A review by andrew61
A Meal in Winter by Hubert Mingarelli

4.0

This novella is set in the midst of a harsh Polish winter. Three German soldier are part of a company whose role is the execution of Jewish captives. They manage to avoid the detail which none of them like by getting the task of going out to hunt hiding Jews in the countryside. When they capture a young Jewish man they find shelter in a small Polish house and try to keep warm and make soup before they are joined by a Pole who also takes shelter. It is an interesting view of the German soldiers carrying out the horrific act of genocide but also racism of the native people and how that moderates the soldiers feelings. Are the ordinary soldiers the greater monsters who appear to have no particular hatred of the Jews yet still carry out orders or the ordinary Pole who is outwardly anti semitic. For a very slight book it carries a lot of weight and leaves the reader with interesting questions.