POTSDAM STATION takes place in the last days of WW II, mostly in Berlin. It follows three characters who have been introduced in the previous three novels, journalist John Russell, now working for the Allies, Effi, his girl friend, who has been living in Berlin under an assumed name, surviving but just, and Paul, John's eighteen year old son, who has been drafted into the Germany army, hoping to stall the Russian and American advances. It's April, as Berlin is being bombarded constantly by the Allies.
Russell is in Moscow, at the behest of the Americans, hoping to accompany the Russian troops as they descend upon Berlin. By doing this, he hopes to find both his girl friend Effi and son Paul before the Russians. He convinces the Ivans only by agreeing to be parachuted in ahead of the take over, to try t o secure the Nazis plans for a nuclear weapon before the Americans arrive. He parachutes in, they find the plans, but his compatriots all die but he's left with the plans Now alone, he must somehow survive among both the Ivans and the SS troops who are hanging anyone they think has deserted the army. While he looks for Effi, she is mistaken for a Jew because she has taken in to her charge an eight year old Jewish girl who lost both parents. The two are sent to a camp but are after a few days, they are released along with the other prisoners if they sign a note that the commandant has let them go rather than following orders to liquidate them.
They then moves from one bomb shelter to another, trying to survive the bombardment, avoid the SS, and the Russians. Meanwhile, Paul, the eighteen year old son, sees his group routed by the Russians, retreats, befriends a couple of youths who have been drafted into the army despite being fourteen years old. And he watches as one of the SS shoots Werner, a 14 year old, as a deserter. Paul wrestles with himself, whether do be honorable and continue the fight or to flee. He finally decides when he sees the SS officer who had executed his young friend, Werner. He shoots him just as he has executed another civilian and, ironically, his father, John Russell, observes this action. They reunite briefly and Effi, after leaving the bomb shelter, finds John back are her apartment. All's well that ends well; Russell convinces the Russians to allow his son, Effi, and his brother in law to leave for the American section of Berlin. He stays behind and for their help, he shows the Russians where the nuclear plans were hid, and the novel ends with him still in Russian occupied Berlin though he seems to have convinced to keep him alive, that he could be useful as a double agent, the next book I assume.
Downing clearly puts much of the blame for what has happened in Germany on the US for staying out of the war for so long. And he has great sympathy for the Russians, who have suffered the most at the hands of the Nazis and their own government's expediency, perhaps up to sixty million Russians died during the war. Russell, Downing's mouthpiece, thinks they deserve the most of the territories though he is clear sighted about the failure of Communism in Russia. Its goals were noble, equality, brotherhood and internationalism, the results, however, were disastrous, a dictatorship as bad as the Nazis. Something like communism could not be institutionalized by a Stalin; socialism only worked as a chain reaction. He also does not gloss over the failures of the US, what he calls the country of money and greed. He's caught in between, with no good choices though the US ends up being preferable for his family to the Russia of Stalin, as he's always the pragmatist.
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