Werner Nitschke

Where You Are Not, I Cannot Be Werner Nitschke

On the return train to Leipzig, exhausted from the day, Fritz closed his eyes. But sleep was impossible. He became unhappy with his own locked-in life-path. He felt the need to shake things up ... to introduce uncertainty, to have more degrees of freedom, to do something ... something unexpected, that just might reveal another, more positive path. A story that spans decades, Fritz Seemann, the brilliant student of Werner Heisenberg at Leipzig University during World War II, finds that he must become an obstructionist to Hitler's plans in any way he can, large or small. As an opportunity presents itself, he jumps at the chance to take action. He gets assigned to a German U-boat bound for Japan. With luck and intuition, he is able to hide the shipment of uranium ore he is assigned to escort in the foothills of the Andes Mountains. He jots down a strange message, a clue to the buried uranium's location. Traveling in harsh terrain an accident occurs placing Fritz in the hospital. He is in a coma and under the care of a kind and caring nurse, Frieda, who is also a German and a Jew. As he convalesces, they come to know each other, fall in love, and plan a life together. Unexpectedly they end up in the United States where they eventually meet the Stanhope family and over the years build a beautiful and vital friendship. During this time, Fritz is unaware that he has been targeted by the Mossad. They want the buried uranium for Israel. Though there have been missed opportunities to get Fritz over the years, the Mossad finally initiate the kidnapping of the Seemans. What ensues is an intriguing intersection of people, puzzles, and deception.