Another Soul Saved, Guest Post by John Anthony Miller

Vienna, 1941

Monika Graf, the wife of a wealthy Austrian military commander, steals two Jewish girls from the Nazis—a crime often punishable by death. With soldiers in rapid pursuit, a homeless Jew named Janik, a mysterious man who lurks in the shadows, helps her escape.

Unable to have children of her own, she finds a new purpose in life—rescuing Jewish children from the horrendous Nazi regime. She asks the Swiss for help, trading military secrets she gleans from her husband for the lives of Jewish children. With Janik’s continued support, she also enlists Father Christoff, a priest at St. Stephen’s Cathedral coping with unexpected emotions and doubting his commitment to God. Monika quickly forms bonds that can’t be broken, feelings exposed she never knew existed.

Relentlessly pursued by Gestapo Captain Gustav Kramer, Monika combats continuing risk to her clandestine operation. When her husband, a rabid Nazi, returns from the battlefield severely wounded, she gets caught in a cage that she can’t crawl out of.

Wrought with danger, riddled with romance, Another Soul Saved shows humanity at both its best and worst in a classic struggle of good versus evil.

How were Jewish children rescued?

Another Soul Saved tells the story of Monika Graf, a wealthy Austrian woman who risks everything to rescue Jewish children, with no recognition or reward, betraying both her country and her husband. Unable to have children of her own, she impulsively rescues two Jewish children from the Nazis, which starts a whole underground operation that saves many children’s lives. To realistically portray this process, I researched real-life events that occurred prior to and during the Second World War. I discovered four methods employed in different countries that I used to make the fictional world I created seem realistic to my readers.

The novel is set in Vienna, and Austria was one of the few European nations that had an active emigration program available for the Jewish population. Prior to the war, Jewish emigration efforts were organized by different countries—Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands—and various charity organizations. Once the war started, these efforts ceased. Emigration was still available, although its use was limited because of the exorbitant fees imposed by the Nazi regime. I used this escape path for some of the children that Monika rescues, but in the novel, she wants to save far more than this process permits.

In other parts of Europe, Hungary in particular, Swiss diplomats discovered that the Nazi regime was fanatical about official documentation. Even the most rapid Nazi would pause when presented with the proper paperwork—or what appeared to be official documents. The Swiss, with Nazi permission, produced a limited number of documents for Jews to specify that they were in the process of emigration, usually to Palestine, even though it often wasn’t the case. In most cases, these documents were honored.

While writing the novel, I combined these two processes and created a Swiss diplomat who produced documents to protect Jewish children, and eventually entire families, while enabling a limited number to emigrate. To raise the stakes for Monika, increasing the risks she faced, my imaginary Swiss savior is also part villain. He forces Monika to trade the children’s freedom for valuable military secrets she gleans from her husband, a general in the German army.

Another method that Monika employed to save Jewish children was the most frequently used during WWII, especially in Poland. Jewish children pretended to be Catholic. Minor preparation was needed—memorizing Catholic prayers, learning a few hymns, and having a basic understanding of the religion. In Another Soul Saved, Monika enlists Father Christoff, a priest at St. Stephen’s Cathedral, to aid her efforts. Together, they hide Jewish children in the cathedral’s crypt, where they are then enrolled in Catholic orphanages, sometimes for high fees that Monika graciously pays.

The last method Monika used, which was a common practice throughout Europe, was hiding Jewish children—and sometimes entire families—on farms, especially in remote areas. It was easy to blend children with the farmer’s family, or have entire families pose as relatives, because the rural location had much less exposure to soldiers or the citizens who supported them.

In Another Soul Saved, Monika uses each of these rescue efforts to their maximum potential, increasing the danger she faces as she saves as many lives as possible.

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Meet John Anthony Miller

John Anthony Miller writes all things historical—thrillers, mysteries, and romance. He sets his novels in exotic locations spanning all eras of space and time, with complex characters forced to face inner conflicts—fighting demons both real and imagined. He’s published twenty novels and ghostwritten several others, including Another Soul Saved. He lives in southern New Jersey.