed Stalin in his dacha near Moscow Persuade them to carry on. With the historically documented result: the defeat of the Wehrmacht and the expansion of the Soviet empire to the Elbe. That is actually one of the great strengths of the thick tome in the massive brick format: Follett offers unsparing truths. He names and describes the terror in detail. He lets homosexuals in the Oranienburg concentration camp tear to pieces by the starved shepherd dogs of the SS. The Gestapo beats their prisoners into lumps of meat and delivers them at home to die. In Spain, a Russian secret service officer shoots his own soldiers as deserters because they withdrew without ammunition after a senseless, costly attack. Follett does not stick to the simple black and white scheme. Its color spectrum is broad and finely graduated at the same time. He paints the rough grids with intermediate tones. In addition to brutal Nazis, there are Nazis who are completely different and more or less quickly and thoroughly recognize the error. There are soldiers, politicians and business people who are brave in public and cowardly in private. And the other way around. "

- Badische Zeitung

people

  • Carla von Ulrich: Initially an eleven year old girl who is still pretty naive and raves about Werner Franck. The war turns her into a brave mature woman. She helps the Jews by, for example, smuggling medicines out of the hospital and sending them to her Jewish family doctor, who is banned from working, and helps in the Jewish hospital. She is also active in the resistance against the regime by procuring battle plans for a Berlin spy network and later taking over its management. In the last days of the war she is raped by several Russian soldiers and gives birth to a son, whom she names after her deceased father. After her friend Werner returns from captivity, they both marry and form a family with their son and an adopted girl. Carla later became involved in the local parliament and Werner had a daughter whom they named Lili after an executed resistance fighter.
  • Lloyd Williams: At first he is a student in Cambridge and visits the von Ulrichs with his mother. He is shocked by the fascists and wants to fight against them. By rejecting the fascists, he volunteered for the Spanish Civil War, from which he returned to England disaffected. Due to the experience he gained there and his successful escape from German captivity, he is recruited as an escape helper for Allied soldiers. About his great love Daisy Peshkov he learns from his real father and half-brother. Already active in social democracy as a youth, he was elected to the British House of Commons as a Member of Parliament for the London borough of Hoxton after the end of the war.
  • Daisy Peshkov: Is a initially superficial young American who, after being cut by society in Buffalo because of her father's behavior, seeks to join the English nobility in order to gain recognition. In England she marries the noble "boy" Fitzherbert, who turns out to be notoriously unfaithful during their marriage. When she suffers a miscarriage in which Lloyd Williams loyally stands by her side, she realizes that she actually loves him and gradually thinks about not only herself and her status, but also others. During the Blitzkrieg she volunteered as an ambulance driver and met Lloyd's mother Ethel by chance. Although she moves out of the common house after public exposure and is marginalized by the English nobility, Boy refuses to give her a divorce. Only after his death can she marry Lloyd, with whom she lives in public.
  • Maud von Ulrich: Is the mother of Carla, the wife of Walter and the sister of Earl Fitzherbert.
  • Ethel Leckwith: Is the mother of Lloyd and advocates women's rights in England and is a member of the Lower House for the Aldgate constituency.
  • Frieda Franck: Is Werner's sister and Carla's best friend. She is also active in the resistance.

Locations

The novel, structured in episodes, is set in various European locations such as Berlin, London and Moscow. In the USA the story of the emigrated Peshkov family is told in Buffalo / New York. Part of the narrative takes place in Belchite , Zaragoza Province , Spain , among others . A place to which Follett himself has traveled and to which he pays particular attention. The successful Welsh author presented his book here, which turned out to be a small media event. Belchite was almost entirely destroyed during the Battle of Belchite in the 1930s during the Spanish Civil War. For Follett, the historic site, the traces of which have been preserved to this day, is symbolic in the struggle of European volunteers against General Franco's army. In a fictional scene from the novel, 30 Republicans are killed in a gun battle. Follett shows here a climax of the arbitrariness and the inhuman leadership of the Republicans by Soviet commissioners and secret service agents.

expenditure

  • Winter of the World: Book Two of the Century Trilogy. 1st edition. Dutton Adult Verlag, 2012, ISBN 978-0-525-95292-3 .
    • Winter of the World: The saga of the century. Translated from English by Dietmar Schmidt and Rainer Schumacher. Bastei Lübbe, 2012, ISBN 978-3-7857-2465-1 . (for one week in 2012 at number 1 on the Spiegel bestseller list )
    • Winter of the World: The saga of the century. Bastei Lübbe, 2012, ISBN 978-3-7857-4687-5 . (Audiobook).
    • Winter of the World: The saga of the century. Lübbe Digital, 2012. (Kindle Edition, 2,595 KB).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Winter of the World , ken-follett.com (Ken Follett's official homepage), accessed August 11, 2013.
  2. ↑ Blurb on Winter of the World , Weltbild Verlag, accessed on August 11, 2013.
  3. ^ Cora Stephan: The Spanish Civil War was so cruel. In: Welt Online . September 15, 2012, accessed January 20, 2013 .
  4. ↑ a b Mandy Hannemann: "Winter of the World": Deep insights into the brown hell. (No longer available online.) In: news.de. October 16, 2012, archived from the original on October 19, 2012 ; Retrieved January 4, 2013 .
  5. ↑ Mandy Hannemann: Ken Follett: Winter of the World Review ( Memento from October 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), news.de GmbH, accessed on August 11, 2013.
  6. ↑ Exciting story: Follett's "Winter of the World". In: Focus Online . Retrieved January 4, 2013 .
  7. ↑ Stephanie Erler: Winter of the world by Ken Follett. In: Book World. Retrieved January 4, 2013 (with video: Ken Follett - Interview about Winters of the World).
  8. ↑ Ken Follett, Winter of the World, The Saga of the Century. (No longer available online.) In: buch aktuell. Archived from the original on December 26, 2012 ; Retrieved January 4, 2013 .
  9. ↑ WDR 4 online. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on December 26, 2012 ; Retrieved January 4, 2013 .
  10. ↑ Berthold Merkle: Ken Follett's "Winter of the World". Facts and fiction. In: Badische Zeitung . September 18, 2012, accessed January 20, 2013 .
  11. ↑ Berthold Merkle: Ken Follett's "Winter of the World": Facts and Fiction. In: Badische Zeitung. September 18, 2012, accessed April 29, 2014.
  12. ↑ Ken Follett presenta su libro en Belchite. In: El periódico de Aragón. 20th September 2012.
  13. ↑ Ken Follett en Belchite, First Post
  14. ↑ Facebook Ken Follett: Tomorrow I'm going to Belchite in Spain to see a Civil War battlefield. October 18, 2011.
  15. ↑ Libros: Adelanto de “El invierno del mundo”, la nueva novela de Ken Follett, ABC.es, September 21, 2012
  16. ↑ We have to fight for freedom. In: book journal. October 26, 2012.
  17. ↑ Melanie Dörschel: Ken Follett presents his new novel. In: Munich evening newspaper . September 16, 2012, accessed January 20, 2013 .
  18. ↑ Wolfgang Platzeck: Literature: A history of feelings. In: derwesten.de . September 17, 2012, accessed January 20, 2013 .