In this his first novel Walter Kaufmann tells with stark realism the story of a group of underground fighters against Hitler. Woven into the heroic pattern of struggle and resistance, is the Iife story of a Jewish boy who sees his family disintegrating before the onslaught of HitIer’s thugs. With the passion of one who has Iived through many of the events described in Voices in the Storm, Walter Kaufmann presents an unforgettable picture of the face of fascism. Written in Australia, the novel is a Iiving link between the turbulent days of the thirties in Germany and Australia to-day, raising anew problems we hoped had belonged to the past. No Australian could put the book aside thinking: “Fascism can’t happen here.” For the men and women in its pages are essentially the same, and are subject to the same social forces as the men and women who walk the streets in our own cities. Voices in the Storm is a relentless story, yet it is a story of Iove and hope and fight. Even through the depiction of defeat the author inspires us with the strength and grandeur of man. The courage which upheld countless Germans who defied fascism in the face of death, their confidence and strength, their belief in the future and the world’s radiant dawn—the spirit of these men and women is alive in Walter Kaufmann’s deeply moving novel.
