True friendship in the midst of the Second World War.

SAG ALEX, ER SOLL NICHT AUF MICH WARTEN
(Tell Alex Not to Wait for Me)
by Irene Diwiak
C. Bertelsmann/PRH Germany, February 2023

Munich, 1941. Students Hans and Alex don’t seem to have much in common – until, one day, they both duck out of military training to discuss art and literature instead of practice standing to attention. From that day on, they are close friends, and Hans is a welcome guest at Alex’s « discussion parties ». But war is their constant companion, and the urge to speak out against it grows ever stronger within both of them. Their plans are risky, especially when Hans’s younger sister, who mustn’t at any cost find out about their intentions – moves to Munich…
Diwiak tells the true story of a unique friendship, a story of the White Rose resistance group that for once doesn’t deal with its end, but with its fascinating beginning – moving, intelligent and accessible.

Irene Diwiak, born in in Graz, Austria, in 1991, has won several awards for her literary works and plays, and her 2017 debut « Liebwies » was shortlisted for the Austrian Book Prize (First Novel Award). Her second novel, Malvita, appeared in 2020.