Today we have a guest post by Harold Benhamin, writing about his just published novel, Judenrein. Over to you Harry:
When I started writing Judenrein, a thriller that imagines the destruction of America’s Jews as white supremacists seized power in Washington, the plot seemed like a paranoid fantasy. Now, with “Bugaloo Bois” openly calling for a civil war as they violently disrupt black anti-police demonstrations, the notion doesn’t seem so crazy all of a sudden. Indeed, 2019 had the most anti-Semitic incidents of any year in the US.
Hate is rising and becoming increasingly normalized. Neo Nazis are tugging at the levers of power in Washington. The president calls them “Good people.” They haven’t gotten themselves into control—and may never get that far—but they are closer to their goal, and far more open about it, than they have been in decades.
The basic plot of the book is borrowed from what happened in the 1930s to German Jews. They were set up as scapegoats for Germany’s problems. The Nazis stripped Jews of their German citizenship and wealth. Jews were rounded up an eventually murdered. The word the Nazis used to describe their “success” was “Judenrein,” meaning “Free of Jews.”
Judenrein updates this story to present-day America. However, the book is for anyone who cares about what’s happening in the United States. I’ve tried to make it a fun, suspenseful read, but it delves into the issue of hatred and white power and its dangers for all Americans.
Milly Space 