Is this a Historical/AH subgenre?

[james_davis_nicoll]

If so, what is it called?

Set in Nazi Germany. This could be the historical Nazi Germany or one where the Nazis, against all the laws of economics and logistics, managed not to be crushed beneath the wheels of "It's a bad idea to pick a fight with the majority of the productive capacity in the world."

The protagonist is not anti-Nazi, at least to start with. He (or she, but I can't think of any example of a female protagonist in books of this sort) may not be entirely happy with Things As They Are but their primary focus is on day to day living, keeping their head down to avoid the attention of the SS or its equivilent.

Their work (usually police work) forces them to confront the basic nature of the Third Reich. There is some action that must be taken, one that usually makes the true nature ofthe 3R obvious to the world at large (typically somewhat oblivious to the nastier aspects of Nazism). The protagonist is conflicted because of the risks involved but in the end, they decide to commit the action.

The protagonist succeeds in his task but dies as a result. If there is any first person post-script, it is by someone who knew the protagonist, sometimes a German child who was pro-Nazi at the time, who was redeemed by the protagonists sacrifice.

Obviously any historical book set in Nazi Germany where the protagonist decides the Nazi regime is intolerable is unlikely to end well for the protagonist. the survival rate for members of the White Rose was pretty bad, for example. Is this actually a pattern in alternate history books of this sort or is it just that at this moment my memory is being selective? The fact that I cannot for the life of me remember how SS:GB ends inclines me to suspect the second.

The moral I think is present here isn't "Oppose the Man, get crushed" but "There are things worth dying for and here is one of them."

Comments

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

I just thought of a South Victorious novel that followed much the same plot outline, so maybe "Nazi Germany" should be replaced with "Failed Horrible Nation-State". I'm being vague about what novel it was because I can't remember the title or author. The main character was a Southern Gentleman who finds himself entangled in affairs atomic, if that helps.

[autopope.livejournal.com]

This pattern fits "Fatherland" by, um, was it Robert Harris?

It also sorta-kinda fits the first chunk of "Moon of Ice" by Brad Linaweaver, before he succumbed to the libertarian brain-eater, with the added cachet of using one of Goebbels' daughters as the hero-with-an-ine. (It's a while since I read it but I don't think she dies.)

Haven't read Turtledove's latest non-extruded Reich product ("In the presence of mine enemies") but it rings vague bells from the blurb. Added twist: protagonist is Jewish and closeted (hey, if it worked in mediaeval Spain ...).