Who are The Boys From Brazil? And can there really be a Nazi plot to implement the "Fourth Reich"?"Two factors are necessary for a resurgence of Nazism ... a worsening of social conditions till they approximate those of the early thirties and the emergence of a Hitler-like leader." - Yakov Liebermann, "The Boys From Brazil."Ira Levin was a great writer of "What if?" novels and plays, ten of which have been turned into the sort of films which have the audience gripping the sides of their seats. Before his play, "Deathtrap" became a film, it held the award for being the longest-running comedy-thriller on Broadway, and the horror film of "Rosemary's Baby", based on his novel, was hugely popular, spawning many imitations. Stephen King called Ira Levin, "The Swiss watchmaker of suspense novels", adding, "he makes what the rest of us do look like cheap watchmakers in drugstores." Just as with Stephen King's novels, the boundaries of the suspense novel are pushed by Levin's tales. Yes, he writes page-turners, novels of nail-biting suspense, but there is often something speculative or even other-worldly there too. He studied Philosophy as well as English, and perhaps this is responsible for his ability to "think outside the box." He uses favourite themes - human automation, the rebirth of the devil, biological engineering. In this one, his basis is on solid facts. It is about everybody's favourite baddies, the Nazis, and even has one of the most evil real life war criminals as one of the main characters. In The Boys From Brazil, the central theme is breathtakingly audacious. If you have seen the famous film from 1978, starring Gregory Peck and Laurence Olivier, you will know what the plot hinges on, although the main character, Yakov Liebermann, does not fully comprehend it himself until half way through. Familiarity with the story does not spoil the reading of this novel, although if you do not know, then it may well be an even better read. If you don't know it, please do not read the blurb on the book!In 1976, when The Boys From Brazil was published, the world was still very concerned with tracking down notorious Nazi criminals, many of whom had fled to South America. Adolph Eichmann had been captured in Buenos Aires and brought to trial. He was hanged in 1962. One of the worst, nicknamed "The Angel of Death", was Joseph Mengele, a concentration camp medical doctor. In 1976 he was still at large. During the second World War, Mengele had performed many experiments on twins, people with heterochromia (each eye a different colour), dwarfism and many others with a physical abnormality. The experiments were ostensibly to gain information about genetics and heredity, and intended to "prove" the theory of Aryan supremacy. Mengele had his pick of the prisoners before they were sent to the gas chambers, and treated the whole concentration camp as a potential pool to provide fodder for his experiments. The horrific experiments were mostly on especially selected children younger than six. They were deadly, conducted without anaesthetic, and were deemed inhuman by any standards. In 1976, Mengele was still at large in Paraguay, near the border to Argentina. He died while swimming in 1979, but this was not finally confirmed until forensic examination in 1985.The timing of this novel was therefore particularly critical, and feelings worldwide were running high that this man should be brought to justice; he had escaped the War Trials in Nuremberg partly because people had believed he was already dead. It was an inspired idea to make the real life Josef Mengele a main character in Ira Levin's fictitious book. Twins were Mengele's main interest. Because of his obsession with genetics, it was very likely that Mengele would have continued his experiments deep in the South American jungle. Indeed, even as recently as 2009, evidence came to light that he may well have pursued his fanatical experiments undercover.A small town in Brazil, Candido Godoi, has a record number of twins on record; one in 5 births instead of the average one in 80. Additionally, most of these twins are blond haired and blue eyed. Residents say that Mengele made repeated visits there in the early 1960s, posing at first as a vet, but then offering medical treatment to the women of the town. The first twins were born in 1963, the year in which Mengele arrived in the town. It look very much as if Mengele was putting his theories of Eugenics into practice, and trying to "improve" the genetic quality of the human population.The viewpoint character in The Boys From Brazil is Yakov Liebermann, who is heavily based on the real life Nazi hunter, Simon Wiesenthal. In the novel, Liebermann runs the "War Crimes Information Office" in Vienna, collecting information on Nazi war criminals, helping to find them and helping with their prosecution. However, Liebermann is elderly, and suffering from lack of funds for his work. Western nations are becoming less inclined to spend more money and effort on tracking down the remaining criminals. He is dispirited and disinclined to listen to any more "rumours". Liebermann receives a phone call from a young Jewish man, Barry Koehler, from Illinois, who claims to have eavesdropped on a meeting of former Nazi SS officers in São Paulo, Brazil. It had been chaired by the "Angel of Death", Mengele, himself. They were part of the notorious "Comrades Organization in South America". The young man said he had overheard details of a Nazi plot, which planned the deaths of 94 men world-wide, all of whom had similar jobs, and all of about the same age. It sounded bizarre, as one of the committee of Nazis reportedly said, incredulously,"All of them elderly civil servants, and by killing them we fulfil the destiny of the Aryan race?" It is a crazy idea. Yet it is up to Liebermann to make sense of it, and painstakingly track down the culprits, without any backing from official bodies, either financial or in terms of manpower. Liebermann has old friends whom he calls on for various favours. One of these is Sydney Beynon, Reuters's senior Vienna correspondent, who has useful access to newspaper records and current reports. Liebermann also enlists the help of the "Young Jewish Defenders", but they are just as likely to get in trouble with the police themselves.The puzzling premise makes use of many of Levin's favourite devices, and with skilful writing, the reason stays a secret until roughly halfway through the book. We feel sympathy for the protagonist, an ailing elderly man, no longer with the resources he once had, but with the same dedication and determined commitment to the cause."In his Jewish heart of hearts, he didn't trust German authorities as much as Americans where Nazi matters were concerned."Ira Levin keeps his clues close to his chest, carefully controlling the release of each nugget of information until both Liebermann and the reader gain a sudden insight. From then on the action increases in tempo, and the book itself becomes a compelling thriller. There is even a nice little twist at the end, hinting that perhaps not all the ends are quite so satisfactorily tied up."The Fourth Reich is coming - not just a German Reich but a pan-Aryan one."Or is this mere "meshugganah"? Is it just crazy?
I have vague memories of seeing the film when I was probably too young and the fright around this. I read an edition which I picked up on a book exchange in Vaison, France, when desperate for something to read in English. It's a 1977 print, with other books by the same author advertised at 60 pence! That gives you some sense of time passed, which is relevant in terms of the fear of 'another Hitler' (book released in 1976, only 21 years after the end of the second world war). I was thinking about the book's success as being like Dan Brown's 'Da Vinci Code' - it's not all that well written but it's solid, and it presents a twist on the crime novel, with a Nazi Hunter searching out clues and gradually solving a mystery (why are 65 year old men from different countries being murdered?) while the hunter strays into danger from the menacing Villain, the Nazi doctor Mengele ... At a distance, the idea of cloning is less shocking and even the fears about Hitler seem dated. But it was engaging to read and I can see, as above, why it gripped popular imagination at the time ...
What do You think about The Boys From Brazil (1976)?
A well-documented, thoroughly believable thriller. The concept itself is so far-fetched that if Levin hadn't such a sure hand with the material, it would be trite and tasteless. As is, this is a very suspenseful and thought-provoking horror story. The reader is kept in the dark about what is really at stake here until almost two-thirds of the way through the book, and when the book's hero discovers it at the same time the reader does, it is shocking and quite disturbing to consider. The book races to a very satisfying bloody and scary climax.
—Aaron Martz
One of the books from my childhood. I first saw the movie in 1979 and loved it. I was just a kid and failed to realize that the movie was totally over the top. I realize it now and I still like to watch it now and again. Excuse the digression. After seeing the movie I read the book. My parents belonged to The Book of the Month Club and the Mystery Guild book club back then and our library was full of the cheap hardbacks made exclusively for book club members. But ,regardless of the low quality
—Checkman
BLOWN AWAY. I'M REALLY STARTING TO HAVE A HARD TIME DECIDING WHO INSPIRES ME THE MOST AS AN AUTHOR. MR. LEVIN'S WORK IS FLAWLESS. I'LL NEVER RELATE TO AN AUTHOR MORE THAN I DO BRET EASTON ELLIS, BUT AT THIS POINT IN MY LIFE, I'M STUDYING THE MASTERS OF STORY-TELLING. SHELDON'S MASTER OF THE GAME MADE ME REALIZE THAT I WANT TO DO MORE THAN JUST HORROR AND ELLIS INSPIRED WORK. I LOVE A GOOD STORY. BRAZIL DOES NOT DISAPPOINT. I'M ALMOST OUT OF LEVIN MATERIAL SO I'M GONNA HAVE TO READ HIS NEXT ONE SLOWER (IF THAT'S POSSIBLE). TRULY, A GENIUS. I
—Benson Lott
