Another Soul Saved
By John Anthony Miller
By John Anthony Miller
Publication Date: April 1, 2026
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 415
Genre: Historical Fiction
Vienna, 1941
Monika Graf, the wife of a wealthy Austrian military commander, steals two Jewish girls from the Nazis—a crime often punishable by death. With soldiers in rapid pursuit, a homeless Jew named Janik, a mysterious man who lurks in the shadows, helps her escape.
Unable to have children of her own, she finds a new purpose in life—rescuing Jewish children from the horrendous Nazi regime. She asks the Swiss for help, trading military secrets she gleans from her husband for the lives of Jewish children. With Janik’s continued support, she also enlists Father Christoff, a priest at St. Stephen's Cathedral coping with unexpected emotions and doubting his commitment to God. Monika quickly forms bonds that can’t be broken, feelings exposed she never knew existed.
Relentlessly pursued by Gestapo Captain Gustav Kramer, Monika combats continuing risk to her clandestine operation. When her husband, a rabid Nazi, returns from the battlefield severely wounded, she gets caught in a cage that she can’t crawl out of.
Wrought with danger, riddled with romance, Another Soul Saved shows humanity at both its best and worst in a classic struggle of good versus evil.
FIVE MINUTE HISTORY by John Anthony Miller
Another Soul Saved, set in Vienna, Austria during World War II, tells the story of Monika Graf, a wealthy woman married to an Austrian general, who risks everything to rescue Jewish children, betraying both her country and her husband. To fully appreciate the incredible risks that our fictional heroine takes, an overview of the historical backdrop is helpful.
Shortly after Adolf Hitler’s ascension to power in 1933, discrimination and persecution of the Jewish population began, starting with strict laws that impacted their ability to function in society. Throughout the rest of the decade, their plight worsened as laws got harsher, eventually resulting in property confiscation, destruction of Jewish shops and synagogues, and physical attacks. To reduce the Jewish population, the German government strongly encouraged Jews to emigrate. Efforts were organized by different countries—Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands—and various charity organizations, geared specifically to the relocation of Jewish children. When Germany invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, starting the Second World War, emigration was abandoned in favor of forced labor, starvation, and eventually mass murder.
Austria, where our novel is set, was annexed by Germany in 1938. Ninety-nine percent of the Austrian population supported the policies of Adolf Hitler, which made any form of organized resistance almost impossible. Another Soul Saved gives voice to the one percent who didn’t support the Nazis—those risking their lives to save others, knowing that friends, neighbors, and even family members could betray them at any time.
Monika Graf uses methods based on factual events to rescue Jewish children—and later adults. For example, in other parts of Europe, Hungary in particular, Swiss diplomats discovered that the Nazi regime was fanatical about official documentation. Even the most rapid Nazi would pause when presented with the proper paperwork—or what appeared to be official documents. The Swiss, with Nazi permission, produced a limited number of documents to specify that Jews were emigrating, usually to Palestine, even though it often wasn’t the case. These documents were almost always honored. In Another Soul Saved, Monika works with a Swiss diplomat to get documents for Jewish children, trading military secrets she gleans from her husband for Jewish lives.
The most frequent method used to save Jewish children, especially in Poland, was also referenced in Another Soul Saved. Some pretended to be Catholic, even though preparation was needed—memorizing Catholic prayers, learning a few hymns, and acquiring a basic understanding of the religion. But once able to pose successfully, Jewish children were enrolled in Catholic orphanages, seminaries, and convents.
It was another common practice—used in the novel and throughout Europe—to hide Jewish children, and sometimes entire families, on farms, especially in remote areas. It wasn’t too difficult to blend children with the farmer’s family, or have entire Jewish families pose as relatives, because the rural location had much less exposure to soldiers or the citizens who supported them.
Anyone hiding or rescuing Jews during World War II faced tremendous risks, especially in a location like Vienna, where the population overwhelmingly supported Nazi policies. The notorious Gestapo patrolled city streets, surveilled citizens, used paid informants, and tortured anyone they suspected of wrongdoing, ensuring any threat to the Third Reich was eliminated. Those harboring Jews were hunted aggressively and, if caught, faced arrest, imprisonment, and even death.
This book is available on #KindleUnlimited
John Anthony Miller
John Anthony Miller writes all things historical—thrillers, mysteries, and romance. He sets his novels in exotic locations spanning all eras of space and time, with complex characters forced to face inner conflicts—fighting demons both real and imagined. He’s published twenty novels and ghostwritten several others, including Another Soul Saved. He lives in southern New Jersey.
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