This book was an extremely difficult one for me to write as it concerns a subject that is so close to home.  My research took me on a harrowing journey, during which I interviewed two holocaust survivors, and read letters and documents from those who were in the concentration camps.  Their stories will stay with me forever.

I also researched extensively into what happened to all the money, gold, diamonds and other assets looted by the Nazis before and during the Second World War.  A lot of what I read was pure speculation and never proven (although the foundations of these accounts were plausible), but some of the events contained are founded on truth.

The idea for the book came to me because I wanted to explore the reactions of two survivors when given the opportunity to confront one of their persecutors, a Nazi in the SS. I gave them a voice and an opportunity to demand answers.  Perhaps, in doing so, I have also given their persecutor a platform, but it was crucial for me to force him to question his horrific deeds and the consequences.  I wanted to explore how that Nazi felt about the horrors he had inflicted on a race purely for the religion they followed.  Would he feel remorse? Would he want to seek forgiveness for his crimes against humanity? Could he ever be redeemed in the eyes of God? Or, was what he did locked down so deep in his psyche that he would never give it a passing thought?

The criminal mind, especially one of a psychopath, is difficult to understand for the majority of us, but when the scale of the crime reaches mass proportions, it is virtually impossible to comprehend.  How could anyone murder and inflict such pain with no compunction, and there be no consequences, no qualms?

I looked at all these aspects, as far as I was able, and put together my own theories; drew my own conclusions.  It is for you, the reader, to look into your own heart and mind and make your own judgement. 

This is, of course, a work of fiction. My intent was never to be ‘a voice’ for the victims of these horrific crimes – that would be impossible – but to recreate events and reach deep into my own psyche in order to search for the answers I needed.

I have nothing but admiration for the survivors, and the families of those who never made it out of the concentration camps, for the way they have surmounted all the odds to live with honesty, dignity and pride.