Friedrich

The book takes place in an unspecified German city between the years 1925 and 1942. These were years of great turmoil and upheaval in German society. Following the defeat of the German Empire in 1918, the German economy continued to decline into the 1920s, with 1922 witnessing massive inflation. In 1923, the German government was forced to introduce a new currency system. One trillion of the old Papiermark (paper Marks) were set to equal one Rentenmark, which was quickly changed to the Reichsmark in 1924. Entire fortunes were wiped out, not unlike what happened to many during the Great Depression in the United States. Understandably, work was hard to come by during these years. In 1924, there were nearly one million unemployed citizens. In these times of uncertainty, the Nazi party, under the aegis of Adolph Hitler, rose in prominence.

Hitler was able to appeal to two topics on the minds of many Germans during the 1920s and 1930s. These two topics were economic concerns and social fear, specifically the fear of betrayal from within. Hitler and the Nazis promised an end to unemployment and reparations (money Germany had been paying the Allies since its defeat in World War I), by expanding public works, such as the construction of the Autobahn, and especially through rearmament of the military. The German military had been severely reduced in number of personnel and weapons following World War I, according to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, and Hitler expanded in this sector with a vengeance.

Socially, there was a deep feeling of betrayal in Germany after its defeat in World War I. This gave rise to the Dolchstoßlegende (stab-in-the-back myth). In essence, the myth purported the idea that the German military had remained undefeated in the field and that the nation could have continued to wage war, but civilian elements and weak members of the government betrayed them. Antisemitism was attached to this myth through the delusional belief of an international Jewish conspiracy that operated to undermine the German nation. Through antisemitism, Hitler found the scapegoat he needed, appealing to the fears and beliefs of many Germans by providing a convenient place to lay the blame for their problems: at the feet of the Jews.

Antisemitism existed for centuries within European society long before the Nazi movement gained prominence, and the book makes certain to point this out. Medieval antisemitism is used in the book as an umbrella term for many episodes of Jewish persecution during that period. Teacher Neudorf begins the persecution long before that, tracing it back to the sack of Jerusalem at the hands of the Romans. The book also uses the Spanish Inquisition as a loose parallel to events during the rise of the Nazi party. In fact, the most scandalous antisemitic event in Europe prior to the Nazis was the Dreyfus affair in France, in which a French Jewish military captain was falsely convicted and sentenced for treason. While Friedrich is strongly rooted in the events of World War II, it draws extensively on the long history of antisemitism throughout Europe to establish that it did not originate with the Nazis and that the story still has vast significance today.