The Berlin Mission: The American Who Resisted Nazi Germany from Within

As historian Breitman recounts in this inspiring history, U.S. consul Raymond Geist’s tireless work in extracting victims of Nazism from Germany before WWII called for extreme finesse and a rare balancing act. As the U.S. consul in Berlin, Geist’s job entailed handling visas for emigrants to the U.S. Breitman explains that, as Hitler’s regime slowly began its systematic oppression and extermination of Europe’s Jews, Geist (1885–1955) tangled with the American government. Negotiating immigration quotas and constantly changing standards (such as a provision barring anyone “likely to become a public charge”), Geist worked to gently but firmly cajole, persuade, and manipulate his superiors. At the same time, he was meeting with and personally pressuring Nazi officials such as Hermann Göring and Heinrich Himmler to allow Jews to leave the country—and hiding his romantic relationship with a German man. In securing visas for hundreds of unaccompanied children and expediting the emigration of such people as Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud, Breitman writes, “Geist fought against Nazi Germany indirectly.” Breitman heralds Geist’s heroism, noting that he was among the first to sound the alarm about Hitler’s plans for world domination and genocide. This stirring history, which unearths a little-known role model of resistance, will move readers. (Oct.)