The Last Green Valley

The Last Green Valley is a 2021 historical novel by Mark Sullivan. It is Sullivan’s second work of historical fiction following his 2017 New York Times best-selling novel Beneath a Scarlet Sky. In addition to historical fiction, Sullivan has written over a dozen thriller novels and co-writes the Private series with James Patterson. Sullivan has received numerous accolades including a New York Times Notable Books mention and a Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year award. The Last Green Valley is based on the real-life Martel family’s escape from the Soviet Union during World War II. The main events take place from 1944 to 1951, with flashbacks to key events from 1929 to 1941. The narrative is told from a third-person omniscient point of view, with a focus on two main protagonists, Adeline and Emil Martel.

This study guide uses the 2021 print edition of the novel from Lake Union Publishing.

Content Warning: The source material contains depictions of violence, murder, and sexual assault. It also uses offensive terms for Jewish people, some of which appear in this guide in direct quotes from the source text.

Plot Summary

Part 1 begins in March 1944 in the village of Friedenstal in Romania on the border of Soviet Ukraine. The Martel family, consisting of husband Emil, wife Adeline, and young sons Waldemar and Wilhelm, are descended from German farmers who came to Ukraine in the 18th century. The narrative opens with the Martels packing a wagon in preparation to travel west under the protection of Nazi soldiers. Emil and Adeline do not agree with the ideals of the Nazi Party but are accepting its help to escape from the Soviet Union.

Adeline’s mother and sister, Lydia and Malia Losing, as well as Emil’s parents, Johann and Karoline Martel, and Emil’s sister, Rese Martel, also join the refugee caravan leaving Ukraine. The refugees dodge bombs and artillery fire as the Nazis stave off the Soviet army. Emil recognizes a Nazi soldier, Major Haussmann, with whom he had an encounter in 1941. Flashbacks show Adeline and Emil’s lives under Stalin’s regime, including the famine of 1932-1933, as well as their first meeting.

In Part 2, the refugee caravan moves through Moldova and Romania. During the trek, Emil meets Nikolas, a German refugee who participated in Nazi-sanctioned murders in Ukraine. The Martels also meet Corporal Gheorghe, a Romanian soldier who survived the Battle of Stalingrad. A flashback to 1935-1936 reveals that Adeline and Emil’s first child, a son named Waldemar, died in infancy. Another flashback to 1941 focuses on Adeline helping a Jewish friend, Esther, acquire forged papers to hide her identity from the Nazis occupying Ukraine.

When the refugees arrive at the train station in Oradea, Romania, they are forced to leave behind most of their possessions. They are taken by train to Budapest, where they camp until a train is ready to take them north to Poland. During the ride, Rese’s lower legs are severed by the train wheels; the trauma sends Rese into premature labor, resulting in a stillbirth. Adeline is reunited with her cousin Marie, a nurse who assists with Rese’s care until the train reaches Poland. Rese is taken to a military hospital while the rest of the Martels are quarantined in an immigration camp before they can join the general population.

At the start of Part 3, the Martels are relocated from the immigration camp to Wielun, Poland. Before they leave the camp, Major Haussmann confronts Emil, threatening to punish him for his cowardice during their unnamed earlier encounter. Emil insists to Adeline that they must travel west and surrender to the Allies, but Adeline is hesitant to uproot their family again. The Martels struggle due to poor living conditions and lack of food. Emil falls ill and experiences flashbacks of his meeting with Major Haussmann in 1941, revealing that Major Haussmann ordered him to prove his loyalty to Hitler by murdering three young Jewish people. Meanwhile, Adeline briefly reunites with Esther, who gives her money to buy food.

Further flashbacks during Emil’s illness reveal that he initially refused Haussmann’s order to commit murder. However, under threat of death, Emil agreed to commit the crime to ensure that his family would be safe. Soon after Emil recovers from his illness, the Martels are relocated to Legnica, Poland. In March 1945, Emil, Adeline, Lydia, Malia, Marie, and the children decide to leave for Berlin to seek the protection of the Allies, while Johann, Karoline, and Rese stay behind. As they are about to leave, Emil is detained by Polish militiamen, who tell him that he is being arrested and handed over to the Soviets.

After Emil’s arrest, Adeline decides to temporarily remain in Legnica. The war ends in May 1945. During Emil’s journey east, flashbacks reveal more about the night he met Major Haussmann. Although Emil agreed to murder the three Jewish people, he was stopped before he could pull the trigger. Emil and the other prisoners arrive in Poltava, Ukraine, where they will rebuild the city. Meanwhile, all people of German heritage are expelled from Poland. Johann, Karoline, and Rese return to Friedenstal, while Adeline, Lydia, Malia, Marie, and the children walk to Germany. Marie’s infant twins die on the journey; overcome with grief, Marie climbs into a truck and starts drinking with Soviet soldiers. Lydia and Malia stop outside of Cottbus in Soviet-held eastern Germany. Adeline, Walt, and Will make it to Berlin, where they are directed to a Soviet refugee camp in the eastern area of the city.

In Part 4, Adeline, Walt, and Will are initially relocated to Gutengermendorf in Soviet-occupied Germany before they are moved closer to Berlin. Emil continues laboring in the Poltava prison camp. He is tasked with making cement to rebuild the Poltava hospital and has to work alongside Nikolas, who dies due to poor conditions in the camp. Emil is reunited with Corporal Gheorghe in Poltava. The two begin planning an escape from Poltava. Corporal Gheorghe is relocated to a new prison camp, but Emil follows through with their escape plan. Emil eventually makes his way to a refugee camp in Alfeld, inside the British Zone in western Germany. Adeline, still living in Soviet-occupied eastern Germany with Walt and Will, receives a letter informing her of Emil’s whereabouts.

Part 5 opens in March 1947; Adeline decides to attempt to escape to West Germany with her sons so they can be reunited with Emil. With the help of a stranger, they cross the border and reach Danndorf, and the family is reunited. The Martels receive temporary housing in Lütgenholzen, where Emil tells Adeline about his encounter with Major Haussmann in 1941. The Martels are eventually sponsored to travel to North America; they spend the rest of their lives in Montana, where they are thankful every day for their good fortune.