In Our Midst - by Nancy Jensen

Book Synopsis

Drawing upon a long-suppressed episode in American history, when thousands of German immigrants were rounded up and interned following the attack on Pearl Harbor, In Our Midst tells the story of one family's fight to cling to the ideals of freedom and opportunity that brought them to America.

Nina and Otto Aust, along with their teenage sons, feel the foundation of their American lives crumbling when, in the middle of the annual St. Nikolas Day celebration in the Aust Family Restaurant, their most loyal customers, one after another, turn their faces away and leave without a word. The next morning, two FBI agents seize Nina by order of the president, and the restaurant is ransacked in a search for evidence of German collusion.

Ripped from their sons and from each other, Nina and Otto are forced to weigh increasingly bitter choices to stay together and stay alive. Recalling a forgotten chapter in history, In Our Midst illuminates a nation gripped by suspicion, fear, and hatred strong enough to threaten all bonds of love--for friends, family, community, and country.

Review Quotes

"A thoroughly researched work of truth-telling, In Our Midst shines the light of 'liberty and justice' on our history and reveals another horror that must be acknowledged. Jensen knows how to transport the reader into the domestic side of WWII; through taste and touch, sight and sound, we are there. From joy and delight to despair and horror, every character struggles to create and sustain their unique authenticity. To survive, each character must learn to blend aspirations with realities."
--Sena Jeter Naslund, author of Ahab's Wife and Four Spirits

"Good people suffer terrible injustices when war reasserts tribal loyalties. ... A sad, and sadly still relevant, history lesson in fictional form."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Touching...Jensen admirably pulls off the balancing act between an emotionally gripping narrative and adherence to historical facts...Jensen's satisfying fictional account of a lesser-known chapter of U.S. history resonates chillingly with today's headlines."
--Publishers Weekly

"Nancy Jensen's story is realistic and exposes the shocking extent of German American internment during the Second War. The story is reported as if the author lived through the immeasurable tragedy."
--Arthur D. Jacobs, Major, USAF Retired. Author of The Prison Called Hohenasperg: An American Boy Betrayed by His Government during World War II and founder of FOITIMES.COM

"Jensen's emotional intuitiveness and keen eye for detail infuse every scene, causing the reader to feel like they are tasting Nina's warm homemade bread, hearing her son Gerhard's music, feeling the cold stinging wind-chapped cheeks as Otto searches through the twelve-foot-high fence for a glimpse of his son, Kurt, and, of course, experiencing the searing heartbreak of separation." --Jolina Petersheim, author of How the Light Gets In