Fanfic Fuel: Readers well-versed in real-life stories about people who survived the Holocaust in hiding might wonder which real-life Jews across Europe managed to remain alive and in hiding (or go into hiding or try to get continued exempt status if they had their deportations halted through bureaucratic means) in a timeline where the Nazis won, given how the main cast shows that some Jewish groups did so successfully.
Genius Bonus: The reveal that there are multiple different groups of Jews in Berlin is a lot less surprising when you know that in real life, almost 2,000 Jews survived the war while hiding in Berlin.
Harsher in Hindsight: The deliberate parallels between the changes in the Nazi leadership and the fall of the Soviet Union can feel a lot less encouraging in the decades since the book came out, as even under a new political system, Russia has remained an imperialistic police state. While there is no guarantee that the parallels to real-life Russia will continue, if they do, it could mean that the more moderate government Rolf Stolle promises to bring won’t last.
