Turtledove
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Martin Dambach
Fictional Character
In the Presence of Mine Enemies
POD: c. 1940
Type of Appearance: Direct
Nationality: Germany
Date of Birth: 20th century
Occupation: Pediatrician

Martin Dambach was a pediatrician in Berlin. Esther Stutzman was his part-time receptionist.

Dambach was generally a kind person, but was nonetheless a citizen of the Greater German Reich. When he diagnosed Paul Klein with Tay-Sachs disease, an ailment more common in Jews than in Aryans, he examined the Klein family much more closely. The Kleins were Jews, hiding as German citizens in Berlin. Despite Esther Stutzman's efforts to hide the Kleins, Dambach discovered inconsistencies in the Kleins' genealogical records, and reported it to the authorities.

The investigation was scuttled, however, when a great-nephew of Reichsführer-SS Lothar Prützmann was also diagnosed with Tay-Sachs. The investigating officer, Maximilian Ebert, laid the blame at Dambach's feet. Dambach refused to accept it, however.

When Prützmann and the SS attempted a Putsch in 2011 against Führer Heinz Buckliger in an effort to halt reform, Dambach reminded Esther Stutzman of the investigation, and pondered what would happen if the notion that Prützmann was Jewish took hold. Esther went to her husband, Walther, an employee of Zeiss, and the two began circulating the rumor, which helped galvanize Buckliger's supporters and saw the defeat of Prützmann. Dambach never knew of his role in saving the Reich.

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