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The Swastika and the Edelweiss

Packed with carefully-researched historic background information on a country that was literally torn between Naziism and anti-Naziism, this is a gripping story by dark fiction author Rabbit Warren about a time that most Austrians would sooner forget.Everyone in the remote alpine village of Gletschberg am Brenner in the Austrian Tyrol seems to profit when Hitler becomes Chancellor in Germany, whilst its only hotel, the “Berghof”, celebrates with a massive firework display and an oompah-oompah band. The hotel is owned by the Nazi sympathetic mayor of the village, Herr Kratzkopf, whilst his son is the psychopathic village bully, Slimey Stefan.However, when an unofficial Nazi event at the “Berghof” escalates into the so-called “Battle of Hitler´s Birthday” and an unexpected murder, Slimey Stefan finds himself locked up for a fortnight in the local police jail. Once he is out again he leads a wave of Nazi harassment within the village and particularly against the Second Chief of Police and First World War hero, Major Schilling and his family.Things are only made worse when Schilling´s eleven year old son Erich manages to humiliate Slimey in a brutal boxing tournament, so that Erich´s mother later finds her Gluehwein stall behind the hotel vandalized. It is only then that she reveals to her family why the Kratzkopfs may hate them so much, with Slimey Stefan finally getting the chance to reap revenge on them all when the Anschluss arrives in 1938 and the notorious real-life Franz Hofer becomes the Gauleiter of Tyrol.Read more

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