War and Remembrance

One of the more significant themes in the novel and one that occurs in many of Wouk's works is a rediscovery of a central character's Jewish identity. Biblical scholar Aaron Jastrow and his niece Natalie Henry's experience of the Holocaust and their internment in Theresienstadt Ghetto are the events that trigger their newfound identification with their Judaism, Jastrow having formerly converted to Catholicism.^[1] "Jastrow is transformed from a rational professor with only marginal awareness of his Jewishness into a passionate champion of his Jewish integrity" according to one reviewer.^[2]

The action moves back and forth between the characters against the backdrop of World War II: Victor "Pug" Henry takes part in various battles while separating from his wife. Pug's older son Warren, a naval aviator, and younger son, Byron, a submarine officer, also participate in combat. Warren is killed at the battle of Midway. Byron's wife Natalie is trapped in Axis territory with her uncle, celebrated author Aaron Jastrow, and another major strand focuses on their story as Jews caught in Europe. Like most Americans, Natalie and Aaron fail to believe that the civilized German culture with which they are familiar could possibly engage in genocide. As a result of their rash decision to stay when they could escape, they are slowly absorbed into the Jewish population that is first interned, then sent to concentration camps. As Byron attempts to find out what is happening to them, eventually tracking them down amidst the chaos of wartime Europe, the story of the Holocaust is gradually revealed to the American government and people. Another plot thread concerns Aaron Jastrow's cousin Berel who is captured near the end of The Winds of War and is forced to join Kommando 1005, SS officer Paul Blobel's Jewish contingent that travels around Eastern Europe exhuming the bodies of massacred Jews and disposing of them in an effort to hide the evidence of Nazi mass murder.

Plot criticisms

One frequently cited criticism of the plot is that Wouk's repeated references to history take precedence over character development as well as the observations and ideas he offers to explain WWII in a larger context. As a result, the plot is occasionally too predictable, and Wouk seems at times to force the history to comply with his own observations about WWII and mankind.^[1] Larry Swindel noted that "there is deficient characterization throughout for any reader not already acquainted with the principals", and "the characters are reduced to pawns on the chessboard of history".^[3] Another critic noted that Wouk's personal commentary could have been better presented through his characters and that he should have been able to make his own observations about history through the structure of the novel itself. Nonetheless, it was felt that the book was an interesting, informative read, and that the reader could relate emotionally to the plight of the central characters.^[4] Wouk stated in a lecture which addressed the novel and the nature of warfare then and now, "The sadness is the present reality...I tell you now that I have no solutions. I will offer no facile optimism."^[5] Another critic noted that in regards to the novel's depiction of the holocaust, that it may be a serious "trivialization of history to employ old fashioned tricks of plotting, such as the chapter-ending cliffhanger, in dramatizing such grave events".^[6]

Perhaps the most significant critical praise of the book and its prequel, The Winds of War, is that Wouk used the tools of the novel to identify the psychological mechanisms and rationalizations that allowed intelligent, well meaning individuals to fail to take needed action to forestall the rise of Hitler's Germany, the ensuring war and the resulting holocaust.^[7]

Central message

Wouk concludes in the novel, "that war is an old habit of thought, an old frame of mind, an old political technique, that must now pass as human sacrifice and human slavery have passed...The beginning and the end of War lies in Remembrance."^[8] The novel's central message put more plainly by its primary character Victor Henry, after he experiences the Battles of Leyte Gulf, is "Either war is finished or we are".^[9] At the end of the novel, Wouk wrote that his purpose was to "bring the past to vivid life through the experiences, perceptions, and passions, of a few people caught in the war's maelstrom. This purpose was best served by scrupulous accuracy in locale and historical fact, as the background in which the invented drama would play".^[10]

Characters

The Henrys

• Victor "Pug" Henry — the main protagonist, becomes captain of the heavy cruiser USS Northampton after his prospective command, the battleship USS California, is sunk at Pearl Harbor. He commands the ship until late 1942, when at the Battle of Tassafaronga the cruiser is sunk by Japanese long-range torpedoes. Henry is not faulted for the loss of his ship, but instead of receiving another naval command at once, is sent back to the Soviet Union to observe the effects of Lend-Lease; he observes the Siege of Leningrad and the privation of the Soviet home front. From there, he is used by Harry Hopkins as an observer. In the novel, he assists in the Tehran Conference of 1943, and then serves as a troubleshooter for landing craft production. In this capacity, he travels to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and is forced to work with Colonel Harrison (Hack) Peters, his rival for Rhoda's love.

Henry is promoted to

William Halsey

. The novel goes into this battle in greater detail than does the miniseries, including discussion of the most commonly perceived of Halsey's operational mistakes.

Victor marries Pamela in April 1945. Upon the death of

Harry S Truman

makes him his naval aide.

Victor is a straightforward, honest man, which gains him the respect of political leaders such as Roosevelt and Hopkins, and the admiration of Hack Peters.

The novel notes that Henry retired from the Navy and lived in Oakton, Virginia (near Washington) after the war. He spent part of his retirement translating Armin von Roon's book, and from his notations and commentary, he can be deduced to still be alive as of 1973.

According to his notations and commentary of Roon's book, Henry retired as a

Vice Admiral

. However, there is no mention as to whether he was actually promoted to Vice Admiral and given a new assignment after his tenure as President Truman's Naval Aide prior to his retirement or if he was a "tombstone admiral". (Upon retirement, a flag officer is promoted 1 grade in rank if that officer received a commendation for their performance in combat. The flag officer will receive the retirement pay and benefits of the actual lower rank but is authorized to use the higher title in correspondence, on business cards, on their uniforms if they have a need to wear their old uniform, and--more to the point of the nickname--on their tombstones. This practice was abolished in 1959. In Pug's case he would receive the retirement pay & benefits of a Rear Admiral although he is called Vice Admiral.)

• Rhoda Henry — The war, and their time apart, puts a strain on Victor Henry's marriage to Rhoda. She ends her relationship with Palmer Kirby, only to fall in love with Harrison "Hack" Peters, an army colonel. Both the novel and the miniseries show her drinking problem getting worse.
• Warren Henry — Victor's elder son continues to serve as a
  naval pilot until his death on the last day of the Battle of Midway
  . He scored a hit on one of the Japanese carriers in the first day of the battle and his rear gunner damaged one Zero. His death affects the Henrys deeply. Victor's thoughts parallel the lament of King David for his son, Absalom.
• Byron Henry — Victor's younger son starts the war as an officer on the fictional submarine USS Devilfish. When the captain, Branch Hoban, breaks down under the strain of an attack, the executive officer, Carter "Lady" Aster takes over and leads the attack. Aster becomes commander of the boat, with Byron his executive officer. While on leave in Hawaii, Byron is aware that Janice, his brother's widow, is acting strangely. He does not know that she is having an affair with Aster.

Byron wants to see Natalie; when possible, he wangles duty in the European theater. He serves as a courier to the U.S. mission to

Marseilles while Byron travels directly to Lisbon and book a room. Byron arrives in Portugal just as Operation Torch

begins, and the plan has to be scrapped.

Byron returns to the Pacific theater and rejoins Aster on the fictional submarine USS Moray. Aster is severely wounded while on deck during an air attack and to save the boat, orders Byron to submerge without him. (This event is based on the death of Commander Howard W. Gilmore of the USS Growler (SS-215) on February 7, 1943. Gilmore was awarded the Medal of Honor). Byron is later awarded command of the USS Barracuda.

As a

Navy Cross

, he replies, "Killing Japs gave Carter Aster a thrill. It leaves me cold."

Shortly before the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Byron visits his father aboard his flagship. The meeting is strained, because Byron blames Pamela for the breakup of his father's marriage. Later, his sister, Madeline, straightens him out about the causes of the breakup; he and his father become reconciled.

In April 1945, Natalie is found in

Commander-in-Chief, Pacific, for an assignment in Europe so he might be reunited with his wife. He is assigned to investigate the technical details of captured German U-boats and leaves for Europe to join his wife, now recovering in a hospital, and to find his son, Louis. After a long search throughout Europe, Byron reunites with Louis, who was in an orphanage, only to find Louis is so traumatized he will not talk. However, when he reunites Louis with Natalie, Louis begins to sing with her. The reunion occurs on August 7, 1945, the day after the first use of the atomic bomb

in warfare.

• Janice Henry — The wife of Warren Henry. After the death of Aster she disappears from the miniseries; aside from a line Pug says about her going into law school. In the book she is given a few sentences more. Janice ends up with a politician.
• Madeline Henry — Victor and Rhoda Henry's daughter; wife of Simon Anderson.[11]^[12]

The Jastrows

• Aaron Jastrow — Aaron Jastrow is a
  Jew. He leaves behind a diary
  , A Jew's Journey, which is quoted throughout the book. Aaron hides his diary behind books in his library at Theresienstadt
• Berel Jastrow — Berel, Aaron's cousin, is captured with the Red Army in 1941 and sent to Auschwitz as a
  Theresienstadt
  when he learns that his cousin Aaron and his niece Natalie are there, and later helps them get Louis Henry out of the camp. In the mini-series, Berel dies during a massacre as he covers Louis to protect him from the bullets. In the book, there is no definite description as to how Berel dies. At the end of the book, there is a suggestion that he is killed while coming to retrieve Louis Henry from the Czech farmer he originally hid him with. Berel is the moral center of War and Remembrance. He bears witness to the worst acts of the Nazis, while still managing to maintain his deep Jewish faith and his love for his fellow men.
• Natalie Jastrow Henry — along with her son and uncle, travels through various routes across Europe, trying to get home while evading the German government. She refuses a chance to escape with Byron to Lisbon (if caught she and Louis would be sent immediately to a concentration camp), then ends up in
  Auschwitz concentration camp in the same transport as her uncle, but survives and is sent to recover in a U.S. military hospital. She and Byron reunite, and Byron then locates Louis and brings him to Natalie as the book ends. In the book it implies that Natalie and Louis, when she is well enough to travel, will return to the United States to live. In the mini-series it is not so clear-cut and in fact Avram Rabinovitz, an adamant Zionist who in the book pushed hard in most conversations for Natalie to bring Louis and live in Palestine either with or without Byron, tells Byron that Natalie was talking about moving to Palestine.(He says this in the book as well.)^[11][12]

In April 1945, von Roon is assigned the role of operations officer for the defense of the Zitadelle in the Battle of Berlin. Toward the end of the battle, he is ordered by Hitler to assist and oversee Albert Speer in a demolition effort intended as a scorched earth policy to destroy Berlin, leaving nothing for its conquerors. Both men, however, are unwilling to carry out the order, because of the effect it would have on future Germans. Speer eventually confesses that he disobeyed. Speer is pardoned for his earlier services, while von Roon is forgiven because he has been nothing but loyal. In the end von Roon has the duty to inform Adolf Hitler that the Zitadelle can hold only 24 hours more (in real life, von Roon's commander, General Krebs, did this); and he is a witness to Hitler's farewell, suicide, and cremation.

Von Roon is sentenced to 21 years in prison for

Nuremberg tribunal

) and writes Land, Sea, and Air Operations in World War II, which is translated (by Victor Henry) as World Holocaust. Von Roon presents the German viewpoint on events; Henry, as translator, provides a rebuttal when required.

• Harrison "Hack" Peters — Peters, a colonel in the Army, meets Rhoda Henry and falls in love with her. His work on the Manhattan Project coincidentally forces him to work with Victor Henry, who is vigorously pursuing the specialized parts needed to build landing craft for the assault on hostile beaches in Africa, Italy and France. Since Victor is aware of Peters' romance with Rhoda, it is a very strained relationship. Peters marries Rhoda in late 1944.
• Simon "Sime" Anderson — Anderson, a naval lieutenant, works on the atomic bomb at Los Alamos and marries Madeline Henry.
• Alistair Talcott "Talky" Tudsbury — Tudsbury is in
  landmine while on his way to interview then Lt. General Bernard Montgomery in the aftermath of the Battle of El Alamein. A fictional correspondent's report, Sunset at Kidney Ridge, reflects on the decline of the British Empire
  ; it serves roughly as the emotional midpoint of the book.
• Pamela Tudsbury — serves as assistant to "Talky" Tudsbury (her father) until his death, then finishes his final report afterwards. She is engaged to two men (RAF pilot Ted Gallard and Lord Burne-Wilke) during the war, but loves Victor Henry throughout and pursues him. Near the end of the war, they marry.
• Phil Rule — a dissolute British journalist and socialist; a former flame of Pamela Tudsbury. His main contribution is to provide a sarcastic commentary on the decline of the British Empire. Killed by a V2 rocket in London.
• Air Vice-Marshal Lord Burne-Wilke — A career RAF officer, he becomes engaged to Pamela Tudsbury in 1942. Badly injured in a plane crash in India, he dies of pneumonia soon after she breaks off the engagement in 1944.
• Commander Jim Grigg — Victor Henry's executive officer on the cruiser Northampton.^[11][12]
• Yuri Yevlenko - Red Army general who lost a hand in the Battle of Moscow, he is assigned to liaise with Victor Henry over Lend-Lease material and deliveries. He and his daughter in law provide a commentary on the Siege of Leningrad.

Historical characters

• Adolf Hitler — As a speaking character, Hitler appears in the miniseries in a more prominent role than the novel.
• Erwin Rommel — Again, because of the requirements of television, Rommel plays a more prominent speaking role in the miniseries than in the novel. The story of Rommel's death becomes a dramatic element in the miniseries.
• Claus von Stauffenberg — The plot against Hitler, including von Stauffenberg's placing of a bomb, is more prominent in the miniseries than in the book, because of the visual drama.
• Lieutenant Colonel
  ).
• Rudolf Höss - SS Obersturmbannführer, the Auschwitz concentration camp commander.
• Franklin D. Roosevelt - President of the United States.
• Harry Hopkins — Hopkins, as a primary advisor to the president, carries out Roosevelt's grand policies.
• Winston Churchill - British Prime Minister.
• Dwight D. Eisenhower — General Eisenhower appears in the miniseries, and briefly towards the end of the novel, when he and Capt. Henry discuss aspects of the Normandy landings.
• William Halsey
  — Admiral Halsey's operational mistakes late in the Pacific war are discussed.
• Harry Truman - Becomes President upon the death of Roosevelt. He appoints Victor Henry as his naval aide near the end of the movie.
• Ernest Lawrence — Nobel Prize winner involved in nuclear bomb development.
• Raymond A. Spruance — Although Frank Jack Fletcher was in overall command at the Battle of Midway, Spruance, in command of the task force containing Enterprise and Hornet, assumed command after Fletcher's flagship Yorktown was damaged; thus until recently, Spruance was generally credited with winning the battle. Although it isn't covered in the book or the miniseries, Spruance went on to command at the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944, the largest carrier battle in the war.
• Eugene Lindsey — Commander of Torpedo Squadron Six (flying off Enterprise); killed at the Battle of Midway
  .
• C. Wade McCluskey, Jr.
  — Air Group Six Commander at the Battle of Midway.
• Miles Browning — Chief of Staff to Admiral Spruance at the Midway Battle.
• Hussein Ala
  - Minister of the Imperial Court, Iran
• Paul Blobel- (SS Colonel) Designer of mass cremation apparatus designed to conceal Nazi atrocities, upon which Berel Jastrow worked while a slave laborer at Auschwitz and throughout Eastern Europe.

Television adaptation

The novel was adapted into a television

See also

• The Winds of War