History as it never happened

History that never happened

Down in the cellar the Gestapo was licensed to practice what the Ministry of Justice called "heightened interogation." The rules had been drawn up by civilized men in warm offices, and they stipulated the presence of a doctor.

...

Inside, beyond the SS sentries and the creaky revolving door, the board announced the current state of terrorist alert. There were four codes, in ascending order of seriousness: green, blue, black, and red. Today, as always, the alert was red.

Random quotes from The Fatherland by Robert Harris. It was published in 1992, a work of imagination about 1964 that never could have happened. It never did happen.