Guest Post: A Most Unlikely Man: A Tale of Resistance by J.P. Rieger

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1 day ago
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Book details:

Book Title: A Most Unlikely Man: A Tale of Resistance

Series: n/a

Author Name: J.P. Rieger

Publication Date: September 23, 2025

Publisher: Blue Cedar Press

Pages:107

Genre: Historical Fiction with a touch of Magical Realism

Any Triggers:Killings, war, violence against prisoners

@jpaulrieger @thecoffeepotbookclub

#jpaulrieger @thecoffeepotbookclub

#TheCoffeePotBookClub, #BlogTour, #WWII,

#HistoricalFiction, #MagicalRealism,

Isadore Levinsky is a survivor. No stranger to concentration camps, he's been freighted by boxcar to yet one more, possibly his last, before death by rifle or neglect. He's survived this far because he's done what any person would do under the circumstances: everything possible, irrespective of the consequences for others. At the nearly deserted Natzweiler-Struthof camp, Levinsky matches wits with fellow prisoner Otto Beck, a self-proclaimed pacifist, gentile and admitted liar. Beck has decreed that all food and water will be shared equally. He's rallied the men and challenged his Nazi overseers, willingly taking their beatings and abuse. But is Beck a charismatic con man or a liberator? Previously convicted for his treachery, Beck is architect of an escape plan specifically designed to assist his Nazi captors. Can Levinsky and the men survive Beck and find their way to freedom?

A Most Unlikely Man: A Tale of Resistance is a story that resonates with our own times and reflects the challenges to freedom that we face today. Uplifting and inspiring, the story draws us into a dark past we must never forget, while shining a ray of hope for our future.

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What inspired you to explore the moral complexities of survival, loyalty, and deception in a story set within one of history’s darkest moments?

The current political climate within the U.S. affords comparisons with that of Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Of course, thinking about Nazi Germany unavoidably brings to mind the Nazi extermination campaign against the Jewish people and others deemed to be “undesirables.” I decided to channel my personal concerns over our country’s current political direction by writing a (hopefully) uplifting story about a group of twenty-two prisoners in the Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp who use their wits and courage to liberate themselves from their Nazi captors. The dialogue between my two protagonists exposes the moral complexities stemming from the prison experience.

Jewish prisoner Isadore Levinsky has survived by taking more than his share of food. He understands that doing so is morally wrong and will lead to the deaths of some of his fellow prisoners, but his survival instincts prevent him from acting otherwise. He is also a bitter and cynical man who believes that he will not survive the experience anyway.

Protagonist Otto Beck is a gentile pacifist who has mysteriously and unexpectedly been thrown in with the other Jewish prisoners in the camp. Beck decrees that, henceforth, all food and water will be shared equally. He tells the prisoners that if they will work together and get to know one another as persons, they will defeat the Nazis. He declares that once they reclaim their humanity, they will be able to physically free themselves from the camp. He claims to have a plan for their liberation that he is not able to presently divulge.

Levinsky sees Beck’s statements as nonsense. He believes that Beck is deceiving the men and fueling false hope solely for Beck’s own self-aggrandizement. He views Beck’s constant optimism as a form of cruelty inflicted upon the helpless and desperate men. But he also respects Beck’s willingness to take the beatings of his Nazi captors, even though he fears that Beck’s actions and statements may place the men in even greater jeopardy.

In the meantime, we learn of the unusual circumstances at the camp. Previously, the prison population in Natzweiler-Struthof had been evacuated to its satellite camps. Only a skeleton crew of four S.S. officers and two regular army privates remained behind. But due to satellite camp overcrowding, the 22 prisoners were sent to Natzweiler-Struthof.

Deception is a key theme in the novella. Beck is a master of insinuation, misinformation and suggestion. The lack of German personnel at the camp is not immediately apparent to the prisoners, but Beck comes to realize such and begins to use the Nazis’ small numbers against them. His liberation plan requires cultivating mistrust. He imperceptibly turns the Nazis against one another by preying upon their fears and egos.

Loyalty is another key theme in A Most Unlikely Man: A Tale of Resistance. The German, regular army private, Emil Bauer, sees the evil inflicted by the S.S. officers on the prisoners. He begins to sympathize with the prisoners. He is torn between his loyalty to his country and his adherence to a basic moral code. Ultimately, his inherent goodness shines through at the time it is needed most.

https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/10/blog-tour-a-most-unlikely-man-by-jp-rieger.html

J. Paul (J.P.) Rieger is a mostly retired Maryland attorney and author of five books, The Case Files of Roderick Misely, Consultant, a mystery featuring a wannabe lawyer anti-hero published in April, 2013, Clonk!, a police farce set in Baltimore and published in May, 2023 by Apprentice House Press (Loyola University, Maryland), The Big Comb Over, a slipstream comedy of manners published in April, 2024, Sunscreen Shower, a Clonk! sequel, published by Flock Publishing in October, 2024 and A Most Unlikely Man: A Tale of Resistance, published by Blue Cedar Press in September, 2025.