In 1938, all of Germany seems to be captivated by the pied piper from Austria, Adolf Hitler. However, Philip Baron von Feldburg is a young German officer deeply concerned about the direction Germany is going and is distressed by the policies of the Nazi government. While his younger brother is thrilled to be flying the Luftwaffe's latest fighter, his sister marries a self-made man with good Nazi connections and a bright future. As one Nazi victory follows another, Philip feels increasingly isolated until he meets Alexandra Mollwitz, an attractive secretary working at General Staff headquarters. Philip finds love and a kindred spirit. Through her he meets a group of senior officers working to overthrow the Nazi regime using the Valkyrie Plot. A work of historical fiction, An Obsolete Honor personalizes a major event in world history. The story demonstrates how immersed the Nazi regime became in both the public and political world and in the personal lives of the German people, who were often forced to make decisions not aligned with their personal beliefs. An Obsolete Honor helps us understand what it was like to live and work in Germany during those tragic times.
Helena P. Schrader
Historian, Novelist, Diplomat
Helena P. Schrader obtained a BA in History from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and followed this with a MA in Diplomacy and International Commerce from the University of Kentucky, Lexington. She earned a PhD in History from the University of Hamburg with a ground-breaking biography of the German Resistance leader General Friedrich Olbricht.
Schrader worked for consulting firms in Washington, DC, for the German Privatization Agency (Treuhandanstalt), and as an Investor Relations Manager for a German bank and a German venture capital fund, before joining the U.S. Foreign Service. She is now a career diplomat.
She has lived on five continents and speaks three languages fluently. She owns property in what was once Lacedaemon, which she visits regularly and where she intends to retire.
