At a writers’ conference in Manhattan, KS, I was fortunate enough to sit beside the very kind and knowledgeable Greg Bear at the conference dinner, and I’ve enjoyed every piece of his fiction that I’ve read—but I simply didn’t understand this story any better than I understood its title. The story is set in an alternate version of 1984 where Hitler was victorious, and two lost SS officers come across a hag who (I think) sends them back in time.
Your cities in flame, your women and children shriveling to black dolls in the heat of their burning homes. The death camps found and you stand accused of hideous crimes.

Variants

(1)
  1. “Through Road No Wither” by Greg Bear, in Far Frontiers, edited by Jim Baen and Jerry Pournelle (Baen Books, January 1985).
    2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Greg Bear