New historical fiction release coming February 29 - UNDER THE NAZI HEEL by my friend Scott Bury!UNDER THE NAZI HEEL is the second book in the Walking Out of War series, which is a memoir in novel form. The books are based on the experiences of Scott's father-in-law, Maurice Bury. From 1942 to 1944, Maurice Bury was a member of the Ukrainian underground resistance and fought against the German occupation of Ukraine.
Read on for a sneak peek of Book 2, and get a copy of Book 1, ARMY OF WORN SOLES, on Amazon.
UNDER THE NAZI HEEL
Walking Out of War, Book 2
About the Book
For Ukrainians in 1942, the occupying Germans were not the only enemy.
Maurice Bury was drafted into the Red Army just in time to be thrown against the invading Germans in 1941. Captured and starved in a POW camp, he escaped and made his way home to western Ukraine, where the Nazi occupiers pursued a policy of starving the locals to make more “living space” for Germans.
To protect his family, Maurice joins the secret resistance. He soon finds the Germans are not the only enemy. Maurice and his men are up against Soviet spies, the Polish Home Army and enemies even closer to home.
Experience this seldom seen phase of World War 2 through the eyes of a man who fought and survived Under the Nazi Heel.
UNDER THE NAZI HEEL
EXCERPT 4: RECRUITED
Komorski could not hope to keep his pathetic café warm. Ice built up around the windows and at the threshold, where the cold slithered under the door. Like the rest of the patrons, Maurice kept his hat and coat on as they sipped lightly tinted water and exchanged what little news they had. “My poor cows are suffering in this weather,” said one, when the door opened and a blast of winter air slapped Maurice’s cheek and threw newspapers off the tables. Hrech Zazulak, nearly swallowed by a fur coat and hat, stepped inside and struggled against the wind to pull the door closed again. He shook the snow off himself as he scanned the room. Apparently satisfied with the people he found in the café, he opened his coat and laid it over the back of a chair.
Out of the coat, Zazulak was a tall, thin man with thinning black hair and thick eyebrows. His cheeks were hollow and always covered with black stubble, no matter how recently he had shaved. The day that Maurice had returned home after nine months of fighting in the Red Army, and weeks starving in a German prison camp, Zazulak had tried to recruit Maurice into a secret underground struggle against the German occupation.
He reached inside the fur coat and took out a broadsheet. “Latest edition, boys.” He spread it across the nearest table—Free Ukraine, only two days old. “Fritz is taking heavy losses in Tula, and Ivan recaptured Klin to the north weeks ago.”
The men gathered around the newspaper, craning their necks to read about German losses across the front, about underdressed soldiers freezing to death. There was a story about a siege of Leningrad, starvation in the streets and cannibalism.
Germany and the USSR had frozen together in a death-grip. “Can you trust this?” Maurice asked Zazulak.
“More than Pravda or the shit the Germans spew out,” Zazulak said. “But Pravda corroborates the OUN. Read it well, boys, then burn it.”
Maurice scanned the rest of the paper as well as he could, sharing it with a half-dozen men. When he looked out the window, he felt a shock at how dark it was. He pulled his scarf up higher on his neck, waved a farewell to Komorski and stepped out, careful to push the door shut.
It opened again and Zazulak stepped out, grabbing for his hat when the wind tore it off his head. He followed Maurice down the road. “You were a member, before the war,” he said.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Maurice felt his pulse in his neck. “The Communists killed all of OUN in 1939.” He sped up, but walking against the wind, in snow half-way to his knees, made for slow going.
Zazulak put his hand on Maurice’s shoulder and stopped him. “The Soviets didn’t kill all of OUN, and neither have the Germans. And there are other organizations, too. Don’t worry, Maurice. I’m not here to betray you.”
“It’s too cold to stand here. If you want to talk to me, walk with me.” Maurice struggled through the snow, head down. The wind stung his face and snowflakes kept landing on his eyelashes.
“Ukraine needs men like you, Maurice,” Zazulak said, his voice muffled by his fur coat.
“What do you mean, men like me?” But he knew the answer.
“Men with military experience. Smart men. Able men.”
Maurice shivered and pulled his scarf over his nose. He tried to walk faster, but that just made his feet slip back with every step forward.
“Men are building an army for Ukraine,” Zazulak continued. “You’ve heard of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.”
“Never,” Maurice lied.
About the Author
Scott Bury just cannot stay in one genre.After a three-decade career in journalism, his first published fiction was a children’s story, followed by an occult spy thriller. The Bones of the Earth, his first novel, crossed the boundaries between historical fiction and magic realism. He has also published spy thrillers and two police procedurals set in Hawaii.
Under the Nazi Heel is the sequel to Army of Worn Soles. They describe the real life experiences of Maurice Bury, a Canadian living in Ukraine during World War 2.
You can find Scott’s books and other writings at his website, The Written Word, and connect with him at:
• His blog, Written Words
• On Facebook at Scott Bury Author
• His Amazon Author page
• Or on Twitter @ScottTheWriter.
