The Austrian

Series · 2 books · 2016

By Ellie Midwood

Books in series

The Austrian

A War Criminal's Story 1

2016

What is going through the mind of a war criminal, tried by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg? Regret for his atrocious actions? Frantic desire to defend himself to the end? Desperate longing to be forgiven by his former enemies or craving of human kindness, even though he knows that he doesn’t deserve any… And the strongest of all, the fear to never again see the one, who he risked everything for, the only woman that he still continues to live for. All this is only the tip of the iceberg in the myriad of emotions for Ernst, former leader of the Austrian SS incarcerated in Nuremberg prison, who already knows what fate awaits him. Day after day he recollects his life, trying to understand where he made that wrong turn that changed his whole life and brought him into service of his new masters, who soon dragged his whole country into the most blood-shedding war in history. With agonizing sincerity he analyzes his past, which made him, a former promising lawyer, into a weapon of mass murder in the hands of his new leaders. Self-loathing and torturous doubts are plaguing Ernst’s mind, which together with unwanted hopes for salvation, terrifying visions of the nearing end, and ghosts from the past turn his incarceration into a never-ending nightmare. And yet, at the very edge of the abyss, he’s still clinging to life, because a woman is waiting for him, a woman, whose secret he’s still carefully guarding, and the one who he still hopes to see…

The Austrian

Book Two

2016

Second book in “The Austrian” series, which continues to follow Ernst’s fate. As the new blood-shedding war breaks out, as rumors start spreading about the atrocious actions of the government that he swore his loyalty to, more and more doubts arise in the former ardent SS leader. However, once claiming them, the sinister Nazi regime doesn’t want to let go of its victims so easily, and one has nothing else to do, but pick up a bloody mantle of a former sworn enemy to continue his ugly work… Once again, in his cell in Nuremberg, Ernst recalls the events of his life that is about to end any day now, slowly coming to terms with his fate, which is stronger than him, and preparing to die. Only, a loyal friend still refuses to give up on his attempts to save the condemned man’s life…

Author

Ellie Midwood

Author · 30 books

Ellie Midwood is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning historical fiction author, whose works have been translated into 14 languages. She owes her interest in the history of the Second World War to her grandfather, Junior Sergeant in the 2nd Guards Tank Army of the First Belorussian Front, who began telling her about his experiences on the frontline when she was a young girl. Growing up, her interest in history only deepened and transformed from reading about the war to writing about it. After obtaining her BA in Linguistics, Ellie decided to make writing her full-time career and began working on her first full-length historical novel, "The Girl from Berlin." Ellie is continuously enriching her library with new research material and feeds her passion for WWII and Holocaust history by collecting rare memorabilia and documents. In her free time, Ellie is a health-obsessed yoga enthusiast, neat freak, adventurer, Nazi Germany history expert, polyglot, philosopher, a proud Jew, and a doggie mama. Ellie lives in New York with her fiancé and their two dogs. Readers' Favorite - winner in the Historical fiction category (2016) - "The Girl from Berlin: Standartenführer's Wife" (first place) Readers' Favorite - winner in the Historical fiction category (2016) - "The Austrian" (honorable mention) New Apple - 2016 Award for Excellence in Independent Publishing - "The Austrian" (official selection) Readers' Favorite - winner in the Historical fiction category (2017) - "Emilia" Readers' Favorite - winner in the Historical fiction category (2018) - "A Motherland's Daughter, A Fatherland's Son"