Description
When Ashes Cried completes the trilogy of an amnesiac German soldier, Friedrich Richard whose story begins in Wolf, when he is sent to Pasewalk Hospital for treatment to restore his lost memory. There, he befriends the patient in the next bed: Adolf Hitler. Friedrich becomes the readers’ eyes and ears as Hitler and his inner circle rise to power. In Sins of the Fathers, we witness how Germany spirals into a black hole of terror as it expels its Jews and prepares for war. Friedrich and top-level German military leaders are set to launch a coup d’état when Neville Chamberlain flies to Munich to appease Hitler. Chamberlain unwittingly saves Hitler’s life and sows the seeds for World War II.
In this third volume, When Ashes Cried, Kristallnacht is unleashed to force Germany’s remaining Jews to leave. At the same time Hitler moves to conquer Europe and Russia, he secretly negotiates with the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees in London to accept Germany’s remaining Jews . . . for a stiff price. Through Friedrich, the reader learns of Stalin’s efforts to thwart Hitler’s adventurism, how the T-4 program has greater implications than euthanizing only the weak, how Hitler creates a false flag to initiate World War II, and how Friedrich’s counsel influences the war’s outcome . . . for the Allies.
As Ashes . . . unfolds, Friedrich crosses paths with the son he never knew he had, a young SS man that represents everything wrong with Germany. Tensions grow. Horrors occur. German military leaders are desperate to end WWII. Friedrich is sent on a secret mission that puts him in the crosshairs of German spies in neutral Portugal, where he meets famed actor, Leslie Howard. What follows is one of the great mysteries of World War II. The book’s dramatic ending will leave the reader breathless.
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Katherine Hall Page, Mystery Writers of America 2024 Grand Master
Alan Winter’s meticulous research is coupled with an engrossing story that blends fact with fiction, reading as if it were an actual memoir.
It is the story of a quest for identity set against the horrific backdrop of Hitler’s Germany. “Who am I?” As Friedrich Richard seeks his own answer, the reader is challenged to do the same.
When Ashes Cried, the concluding book in Winter’s WW I-WWII trilogy, is a wake-up call.
When Ashes Cried completes the trilogy of an amnesiac German soldier, Friedrich Richard whose story begins in Wolf, when he is sent to Pasewalk Hospital for treatment to restore his lost memory. There, he befriends the patient in the next bed: Adolf Hitler. Friedrich becomes the readers’ eyes and ears as Hitler and his inner circle rise to power. In Sins of the Fathers, we witness how Germany spirals into a black hole of terror as it expels its Jews and prepares for war. Friedrich and top-level German military leaders are set to launch a coup d’état when Neville Chamberlain flies to Munich to appease Hitler. Chamberlain unwittingly saves Hitler’s life and sows the seeds for World War II.
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Launch – When Ashes Cried by Alan A. Winter
Interviewed by Leslie S. Lowe
How would you describe this book and its themes in a couple of sentences?
When Ashes Cried provides the reader with an insider’s view of Nazi reasoning and need to remove all Jews from German society––once and for all––after Kristallnacht. Seen through the eyes of the amnesic protagonist, Friedrich Richard, a key member of Hitler’s inner circle, we learn of multiple opportunities the West could have stopped Hitler’s adventurism . . . but didn’t. Filled with suspense and intrigue, When Ashes Cried explains how the Holocaust came about like no other telling of it does.
What inspired you to start writing historical fiction and what has been the most rewarding about it?
I was meant to study history. I love learning about the past to understand the present. I love taking what might be seemingly disparate facts and weaving them into tales about the human spirit. This passion enables me to craft meaningful stories that by turns, engage, teach, and entertained readers while jumping off today’s headlines.
