Chris' Fish Place

Disclaimer: Review copy read via Netgalley and Open Road Media.

                Wintergreen is the presentation of facts and oral testimony collected by Anna Rasmus that details the war crimes that occurred in or near her native Passau.  It is, apparently, a work that made her fellow residents anger, for she also looks at the lack of memorials or repair of such.           

                The book is written with a certain level of detachment, necessary no doubt because of the horrors chronicled therein, and the detachment serves very well, and makes the lack of retribution or sorrow on the behalf of residents even more damning.

                It should be noted that in addition to damning evidence there are also some stories of add and protest.  If you have read Out of Passau first, there is also the memory of Rasmus’ own family to take into consideration.  Additionally, this should be read before Passau as it well make some of the passages in that book clearer and more precise.

                The crimes that Rasmus examines in detail include the forced abortion and labor of East European women, the murder of Russian soldiers, and two nearby camps.  Because the focus is not just on Jewish victims or targets, the book is more encompassing than just a direct look at the Holocaust and shows that the crimes range far beyond the most obvious.

                The use of first person accounts –from survivors, witnesses, and actors in the events, makes the events more personal and affecting as well as emphasizing the possible effects on the lives of the citizens of Passau. 

                Extremely well written and easily read in a day, Wintergreen is a must for anyone reading World War II history.