In the heat of wartime Manila in March 1945, 23-year-old American GI Kurt Berlin is recruited by the OSS to return to Europe to translate the interrogations of captured Nazis. A refugee himself, Berlin discovers the Nazi he’s interpreting is responsible for much of the torment and misery he endured during his own escape with his family from occupied Europe. And that very same Nazi may hold the key to finding the girl he left behind. So begins The Interpreter.

Kurt’s harrowing backstory, his escape from Nazi-occupied Europe, is recounted episodically throughout. What follows, in a scene that was ultimately left on the ‘cutting-room-floor,’ is the moment when Kurt realizes the value of his native language to his ultimate survival.

. . .May 12, 1940
Brussels, Belgium
mid-morning

Kurt couldn’t sit inside their apartment one more day. He was ashamed of himself for falling apart in front of his parents in the wake of the arrival of the Germans. He was a man now. He had to maintain his composure. He wouldn’t let it happen again.

His father had gone to see Jacques Halevy in search of alternate escape routes, and to convert some of their diamonds to cash to survive the chaos of the invasion. His mother had gone to the Mandelbaums to find food and supplies. Several women were meeting there, bringing what provisions they had in the hope that they could, together, prepare enough food to keep them all fed for a few more days.

The King had surrendered to the Germans the day before. There was still fighting along the coast and an attempt to evacuate the surviving troops to England from Dunkirk was underway. Kurt had listened to the reports on the radio.

He needed to see Elsa. She didn’t know he was here, that he was in Brussels. It was too dangerous to go out and Kurt was too terrified to leave the apartment anyway. He remembered the Nazi’s entry into Vienna and the terror that followed. Kurt recalled the shame of his father scrubbing the sidewalk with a toothbrush while their neighbors laughed.

He put on his most worn trousers and an old shirt with a jacket. He slapped one of his father’s caps on his head. He wanted to look older, more like a worker, less conspicuous. He slipped out of the apartment figuring he had about three hours before his parents returned.

He took the most direct route to the convent school, walking through the park and on the main thoroughfares, avoiding the side streets. He didn’t want to be caught alone. Kurt noticed the German soldiers standing around, joking, smoking, eyeing the young women as they hurried by trying not to be noticed.

A thought occurred to him, shaking him out of his waking nightmare. He understood the conversations he heard coming from the soldiers. Their language was his language. Then he realized he appeared to them like one more Belgian. They had no idea that he was Austrian or a Jew, that he understood what they were saying. For the first time since the Nazis rolled into Vienna some two years earlier changing his life forever, Kurt felt as though he had a secret weapon. He could spy on them and they would never know. That made him smile. It made him feel strong.

And so. . .the interpreter was born.

The Interpreter is the first book in the NEW “Justice” historical mystery series, released March 28, 2020.

In the heat of wartime Manila, 23-year-old American GI Kurt Berlin is recruited by the OSS to return to Europe to aid in the interrogation of captured Nazis. A refugee from the Nazis himself, Berlin discovers the SS officer he’s interpreting is responsible for much of the torment and misery he endured during his escape. And that very same Nazi may hold the key to finding the girl he left behind. Will the gravitational pull of revenge dislodge his moral compass?

From the terror of pre-war Vienna to the chaos of occupied Brussels, through Kurt’s flight with his family through Nazi-Occupied France to the destruction of post-war Europe, The Interpreter follows Kurt’s surreal escape and return. How much can his young mind absorb before it shatters?

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About the author
A.J. Sidransky’s novels include, Forgiving Maximo Rothman, Stealing a Summer’s Afternoon, and Forgiving Mariela Camacho. Forgiving Stephen Redmond will be released January 2021. His short stories include, La Libreta, (The Notebook), Mother Knows Best, and The Glint of Metal. His story, The Just Men of Bennett Avenue will appear in the anthology, Jewish Noir 2 in 2020. He is a regular contributor to The Cooperator Magazine and EQ Magazine and lives in New York City with his wife. To learn more about A.J., visit his website at ajsidransky.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

All comments are welcomed.