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The novel then turns to its protagonist: Colonel Lewis Morgan, who arrives in Hamburg to lead the rebuilding and rehabilitation efforts as governor. In the novel’s short opening scene, a young German orphan named Ozi leads a gang of children through the ruble, starving and lonely. The process of interrogating the Germans who remain in Hamburg through detailed questionnaires is overseen by British intelligence officers, who determine their level of collaboration with the regime, and either designate them as clean-and eligible to live, work, and travel again-or not. British government and military officials and their families arrive to run these efforts and are strictly advised in a guidebook not to fraternize with the Germans, who are still seen as the enemy. It is a city in ruins, and the British are now responsible for its rebuilding, for the de-Nazification process, and the rehabilitation of its people. Abandoned structures, heaps of ash, and dead bodies cover the ground and orphaned children run through the streets, scavenging for food and shelter. Hamburg is now occupied by the victorious British, who reduced the city to rubble in the air raids a few years ago. Rhidian Brook’s The Aftermath is set in postwar Germany, in the city of Hamburg in 1946. The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Brook, Rhidian.