Lies of Omission

In 1938, Margarethe von Stahle is desperately trying to practice ethical medicine

despite the Nazi policy of “racial hygiene” that is forcing doctors to collaborate

in the extermination of the handicapped and mentally ill. She has always avoided

politics, but now she must decide whether to remain on the sidelines or to act on

her convictions. At the same time, she is struggling to hold her family together,

despite intrigue, secrecy, and an unforgivable indiscretion.  e people she holds

most dear are conspiring against her for their own ends. Neither of Margarethe’s

children are playing to script, frustrating her hopes for the future of the House

of Langenberg-Edelheim. Perhaps the only solution is to face the truth…or tell

more lies of omission.

is timely novel is the third volume of the Passing Rites series, which follows

the aristocratic Stahle family through the 20th century. Set in the last years

before World War II, Lies of Omission addresses the challenge of resistance to

the  ird Reich. Despite great danger, some doctors honored their Hippocratic

Oath. Ordinary citizens, working in small groups, came to the aid of the

disenfranchised. A few brave souls managed to keep their moral compass, while

all around them, a nation descended into collective lunacy.

Elena Graf was inspired to write about this period by her father’s war stories. She

fell in love with the city of Berlin while working for a German publisher. She

lives in Maine.