Download the Book Club Discussion Guide

1. Dan Lavi works hard to keep the emigration lifeline open for German Jews. Shmulik Shoham
wants to assassinate Hitler. What do these two paths represent and which one would YOU
choose?
2. The philosopher Hannah Arendt shaped public perception of Nazis like Eichmann when she
wrote that because he simply followed orders and did not have any ideas of his own, his evil was
“banal.” More recently, researchers have showed that men like Eichmann were not just following
orders; they were deeply committed to anti-Semitic ideology. Were Nazis like Eichmann evil?
What does it even mean to be evil? Are there leaders today you would classify as evil?
3. Between Hitler’s assumption of power in 1933 and the start of World War II in 1939,
thousands of German Jews left the country. However, many stayed because they didn’t think
things could get so bad. Are there certain warning signs indicative of disaster for a group facing
discrimination? How are anti-Semitism and other racial prejudices manifesting today? Have you
ever experienced anti-Semitism personally? If so, have you do you anything to combat it? How
so?
4. Music, particularly classical music, plays an important role in the novel. What does it
symbolize to you? What do you think Gottfried’s Stradivarius violin symbolize?
5. Dan Lavi seems to question himself often as he follows Ben-Gurion’s directives. Do you think
he made the right choices? What would have happened had he collaborated with Shmulik to
assassinate Hitler?
6. As a German-born Jewish musician, Wilhelm Gottfried is passionate about German culture.
He wants to show the world that the Germans are not all Nazis, and that German culture is
nothing without Jews. This contrasted with Hitler’s dream of the ideal Aryan race. What
different cultures exist in your country and how do they contribute to your society as a whole?
What would life be like if the population of your country, or even the whole world, belonged to
the same racial or ethnic group?
7. Like Gottfried, who identifies a Jew who embraces his identity as a German, many people
identify with more than once ethnicity or racial identity. If you do, how do you express these
identities and how do they affect your life?
8. The Countess cooperated with the Nazi party even though she was disagreed with their
policies. Have you ever been in a situation in which your views have gone against authority? If
so, how have you dealt with this?
9. Like Dan Lavi, Yehuda Avner was an Israeli diplomat, born abroad. (Avner was born and
raised in Manchester, England, while Lavi was born in Germany.) How do you think
Ambassador Avner’s experience as a British-born Israeli diplomat impacted the way he
portrayed Dan?
10. Anna, as a doctor, is a humanist treating the children of Gestapo agents. Do you think she is
acting ethically? Do you feel a responsibility to help everyone who need help if you have the
ability to do so? Where would you draw the line?
11. Ben-Gurion negotiated (in reality, as well as in the novel) with Hitler's regime. Do you think
negotiating with leaders of an evil regime legitimizes them?
12. Wilhelm Gottfried perceives his performance before Hitler on the violin as a nonviolent
protest. The Countess, at the same performance, tries to assassinate Hitler. Is nonviolent protest
ever effective? Can it defeat a real tyrant? Have you ever protested something in a nonviolent
manner? Are there ever situations in which violence would be necessary?
13. The book dramatizes tension between Rabbi Stephen Wise - a leader of the American
Reform movement who opposed negotiations with Berlin – and Ben-Gurion. Ben-Gurion
responded: “Trading with Hitler is acutely distasteful. But if that’s what it takes to save our Jews
and bring them to Palestine, I will deal with the Nazis – even if it brings benefit to them. It is a
true Zionist answer to Nazism.” What did he mean by saying this was “a true Zionist answer to
Nazism”?
14. In reality, Eichmann was kidnapped by the Mossad and brought to Jerusalem for trial years
after the end of World War II. What do you know about that trial? Was it important in forming
your idea of how the Nazis operated and how the Holocaust was carried out?
14. In the novel, the actions of the State of Israel save many Jewish lives. What do you see as the
significance of the State of Israel now? Is it sufficient to be a place of refuge, a protective haven
for the Jewish people, or does its role goes beyond that? Should Israel protect Jews around the
world, as Shmulik suggests in the novel?
15. “The Ambassador” imagines a world in which Israel exists before World War II, altering the
course of history and saving millions of lives. Now that the State of Israel actually exists, do you
believe it would still be possible for another Holocaust to occur?
16. When the Israeli leaders met with Prime Minister Churchill and President Roosevelt in the
novel, Churchill and Roosevelt agreed to bomb the concentration camps only after they had been
promised something in return. What responsibility do you think a country should have to prevent
genocides around the world? What do you know about the Responsibility to Protect doctrine and
do you think it is an effective way to stop genocide?
17. Yehuda Avner was a diplomat whose previous book, The Prime Ministers, offered a real,
behind-the-scenes look into Israeli politics. Yet The Ambassador, a historical novel, was the one
he believed to be his legacy. Why do you think Yehuda wrote this book and what message was
he trying to convey?