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The Bootmaker of Berlin
Berlin, 2010: A deathbed promise launches Kathy Giuliano on a quest for the truth about her family during World War II. Alone, she travels to Berlin in search of an enigmatic octogenarian who holds the keys to the past. The only clues to his identity and whereabouts and are a black-and-white photograph and an outdated address in Reinickendorf.
England, 1938: After fleeing Nazi Germany for the safety of England, a teenage boy is captured when Churchill gives the order to ‘collar the lot’. One of 2,000 prisoners on the hell-ship Dunera, he is sent to Australia. At the ‘family camp’, he makes footwear and forms life-long friendships. Eight years later, what does he find when he returns to Berlin?
Victoria, 1943: With the Japanese at Australia’s doorstep, a mother and daughter are arrested at their cane farm in far north Queensland and sent ‘down south’. Their crime? Teaching the Italian language to school-children. The internment camp at Tatura changes everything. The secrets they share must be kept for the rest of their lives.
England, 1938: After fleeing Nazi Germany for the safety of England, a teenage boy is captured when Churchill gives the order to ‘collar the lot’. One of 2,000 prisoners on the hell-ship Dunera, he is sent to Australia. At the ‘family camp’, he makes footwear and forms life-long friendships. Eight years later, what does he find when he returns to Berlin?
Victoria, 1943: With the Japanese at Australia’s doorstep, a mother and daughter are arrested at their cane farm in far north Queensland and sent ‘down south’. Their crime? Teaching the Italian language to school-children. The internment camp at Tatura changes everything. The secrets they share must be kept for the rest of their lives.
262 pages, Paperback
Published January 9, 2023
7 people want to read
About the author
Debbie Terranova
6 books20 followersDebbie Terranova is an Australian author of WWII historical fiction, crime mysteries, and gripping short stories. She has published four novels and several prize-winning short stories. Her self-styled genre is ‘fiction with a conscience’: fiction based on true events and controversial issues.
In 2022, she was awarded a special commendation in the 29th Scarlet Stiletto Awards for her story, a short crime mystery set on the gem-fields of Central Queensland.
She has a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology), a Master of Public Administration, and is a former human resources professional and Fellow of the State Library of Queensland (SLQ).
In 2022, she was awarded a special commendation in the 29th Scarlet Stiletto Awards for her story, a short crime mystery set on the gem-fields of Central Queensland.
She has a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology), a Master of Public Administration, and is a former human resources professional and Fellow of the State Library of Queensland (SLQ).
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 22, 2023
When Kathy Giuliano's older sister Alice was on her death bed, she made Kathy promise to find a man named Horst Schuhmacher who lived in Berlin. They knew each other during the war and Alice was strangely adamant about Kathy and her quest. It was 2010 when Kathy headed to Berlin on her own, leaving her husband Jack and daughter Stephanie home in Brisbane, Australia. She had planned a week in Berlin, then some more travelling as a holiday before returning home. After some searching and asking around, Kathy finally found the man she'd come to see. But what would she learn? Was there anything that would shed a light on her sister's past?
The Bootmaker of Berlin is a wonderful historical novel by Aussie author Debbie Terranova. The story is told both through diaries and memories, and is so well told, I felt I was there, where events were occurring. The family camp in Tatura, Victoria, featured, along with canefields in Queensland, some time in England and of course, in Berlin as well. Reading the author's notes at the end, I discovered there are many facts throughout the story, mixed with the fictionalised tale; the easily flowing, well-written novel was both heartwarming and heartbreaking. And I love the cover. Highly recommended.
With thanks to the author for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
The Bootmaker of Berlin is a wonderful historical novel by Aussie author Debbie Terranova. The story is told both through diaries and memories, and is so well told, I felt I was there, where events were occurring. The family camp in Tatura, Victoria, featured, along with canefields in Queensland, some time in England and of course, in Berlin as well. Reading the author's notes at the end, I discovered there are many facts throughout the story, mixed with the fictionalised tale; the easily flowing, well-written novel was both heartwarming and heartbreaking. And I love the cover. Highly recommended.
With thanks to the author for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
February 13, 2023
‘The Bootmaker of Berlin’ is an epic tale spanning the years 1938 to 2010. The lives of the main characters – Kathy, Alice and Horst – are bound by what occurred in the Second World War in Germany, England and Australia. Though some events will be familiar, a central storyline explores the lesser-known fate of German and Italian citizens who, overnight and as a consequence of war, became ‘aliens’ in their adoptive countries.
We meet Kathy Guiliano in 2010, in Berlin, on a quest to find Horst Schuhmacher thereby fulfilling a promise she made to her dying sister, Alice. Until Alice gave her Horst’s address, Kathy had assumed Horst to be a figment of her sister’s declining mind. She doesn’t know how or where they met, the nature of their relationship but suspects he is part of Alice’s life during the war years, years she refused to speak of. With some difficulty, Kathy finds Horst and the story unfolds.
And what a story it is! The sheer scale of the novel is astounding. Kathy’s unfamiliarity with Berlin allows her, and with Horst’s assistance, to gain knowledge about the Nazi regime; the everyday lives of people during that period; the ethics of allegiances both good and bad; as well as the geopolitical events post-war in terms of the division of Berlin, reconstruction etc. And, by finally getting access to Alice’s memories, she learns about what happened during that period to Italian communities in Australia. The description of the camp at Tatura, Victoria, is both detailed and fascinating. Whilst the human story of Horst and Alice is at the heart of the novel, it doubles as a history lesson. It is clear that extensive research has gone into this book.
Yet, for all the wartime drama, it’s the actions and secrets of other family members that rock the lives of Kathy and Horst. Both are left to make sense of, and make peace with, those revelations.
We meet Kathy Guiliano in 2010, in Berlin, on a quest to find Horst Schuhmacher thereby fulfilling a promise she made to her dying sister, Alice. Until Alice gave her Horst’s address, Kathy had assumed Horst to be a figment of her sister’s declining mind. She doesn’t know how or where they met, the nature of their relationship but suspects he is part of Alice’s life during the war years, years she refused to speak of. With some difficulty, Kathy finds Horst and the story unfolds.
And what a story it is! The sheer scale of the novel is astounding. Kathy’s unfamiliarity with Berlin allows her, and with Horst’s assistance, to gain knowledge about the Nazi regime; the everyday lives of people during that period; the ethics of allegiances both good and bad; as well as the geopolitical events post-war in terms of the division of Berlin, reconstruction etc. And, by finally getting access to Alice’s memories, she learns about what happened during that period to Italian communities in Australia. The description of the camp at Tatura, Victoria, is both detailed and fascinating. Whilst the human story of Horst and Alice is at the heart of the novel, it doubles as a history lesson. It is clear that extensive research has gone into this book.
Yet, for all the wartime drama, it’s the actions and secrets of other family members that rock the lives of Kathy and Horst. Both are left to make sense of, and make peace with, those revelations.
January 19, 2023
A fascinating read. Well written and researched.
February 14, 2023
The bootmaker of Berlin by Australian author Debbie Terranova is a touching and engaging tale of the tragedy of secrets kept, and the aftermath of their revelation long into the future. We follow a Kathy, a kind, infinitely sensible, mature woman as she tries to fulfil a sister’s dying wish. In peeling back the layers of a previously unknown and fascinating aspect of her taciturn sister’s past, Kathy’s sense of self will undergo a fascinating transformation. Along the way, we are immersed, in a viscerally human way, in the city of Berlin pre and post WWII and Australia during the same period where more secrets, both personal and national reveal an aspect of Australian history rarely mentioned.
An excellent follow-up to Debbie Teranova’s ground-breaking novel set in the same period “Enemies within these shores”.
An excellent follow-up to Debbie Teranova’s ground-breaking novel set in the same period “Enemies within these shores”.
January 21, 2024
This engrossing story crisscrosses between the cane fields of Far North Queensland, to an internment camp at Tatura, Victoria (wartime 1943); to 1938 England and the hell-ship Dunera; and to Berlin of 2010. A deathbed promise propels Kathy Guiliano to discover her family story through WW2, to meet octogenarian Horst Schumacher as her half-sister Alice insisted.
Aussie author Debbie Terranova captures the contrasting weather, sights, foods and cultures with vivid detail. Especially, she reveals the viewpoints of opposing sides in the people caught up in war and how lives of ordinary people are changed forever. How marriages are divided according to 'internal' internee versus returning 'external' ones. How apparent calamities in hindsight proved providential.
In autumn 1938, Horst and his mother packed bare essentials and left Berlin to stay with Aunt Berry in Kent, England. He was barely 17 when Churchill gave orders to 'collar the lot' of all 'enemy aliens.' A week after being sent to internment camp, he received a telegram that his mother had died. After an agonising wait, compassionate leave was granted to attend her funeral. The bad news: all transport was called into a massive military operation–Dunkirk. Seven weeks later Horst was deported, first on a vessel Arandora Star that was blasted by a German U-boat torpedo and sank. From a lifeboat he watched the ship erupt into flames within a halo of burning oil.
'The grand lady moaned. As if in slow motion she began to roll, showing her underbelly and the secrets that were normally contained below the plimsoll line. Hundreds who remained on board scurried about like black ants. In awful fasciation I watched them jump and skid and tumble into the flaming ocean. As the ship went into the final death roll, the ones left clinging to the rails cascaded down the precipice like a human waterfall. Screams of anguish echoed across the water. A dying ship of dying men. My eyes were blurry with tears.'
A week later, the transport ship Dunera, built to carry twelve hundred passengers, squeezed in an extra four hundred survivors. Arriving in Australia, Horst and his Austrian friend Werner were deposited in Tatura where he met the Italian girl Alice Zanetti.
Horst dreaded his return in August 1945 to the England that expelled him, 'the country that had killed my mother and stolen my youth, a country that indiscriminately hated all Germans, no matter who they were or what they believed in.' yet, watching a hospital ship disgorge a sorry lot which faces disfigured, empty sleeves where arms used to be, torsos with no limbs attached, crutches, wheelchairs, stretchers, few able to walk unassisted, proved a reality check.
'Any one of them could have been me. When this war began, I'd cursed the British for sending me away. I'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time, I'd thought. But what had I actually lost? A few years of personal freedom...I could not imagine the horrors that these men have seen. I've never been she at or tortured...My scars are insignificant: a few patches of withered skin from an accidental fire which, by the grace of God, I survived.'
Also, by the stroke of a pen, he regained his actual name; Horst Vogel. There are coincidences that Terranova makes feasible. And a twist that caught me, even though I had read the novel in manuscript stage. Reveal: Debbie is a long time writing buddy, with whom I've shared a decade plus of ups and downs to birth our mutual books. I scratch my head and wonder that she had crafted this in yet another draft?
Debbie Terranova has blossomed as a writer to one I can wholeheartedly recommend–with no hint of bias. We readers smell the various landscapes, our tongues savour the cuisines, we see her vivid descriptions of place and feel the anguish of her characters. Her ear for accents is acute.
Yesterday I recognised a German accent in an art gallery bathroom and introduced myself. Our chat turned to books, especially The Bootmaker of Berlin. 'Go the the State Library bookshop and buy this book,' I recommended. 'You'll enjoy it.' I rather think she did so.
Aussie author Debbie Terranova captures the contrasting weather, sights, foods and cultures with vivid detail. Especially, she reveals the viewpoints of opposing sides in the people caught up in war and how lives of ordinary people are changed forever. How marriages are divided according to 'internal' internee versus returning 'external' ones. How apparent calamities in hindsight proved providential.
In autumn 1938, Horst and his mother packed bare essentials and left Berlin to stay with Aunt Berry in Kent, England. He was barely 17 when Churchill gave orders to 'collar the lot' of all 'enemy aliens.' A week after being sent to internment camp, he received a telegram that his mother had died. After an agonising wait, compassionate leave was granted to attend her funeral. The bad news: all transport was called into a massive military operation–Dunkirk. Seven weeks later Horst was deported, first on a vessel Arandora Star that was blasted by a German U-boat torpedo and sank. From a lifeboat he watched the ship erupt into flames within a halo of burning oil.
'The grand lady moaned. As if in slow motion she began to roll, showing her underbelly and the secrets that were normally contained below the plimsoll line. Hundreds who remained on board scurried about like black ants. In awful fasciation I watched them jump and skid and tumble into the flaming ocean. As the ship went into the final death roll, the ones left clinging to the rails cascaded down the precipice like a human waterfall. Screams of anguish echoed across the water. A dying ship of dying men. My eyes were blurry with tears.'
A week later, the transport ship Dunera, built to carry twelve hundred passengers, squeezed in an extra four hundred survivors. Arriving in Australia, Horst and his Austrian friend Werner were deposited in Tatura where he met the Italian girl Alice Zanetti.
Horst dreaded his return in August 1945 to the England that expelled him, 'the country that had killed my mother and stolen my youth, a country that indiscriminately hated all Germans, no matter who they were or what they believed in.' yet, watching a hospital ship disgorge a sorry lot which faces disfigured, empty sleeves where arms used to be, torsos with no limbs attached, crutches, wheelchairs, stretchers, few able to walk unassisted, proved a reality check.
'Any one of them could have been me. When this war began, I'd cursed the British for sending me away. I'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time, I'd thought. But what had I actually lost? A few years of personal freedom...I could not imagine the horrors that these men have seen. I've never been she at or tortured...My scars are insignificant: a few patches of withered skin from an accidental fire which, by the grace of God, I survived.'
Also, by the stroke of a pen, he regained his actual name; Horst Vogel. There are coincidences that Terranova makes feasible. And a twist that caught me, even though I had read the novel in manuscript stage. Reveal: Debbie is a long time writing buddy, with whom I've shared a decade plus of ups and downs to birth our mutual books. I scratch my head and wonder that she had crafted this in yet another draft?
Debbie Terranova has blossomed as a writer to one I can wholeheartedly recommend–with no hint of bias. We readers smell the various landscapes, our tongues savour the cuisines, we see her vivid descriptions of place and feel the anguish of her characters. Her ear for accents is acute.
Yesterday I recognised a German accent in an art gallery bathroom and introduced myself. Our chat turned to books, especially The Bootmaker of Berlin. 'Go the the State Library bookshop and buy this book,' I recommended. 'You'll enjoy it.' I rather think she did so.
April 21, 2023
An engaging story and very well researched. Suitable for young adults who would know very little about this side of our WW2 history.
April 1, 2024
What I loved about this book is delving into the stories of characters who found themselves on the wrong side in World War Two as a result of their nationality. Debbie delves into the story of one family to demonstrate how war impacts individuals on both sides of the conflict with the effects rippling through generations.
Kathy finds herself in Berlin to fulfil a promise she made to her much older sister, Alice who has died of dementia. With little information aside from half a photograph, Kathy finds herself in Berlin hoping to meet her obligations before relaxing on a cruise and a holiday. Once she meets Horst, the man somehow connected to Alice, Kathy finds herself enthralled by his stories about life during the war in Australia.
Debbie has done extensive research about the internment camps in Australia where people of Italian and German backgrounds were imprisoned for the duration of the conflict. It seems to be another dark side to our past we don't like to explore too closely and something I knew little about. It was both fascinating and heartbreaking to learn how families who had lived in Australia for many years were suddenly ostracised and their freedoms restricted. I found myself immersed in the personal story of Horst, the bootmaker in Berlin and how his experiences brought him into contact with Alice. Over a series of conversations Kathy discovers a side to her family's history she knew nothing about and learns a great deal about her own story.
This is a delightful read, not so much about war but about families and love. Whatever atrocities and unfairness occur, there are always people whose humanity reaches above and beyond that. A heartwarming message which will resonate with all those who despair at our capacity for cruelty.
Kathy finds herself in Berlin to fulfil a promise she made to her much older sister, Alice who has died of dementia. With little information aside from half a photograph, Kathy finds herself in Berlin hoping to meet her obligations before relaxing on a cruise and a holiday. Once she meets Horst, the man somehow connected to Alice, Kathy finds herself enthralled by his stories about life during the war in Australia.
Debbie has done extensive research about the internment camps in Australia where people of Italian and German backgrounds were imprisoned for the duration of the conflict. It seems to be another dark side to our past we don't like to explore too closely and something I knew little about. It was both fascinating and heartbreaking to learn how families who had lived in Australia for many years were suddenly ostracised and their freedoms restricted. I found myself immersed in the personal story of Horst, the bootmaker in Berlin and how his experiences brought him into contact with Alice. Over a series of conversations Kathy discovers a side to her family's history she knew nothing about and learns a great deal about her own story.
This is a delightful read, not so much about war but about families and love. Whatever atrocities and unfairness occur, there are always people whose humanity reaches above and beyond that. A heartwarming message which will resonate with all those who despair at our capacity for cruelty.
January 24, 2024
The book is an extrordinary historical novel - its characters are so clevely crafted and the story serves as an important contribution to the Australian/German/Italian history of modern times . A must read -well done Debbie -you must read this book
July 3, 2023
I highly recommend this book. The characters leap off the page. The content is thought provoking and the ending is satisfying. I love to learn history through a novelist's storytelling approach - and I particularly enjoyed learning more about how WWII played out in Australia.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews