Beloved Enemy

Mark Kretschmann, a native of Fredericksburg, Texas, traveled to Berlin in 1937 to study German literature. What could possibly go wrong?  Alone among his family, his grandfather Eugen senses the danger at once and fiercely opposes the journey, warning that Germany is no longer a place for the naïve—or the free. 

At first, Berlin was everything Mark had hoped for. He threw himself into his studies, forged deep friendships, and met the love of his life, Ursula. For a time, the world seemed wide open and full of promise. Yet beneath the city’s cultural brilliance lay a tightening web of surveillance and power, and Mark soon found himself ensnared in it.

Mark did not go unnoticed. Werner von Linden of the Reichsministerium für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda quickly perceived that Mark could be molded into a valuable propaganda asset. More troubling still, Klaus Lehmann, a powerful German industrialist, took an interest in Mark that curdled from fascination into obsession.

Without warning or consent, Mark is declared a German citizen. His passport becomes meaningless. His choices evaporate. When Klaus finally closes his trap, Mark understands that remaining in Berlin means surrendering not only his freedom, but himself.

With the regime tightening its grip, Mark flees the city he once loved, running for his life across a Europe already slipping into darkness.