The German Heiress
Page 33
A: Out of the trio of Clara, Jakob, and Willy, Clara came to me last, believe it or not! I wrote a very early version of this book in 2010, focused on Jakob and Willy in the mine. Clara evolved about a year later. As I learned more about Germany’s industrial history, I found out about women who took over their family businesses during that period. I knew I had to create a fictional industrial family because any existing one would’ve crucified me; these families jealously guard their reputations, and several of them continue to whitewash their wartime stories. The Falkenbergs are not based on any particular family but are inspired very loosely by the Krupps (steel), the Piechs (Porsche), and the Quandts (BMW). In the book, I used the Thyssens (steel) as a counterpoint to Clara’s family to show how high the stakes were for elites who openly criticized the regime. As in my book, there are very few purely good or bad people when looking at this topic!
Q: There’s a lot of moral ambiguity in The German Heiress, as readers are asked to sympathize with someone who can easily be viewed as a war criminal. How did you decide to write about such a morally gray character? What kinds of questions were you trying to raise for readers to consider?
A: I wanted to write a drama that dug into some of the basic questions I have about Germany and the war era: What if I had been a German back then? We’d all like to think we’d be a hero, but most of us aren’t, especially not in a police state, or when we’re at war. So could I imagine being guilty? Are there degrees of guilt? I don’t believe in the collective guilt of a whole people for what their regime does. That makes it too easy to paint everyone with the same brush. I also think it’s too easy for an individual to blame only the government for their country’s crimes without looking at themselves. So how much responsibility does an individual carry? Is it different for the elite versus the poor? A soldier versus a woman on the home front? What role does conscience play? Can people change their minds? How does a guilty person pay their debt to a society that helped drive them to do wrong? These aren’t German questions, they are universal.
Reading Group Guide
During the war, Clara had to navigate a path between loyalty to her family and her conscience. Did she succeed in doing justice to both? Is such a thing even possible, given the circumstances?
If you had been in Clara’s position during the war, would you have acted differently? What would you have done, and what might have been the consequences?
How would you describe the affair between the teenage Elisa and Willy’s father? Is it predatory, based on his power over her? Is there love? How do their later actions illuminate their relationship?
What hope do you see for Willy’s future? How do you envision his future relationship with Clara?
Clara’s father was the defining influence of her life, and she struggles to break free of him. Why is it so difficult for her? Have you ever had to distance yourself from a loved one, and if so, did you face similar challenges to Clara?
Captain Fenshaw is known for his poetic justice, such as when he put Clara in the same kind of locker that some forced laborers had to endure as punishment during the war. Do you think these methods were a necessary element of his investigation, or a personal expression of disgust at Clara’s crimes? Are such acts justified when carried out by someone who is seeking justice?
Clara’s mother, Anne, is an Englishwoman, yet she was cooperating with the Nazi government. Following the war, she embraced her British roots during denazification. Is she treacherous, or just resourceful? In what ways does wartime impact one’s loyalty to their heritage and allegiances?
How do you think Jakob has adjusted so well to the challenges of life in the ruins, despite his severe war wound? What makes him so resilient, particularly compared to other veterans who had a more difficult time readjusting?
At one point, Clara mentions to Jakob that, as a soldier, he had captured some of the people who were transported to Clara’s factories as slave labor. Does that make him an accessory to the crimes committed under Clara’s watch? How responsible is each individual for crimes that are sanctioned by their government? Is it different in a democracy versus a police state? Wartime versus peace?
In the end, Clara realizes that she has a debt to pay for the actions she took during the war, and the crimes she allowed to happen. Do you feel that Fenshaw’s ultimate sentencing of her is fair? Is it possible for Clara to repay her debt, and if so, how long would it take? Who decides if and when this debt is repaid?
Do you think Clara would be convicted as a war criminal if she were put on trial? How would you weigh her good and bad actions on a scale of her deeds?
Did you learn anything that surprised you about life for the Germans under Allied occupation? Has this new knowledge of their situation changed your feelings toward the German people during and after World War II?
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
P.S.™ is a trademark of HarperCollins Publishers.
THE GERMAN HEIRESS. Copyright © 2020 by Anika Scott. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Originally published as Finding Clara in the United Kingdom in 2020 by Hutchinson, an imprint of Random House UK.
Cover design by Mumtaz Mustafa
Cover photographs © Malgorzata Maj/Arcangel (woman); ©Historical/Getty Images (German town)
FIRST U.S. EDITION
* * *
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Scott, Anika, author.
Title: The German heiress : a novel / Anika Scott.
Description: First U.S. edition. | New York, NY : William Morrow, [2020] | Originally published as Finding Clara in the United Kingdom in 2020 by Hutchinson, an imprint of Random House UK.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019033270 (print) | LCCN 2019033271 (ebook) | ISBN 9780062937728 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9780062978974 | ISBN 9780062937742 (ebook)
Subjects: GSAFD: Suspense fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3619.C644 G47 2020 (print) | LCC PS3619.C644 (ebook) | DDC 813/.6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019033270
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019033271
* * *
Digital Edition APRIL 2020 ISBN: 978-0-06-293774-2
Version 02072020
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-293772-8
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
www.harpercollins.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower
22 Adelaide Street West, 41st Floor
Toronto, Ontario, M5H 4E3
www.harpercollins.ca
India
HarperCollins India
A 75, Sector 57
Noida
Uttar Pradesh 201 301
www.harpercollins.co.in
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand
Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive
Rosedale 0632
Auckland, New Zealand
www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
1 London B
ridge Street
London SE1 9GF, UK
www.harpercollins.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
195 Broadway
New York, NY 10007
www.harpercollins.com