Book Review: The Blood Tattoos by Jana Petken

 

Book of the Week

After years of living in America, two Germans return to Berlin and enlist in the Waffen-SS. Bonded by duty, conscience, and their love for the United States, they struggle to separate soldiering from Nazi ideology.

An American at heart, Uwe Polkaehn finds that in the SS, loyalty to Adolf Hitler is more important than being a good soldier. From Berlin to Belgium, France, Holland and the Eastern Front, he and the SS-Das Reich Division spearhead the Führer’s drive across Western and Eastern Europe.

Lukas Querner, the son of an admiral in the German Kriegsmarine, returns reluctantly to Hamburg after six years at Harvard University. After refusing to follow his father into the Kriegsmarine, he volunteers for the SS, believing the armed wing is the elite fighting force that will battle the enemy with honour..

During training, Uwe and Lukas meet Otto Skorzeny, an enigmatic SS officer. After impressing the Führer, Otto transfers the two men to a new Special Formation commando unit that will perform the most dangerous undercover missions of the war.

No longer in the SS, Uwe and Lukas push themselves to the limits of their endurance and admit they are living on borrowed time.

I have read quite a few books set during World War II, but I have never read a book set from the German perspective before. The story is about two men who join the SS. Uwe is forced to join after his sister gets herself into a bit of trouble, whereas Lukas chooses to join the SS. The two men, from very different backgrounds - Uwe is from America, and Lukas has just come back from America- but they forge an unlikely friendship when they realise that neither is as devoted to the cause as everyone else around them is. But if they are to survive this war, then they must keep their feelings hidden, and they must never disrespect the Führer.

I do not consider myself a violent woman, but I really wanted to shake some sense into Lisbeth, Uwe's sister. Despite warnings from her brother, Lisbeth is so enraged with her mother for dragging her across the ocean and away from everything she knew that she cannot keep her emotions in check. Her inability to keep her mouth shut is a constant frustration throughout this novel. She really is quite clueless about the danger she is in. Her story is not a happy-ever-after tale, but then neither is it for any of the characters. 

This story is a very gripping, very emotional read as you follow Uwe and Lukas through the war years - they spend a great deal of time on the Eastern Front, which is an unforgivingly brutal place, where the weather is more the enemy than the Soviets are. The endless fighting, the sickness that runs through the camp like wildfire, and the needless slaughter remind the readers that there are no winners in war.

As a historical fiction novel goes, this book is certainly up there with the best. It is utterly compelling from beginning to end, although I would advise having some tissues near at hand.

This book is a must-read for fans of historical fiction set during World War II

This title is available on Amazon