{"product_id":"9781487552916","title":"Death in the Rubble","description":"Author: Richard Bodek\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9781487552916\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: University of Toronto Press\u003cbr\u003eYear first published: 01 Apr 2026\u003cbr\u003ePages: 296\u003cbr\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSet against the shattered landscape of post-war Berlin, \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDeath in the Rubble\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e follows a nurse battling addiction who murders her victims to buy gifts for her lover  a married police detective.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1949, the year of the Berlin airlift and the founding of the two post-war German states, Elisabeth Kusian (nurse, black marketeer, morphine and methamphetamine addict, and pathological liar) garroted and dismembered two people in a mini crime spree. Her actions both fascinated and terrified the public  how could this woman, a nurse, commit such a violent act?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWest Berlin detectives attempted to run an efficient investigation under new democratic rules. Their East Berlin counterparts, newly structured along Soviet lines, employed their restricted resources to solve the case and prove the advantages of their socialist system. Both tried to use the investigation to demonstrate their distance from the Third Reich and build a brighter future.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBased on the true story of Elisabeth Kusian, \u003ci\u003eDeath in the Rubble\u003c\/i\u003e explores shifting identities, evolving gender expectations, post-fascist politics and norms, and the violence lurking beneath a city struggling to redefine itself.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ships in 10 to 15 days","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46819982442654,"sku":"ADS-9781487552916","price":64.78,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0400\/9043\/5742\/files\/9781487552916.jpg?v=1778467761","url":"https:\/\/classicbargains.com.au\/products\/9781487552916","provider":"Classic Bargains Australia","version":"1.0","type":"link"}