March Violets

In March 1933 the Nazis became the power party in the German Parliament leaving the Social Democrats very much in the minority. After this there was an influx of applications to become members of the Nazi Party and the original members of the party referred to the newcomers as March Violets. In May 1933 the Nazi Party refused to accept new members. (The History Place)

March Violets by Philip Kerr is a gritty story about the criminal scene in Berlin in 1936. Bernie Gunther, a private investigator, is summoned by the insurance company of a rich industrialist to recover precious jewels stolen from a safe at the same time that the industrialist's daughter and son-in-law were murdered. Gunther knows that he has not been told the full story but the money offered for his services is good so he accepts.

By 1936 the Nazi Party is firmly in control in the country with the population now used to displays of propaganda in the streets and on buildings, parades of soldiers in the streets and the requirement to salute. The emphasis is on the importance of being German and minority groups, particularly Jews, face discrimination. People constantly disappear in Nazi Germany and Gunther regularly takes cases attempting to locate missing persons. Women, especially married women, are discouraged from working.

However Berlin is also holding the Olympic Games so some of the propaganda posters that might offend tourists have temporarily been removed and even some previously banned books have returned to bookstores for a short time.

As the story proceeds the reader is left in no doubt about the power of the variety of gangs operating in the city as well as the power of political groups each attempting to control what is happening in their jurisdictiction and outside it. Berlin is certainly a dangerous place, especially if you are a private investigator endevouring to discover the truth.

This book is first in a series of books about Bernie Gunther.