Description
Born in Lubeck, Germany, in 1917, Markus Bekker is brought up by his mother and his grandparents. He had been told that his father was killed at the Battle of the Somme in 1916 as millions of other young German men had been. Markus struggles growing up in the chaotic and hostile environment of post-war Germany where food is in short supply and there is a lot of political unrest. Luckily his grandfather is a baker so at least they have bread.
As a teenager, the Hitler Youth movement indoctrinates him to a level where he is prepared to give his life for the Fatherland and to obey any orders, whether they are morally correct or not.
While rowing for Kiel University at Henley-on-Thames in 1937, he discovers that he has a twin brother and also that his father is still alive. All the time that he believed that his father was dead, he had, in fact, been living in the north of England with his twin brother.
In 1939, Markus ends up in the Luftwaffe, and Chris, his twin brother, is flying for the RAF. Inevitably, fate takes control, and they meet in the skies over Southern England with tragic consequences.
Read how Markus is captured and starts to question the values that have been instilled in him during his years in the Hitler Youth. Imprisoned, he agrees to work for the British and returns as a spy to Germany, to obtain information on their new jet engined fighter.
War Brothers illustrates how blood is thicker than water and that fate will overcome all human effort and desire. The love for a brother proves to be far more effective than anything that indoctrination can achieve.