It’s 1933 and the world is reeling from the impact of WW I and the Spanish flu that decimated the populations of much of the world. The Great Depression has a tight hold on the economies of the world and in the aftermath of WW I Adolf Hitler has become the new chancellor of Germany. Few know of the plans this new leader has for his nation and much of Europe or his plan to move on his anti-Semitic beliefs but there are rumblings here and there as he stirs nationalism as an antidote to his demoralized and weakened Germany.

Liesl Weiss and her family are trying to cope with the grip of the Great Depression as they live in an area of Los Angeles known as Germantown. Her father was killed in WW I and she is working as a secretary for MGM to support her opinionated mother, troubled younger brother, and two children from a marriage that is in limbo after her husband left her and the children. Liesl has been unable to discover what happened to her husband who worked in the local police department. She still struggles to cope with his sudden disappearance and the weight of supporting her family in their small home on Pico Street.

While most others are caught up in the challenges of the Great Depression trying to deal with mounting unpaid bills and lack of grocery money, Leon Lewis, a Jewish lawyer, has watched Adolf Hitler’s rapid rise to power and signs of growing anti-Semitism in the United States. He fears much is going on as an undercurrent to foment propaganda to support the views of Hitler and use the film industry of Hollywood to accomplish that goal.

Liesl comes home each day after working hard as one of MGM’s best secretaries and is shocked when she loses her job unexpectedly with no clear reason given. How will she ever provide now? Jobs are scarce and her brother contributes nothing from his job to help out. Her greatest support comes from her friend, Miriam, who lives next door with her family. Despite Miriam’s Jewish heritage and Liesl’s modest Christian upbringing, they share a bond that is dear to them both.

After weeks of answering ads and looking at any and all places for work, she goes to the secretarial school where she was trained. She was their top student and she hopes they can point her to a job before she and her family end up on the street. Her hopes are dashed when she speaks to the woman who trained her and hears there is nothing she can offer. But when she is called out of her office, Liesl quickly looks through the applications on her desk and sees one needing a secretary and tucks it in her purse. She knows this is not a good idea but she is desperate.

When she returns home and pulls the sheet from her purse she locates a phone number and calls to see if the position is still open. The person who answers is not helpful so she determines to go to the office of this person and insist on an interview. The office is that of Leon Lewis.

When Liesl manages to get to see Leon Lewis she is puzzled about the kind of secretary he needs and what will be expected of her. His questions go beyond what she would expect but she answers as best she can. After the interview Leon Lewis offers her a position but not what she expects from a successful lawyer.

Lewis tells her she will be paid $30 a week (an enormous sum for Liesl) and be offered a job working somewhere else as a volunteer secretary. Her job will be working for the Friends of New Germany, a job requiring secretarial skills and one who is German and speaks it. The description Liesl is given seems incredulous and she asks Lewis, “You mean you want me to spy?”

Code Name Edelweiss by Stephanie Landsem is a riveting historical novel based on a true story about one Jewish lawyer and a handful of amateur spies who worked to discover Adolf Hitler’s plan to take over Hollywood.

Liesl did not initially believe the Germans running Friends of New Germany were connected to the unfolding political and cultural changes in Germany. But as she discovers books and pamphlets promoting Nazi ideas and goals, overhears bits and pieces of conversation about a desire to overtake the major people in Hollywood’s thriving movie business, her fears grow and reality sinks in. That reality includes the danger she and her family are in and how necessary it is to not let anyone know her real purpose at Friends of New Germany.

A good novel will grab your attention in the opening pages and keep you reading paragraph by paragraph as the complex story and plot unfolds as you wonder how it will all end. This is such a novel as characters caught up in working with Leon Lewis wrestle with the question, “If not us, who? If not now, when?”