Last days in Berlin Paloma Sánchez-Garnica

Review:

A great choral novel about the dangers of totalitarianism

True to her literary style, very personal, enveloping, full of realism and traditional situations, Paloma Sánchez-Garnica will captivate the reader with Last Days in Berlin, a novel that was a finalist for the 2021 Planeta Prize. After the best-selling La sospecha de Sofía, with nineteen editions, more than 100,000 copies sold and unbeatable reviews, the author has established herself with this work as one of the great references of literature in Spanish.

Last days in Berlin It is a great story that has all the components that readers could wish for: a striking plot, a transcendental era, outstanding characters and two key scenarios in our most recent history. The novel reflects the rise of totalitarianism that affected all of Europe and led to the Second World War: nationalism, the Russian Revolution and its consequences for the people. At the same time, it can be read in a contemporary key, since it is a disturbing lesson about the consequences of doctrinal ideologies. “The danger of totalitarianism always exists. Humanity always repeats its same mistakes and we are not exempt from any danger that has occurred in the past,” Paloma Sánchez-Garnica recently stated.

St. Petersburg, Stalinist Moscow and Adolf Hitler’s Berlin are the three main settings in this novel, in which there are more fighters against the times than victors and losers. In this story, the author offers the everyday point of view of society, how the population lived in that era and not so much the great historical figures. In this story many will suffer, there will be victims, executioners, accomplices and brave opponents, but the protagonist, who must free himself from Nazi and Stalinist persecution, will never abandon his great hope: to reunite with the family he left behind in Russia.

Readers will enjoy not only the main plot, the one starring Yuri, but also many other interesting ones, such as the experiences of his neighbors and the Jewish merchants mentioned, the real work that Yuri does in the embassy or the past experiences of his mother and brother in Russia. Last Days in Berlin is a great choral novel, an exciting and intimate historical story that recalls great classics such as Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak.

The most relevant characters

Yuri Santacruz

The protagonist of this novel is a young Russian of Spanish descent who must fight not only to survive Nazism, but also to escape the cruelty of Stalinism. Yuri is a brave and passionate man who will not hesitate to face risks while remaining faithful to his convictions. A true hero.

«Yuri listened to him, trying to remain calm; he did not want to, nor should he, take his indignation out on him. He was enraged by the perfectly crafted message that spread beyond the borders about the reality of Bolshevism, reaching noble and even honest and decent minds like that of that boy.»

«As he listened to him, Yuri could not help but recall his experiences in Russia, the collapse of his entire world, the sudden dehumanization resulting from hunger and uncontrolled violence. He was pained by the situation of that boy because it deepened his own wound, his memory of absence, of separation, but he also lamented his ignorance of that reality, that idealized, almost poetic vision that had spread among the left in many countries, justifying the obvious excesses of both Lenin and now Stalin.»

Claudia Khaler

This beautiful woman married to a Nazi officer is one of the characters who develops the most throughout the novel. Yuri will make her act in an impetuous manner because, deep down, her passion and intelligence will make her see beyond the designs of Adolf Hitler’s regime. Accommodated to the ideology of Nazism and social appearances, Claudia will feel against the ropes for giving free rein to her feelings. She will also want to protect her loved ones, including her brother Franz.

«Claudia did not reply immediately. In her mind, the desire to impose what she considered her ideological truth clashed with the disturbing fascination that the proximity of that man, enhanced by his insolence, provoked in her.»

Krista

Yuri’s landlady’s daughter completes the love triangle in this story. Krista is a PhD student in gynecology who leaves Munich after being fired from a clinic under Gestapo surveillance. This young woman, who returns to her mother’s house, will be attracted to Yuri from the first moment. Claudia’s brother will try to win her over and the young woman, loyal to her ideals and the value of human beings, will also fall victim to Nazi networks. Krista, with a strong character, is a heroine.

«She burst into tears and Yuri took her into his arms. Krista looked at them with her eyes filled with tears, her jaw set in rage, her fists clenched in helplessness. How could this be happening? Iniquity and lawlessness were beginning to be considered part of the law of the Third Reich. She felt ashamed of being German and her heart ached for it.»

SS Ulrich von Schönberg

Claudia’s husband, a Nazi through and through, works as an assistant to Heinrich Himmler. He is a violent and insolent man who symbolizes the SS’s desire for superiority and, at the same time, a frustrated individual. However much he wishes otherwise, Ulrich does not inspire in his wife the same devotion as Yuri.

«I knew Ulrich’s threat was serious: if he discovered his identity, he would be finished off. Once the floodgates of suspicion were opened, it was impossible to prevent the situation from blowing up in their faces with consequences they did not want to even imagine.»

Erich Villanueva

Yuri’s boss is one of his greatest allies, although the protagonist sometimes finds it difficult to follow his instructions. A close friend of his father, Villanueva works as a communications secretary for the Spanish embassy in Berlin. A man of enormous influence, he acts as Yuri’s mentor. This character, full of nuances and chiaroscuros, is very interesting.

«He tried, but he couldn’t help it. He was frightened by the consequences that this heroic act could bring. He was convinced that Villanueva would not look kindly on what he was doing. He hadn’t thought about his reaction until that moment. His stay in Berlin depended on him; he could be sent back to Madrid. He reproached himself for his clumsiness.»

Veronika Olegnova

When the Bolshevik Revolution breaks out, Yuri’s family begins to suffer its consequences and his mother has only one thought: to leave the country. Married to the Spaniard Miguel Santacruz, the kind Verónika, with exquisite manners, devotes her life to caring for her children.

«The life of luxury, comfort and well-being in which Miguel Santacruz and his family had lived had completely vanished. Turned into enemies of the people, branded as arrogant and selfish bourgeois, accused and sentenced as criminals for the sole reason of belonging to a social class, the Santacruz family had had to learn to go unnoticed, to avoid crossing paths with those who viciously spread the hatred accumulated over centuries.»

Other supporting characters

As this is a great choral novel, many characters populate Yuri’s or Claudia’s environment. The reader will notice from the beginning that there are many secondary characters who will have a decisive role in the story and in the surprising narrative twists. One of them is Kolia, Yuri’s brother and an example of how totalitarianism transforms good beings into monsters.

On the other hand, the author cites other historical figures who are not given a voice, but who have a certain punctual presence, such as the Goebbels, or others who have been recreated, such as the savage Russian commander Lavrenti Beria.

The main themes of this great story

The main theme of this novel is the human struggle for survival. in a society suffocated by totalitarianism and war and, in the midst of so much injustice, wanting to live normally and remain by the side of those you love most. In addition to this issue, many others are reflected in the plot of Last Days in Berlin.

Love with all its nuances

The novel deals with forbidden love, love triangles, passion and desire, along with the loss and remembrance of loved ones. Paloma Sánchez-Garnica also deals with the infinite beauty of maternal love and the love between siblings, as well as the strength of friendship.

The essence of totalitarianism

These, of any kind, mark the daily life of any person. Revenge and denunciation of those who think differently, political persecution, injustice and barbarity of fascism, the inhuman values ​​of every dictatorship, the decadence of the most privileged classes and everyday violence are issues that are addressed in the novel. The author also recreates the savagery of all sides, the fear of the victims and exile.

Everyday life in times of conflict

The author goes much further, showing how politics can influence personal life. Some examples are Big Brother-type control, the suffocating lack of freedom, the ravages of war and how solidarity and selfishness emerge.

Women, victims and heroines

Paloma Sánchez-Garnica also brings to light a subject that is rarely discussed in depth: the sexual abuse of women and girls who survive a war. The author does not limit herself to mentioning them, but also depicts the abuses inflicted by Russian soldiers, drunk and out of control by victory; as well as the violent way in which the powerful Nazis treated their wives. For them, women were an object, a way of perpetuating the Aryan race.

The reflection of historical facts and scenarios

The author successfully links the plot, the historical context and the characters, making them witnesses or protagonists of memorable events. With narrative mastery, Nazism and Stalinism are two sides of the same coin, just as Germany and Russia are poles that attract and repel each other throughout this story.

The story begins in Berlin in January 1933, when Hitler is appointed German Chancellor. From then on, the protagonist jumps into the past to explain his origins, his parents’ relationship and how the Bolshevik Revolution affects his family, his escape and his time in Madrid and Berlin. The story then returns to the 1930s, where the novel begins, and continues until the end of the Second World War in 1945.

The reader travels to great settings with a carefully crafted atmosphere without forgetting the protagonist’s connection with Spain. In addition to Germany and Russia, Paloma Sánchez-Garnica takes us to the Spanish Civil War and Franco’s Spain. Other emblematic enclaves where the action takes place are the Siberian gulags, with horrifying living conditions. The author also articulates some scenes in Madrid, Munich, the Dachau concentration camp and the Rävensbruck women’s camp, as well as other cities and countries, such as Warsaw and Switzerland, respectively.

Taking advantage of this rich historical context, Paloma Sánchez-Garnica shows us everyday scenes related not only to the Bolshevik Revolution or Hitler’s rise to power, but also to other significant events. This is the case of Kristallnacht, the boycott of Jewish merchants, the torture of the Soviet police, the murders and sentences of opponents of Nazism, Hitler’s end in his bunker or the suicides of many Nazis before being captured. The novel also records events such as the massacre of thousands of Polish citizens in the Katyn forest by the Russians. Nothing escapes the arduous documentary work of the novel, always from the bold point of view of Paloma Sánchez-Garnica.