As the Second World War is winding down and the Russians liberate Sudetenland, the former borders are restored and an agreement is signed, which mandates the expulsion of ethnic Germans from Sudetenland, with very few being relocated to West Germany, and the vast majority to resettlement camps before being sent to East Germany where they will soon be under the control of the Russians. Being relocated to East Germany is the greatest fear Armin Ackerman has for his family and, while the agreement calls for an orderly and humane expulsion of the ethnic Germans, it turns out to be anything but that as homes are looted, women are raped, and men tortured, all of this documented in photographs by Armin. Fearing the worst, Armin and his wife decide to save their thirteen-year-old son from the horrible fate that awaits them. He slowly coaches and prepares his son, Peter, for his escape to the sector controlled by the U.S. where, hopefully, the Americans will help him reach America and a better life. A tearful Peter makes his escape, leaving behind his beloved parents and good friend, Trudi. Before leaving, Peter hides the photographs his father took, as well as some family heirlooms, jewelry, and other valuables in the forest near their home with the hope of returning one day to retrieve them and to reunite with his parents.

The 5K Zone by Gary R. Hall is an in-depth book of historical espionage that will have lovers of this genre hooked from the get-go. Entrenched in history, it provides a different perspective from the viewpoint of the ethnic Germans living in Czechoslovakia, close to the German border in an area known as Sudetenland, in the aftermath of the Second World War. It is obvious to anyone who reads the book that the author, Hall, has spent painstaking hours researching the history that is the backdrop for The 5K Zone. The attention to detail gives the story an air of authenticity that brings the characters to life and gives them substance. A reader only has to close his or her eyes and picture themselves almost as a participant living within the story rather than being merely a reader sitting on the sidelines. The character of Peter is quite compelling. There’s a single-minded determination to his character, even as a young boy making his way through the darkened forest in his escape from his homeland. He exhibits the same single-minded determination as he matures to adulthood, never losing sight of his dream, which is admirable, to say the least. Hall’s vivid descriptions make for a compelling read.

The 5K Zone: Cold War Border Intrigue by Gary R Hall is a historical fiction piece about the Russian occupation in Czechoslovakia. In 1945, Peter and Trudi were young and didn’t understand the politics of the life that they lived. But Peter was lucky enough to escape. In 1958, Peter returned to the Sudetenland, this time as a US Army Special Forces sergeant. As an adult, Peter’s political observations were much more acute than as a young boy living under Nazi control in the Sudetenland. His ideas about Nazism and oppressed people’s rights to land were less than conventional at that time. Remarkably, he ran into Trudi, who was in West Germany on a temporary pass. The two plotted Trudi’s family's escape from behind the deadly east-west border. Trudi has had a much harder life under Russian and Czech control. But with Peter back at her side, Trudi’s luck might just be turning for the better.

The 5K Zone: Cold War Border Intrigue is a very interesting and well-written historical novel. I was especially intrigued by this topic as my husband is from the Czech Republic. Much of what I read I related to him, and that led to many interesting historical conversations about his country’s history, Germany and Hitler, and the Russians. I loved the intrigue and danger present in this story, and also how Hall wasn’t afraid to show the dark and depressing side of this lifestyle. The 5K Zone didn’t sugar coat the truth, but that is one of the things that makes it a fascinating story.