Why a Booktrail?
1944: Hitler, Mussolini, and a true story of murder
The Einstein Vendetta
What you need to know before your trail
A unit of German soldiers arrives at a villa near Florence. Villa Il Focardo is home to Robert Einstein, cousin to the most famous scientist in the world, Albert Einstein – a prominent enemy of the Nazi regime. Having renounced his German citizenship a decade earlier, Albert’s safely in America, well beyond Hitler’s reach.
The same is not true for his cousin.
Twelve hours after arriving, the soldiers have vanished – and a family is dead. This crime – and what happened next – still haunts those who survived.
Who ordered it? Who was involved?
And why did they get away with it?
Travel Guide
Villa Il Focardo
If you visit Florence, be sure to visit the Einstein Monument, commemorating the massacre of the Einstein-Mazzetti family at the hands of German SS troops on August 3, 1944 in the Il Focardo Villa which is the focus of the novel.
The city of Florence is well evoked and there are some interesting places visited vital to the plot. Very sad to see the Jewish ghetto and the areas taken over from the Germans.
The real life murder
The murder of the family of Robert Einstein, a cousin of Nobel Prize Laureate Albert Einstein, took place on 3 August 1944 in Rignano sull’Arno, Italy, during World War II. German soldiers arrived at the Einstein residence, executed Robert’s wife and two daughters, and set the house on fire. Robert, who was in hiding at the time, survived the events but committed suicide less than a year later, on July 13, 1945.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: The Einstein Vendetta
Destination/Location: Florence Author: Thomas Harding Departure: 1940
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