Alone in Berlin (Penguin Modern Classics)

∗ Roland Freisler (Fallada’s character is ‘Feisler’) was the president, or chief justice, of the People’s Court (Volksgerichtshof), which was set up outside constitutional authority and was often the venue for show trials. Although possessor of a brilliant legal mind, Freisler was famous for screaming at defendants and personifying the Nazi concept of ‘blood justice’. He represented the Reich Ministry of Justice at the Wannsee Conference, where the ‘Final Solution’ for the extermination of Jews was devised.