‘Witness’ by Daniel Peltz

Published by the Book Guild,
26 July 2022.
ISBN: 978-1-91512235-3 (PB)

This is a book of fiction heavily based on research by the author relating to the limitations of the German Penal Code in prosecuting ex Nazis.  The main characters are Wilhelm Eicke - the son of a Concentration Camp superior officer and Benjamin Levi an inmate of the same Concentration Camp.  The two boys, on opposite sides of the camp fence, witness a dreadful and totally unwarranted murder of a young woman committed by a man later married to Wilhem's mother.  This horrifying event connects the two boys for the rest of their lives and the consequences of their future actions and motivations forms the crux of the story. 

Much of the detail is set against the background of 1960's Germany in the aftermath of the trial of Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem.  Daniel Pelz clearly has a profound knowledge of both German society of this period and its penal code.  The story is both fascinating, horrifying and meticulously detailed.  I found it impossible to put down when I started to read the story and was profoundly moved by the attention to detail, and frustration suffered by both protagonists as they try desperately to bring the murderer to justice.  This is a story that needed to be told and will be appreciated by those of us who have never understood why so few Nazi personnel were actually brought to justice after the War.  Not only did I appreciate the story line, but I value the knowledge Daniel Pelz brought me.
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Reviewer: Toni Russell

Daniel Peltz is CEO of the property company London Freeholds Ltd. A governor of Birkbeck, University of London, he sits on the board of various education, mental health and heritage trusts and foundations, and has an OBE for philanthropic and charitable services. He is married with four children.

 

 
Toni Russell is a retired teacher who has lived in London all her life and loves the city.  She says, ‘I enjoy museums, galleries and the theatre but probably my favourite pastime is reading.  I found myself reading detective fiction almost for the first time during lockdown and have particularly enjoyed old fashioned detective fiction rather than the nordic noir variety.  I am a member of a book club at the local library and have previously attended literature classes at our local Adult Education Centre.  I am married with three children and five grandchildren.