Jeder Stirbt Für Sich Allein (Ungekürzte Neuausgabe) (1946) - Plot & Excerpts
This is a thought-provoking, beautifully written book concerning the history of two very ordinary people living in Nazi Germany during the war years. At the death of their only son during the invasion of France, Otto and his wife Anna, who have previously supported Hitler, decide that it's time to stage a protest at the way Germany is going. They are an ordinary working class couple and their act or resistance is a small one - they write postcards making anti-Nazi statements and drop them in stairwells of office buildings. It doesn't seem like much, but if they are caught, they know they will pay with their lives for voicing their protest; and as Otto observes "...whether their act was big or small, no one could risk more than his life." (p. 140). The cards cause terror to whomsoever finds them, as it immediately renders them under suspicion, just for finding the card. Thus, nearly all the cards are handed in to the Gestapo; and a terrifying game of cat and mouse ensues for them to find and kill the culprits (and indeed anyone else who gets in their way).Fallada makes sure that we realise that the acts of resistance in this novel are small ones; but there's a bigger message here, that being that even a small act resistance makes the perpetrator morally superior to the corrupt Nazi government in the novel. This is a heart-rending book which was What a book! Based on the true story of a working class couple who initiate their own form of resistance against the Nazis during WW II. Written by the German writer Hans Fallada in 1946, it only became available in English in 2009. The book focuses on a cast of characters who live in an apartment building in Berlin. Each are representative: the Hitler Youth, the thief/informer, an old Jewish woman, the anti-social couple, a former judge who quietly helps others survive. The death of their son in France moves the couple to resistance: they start writing anti-war and anti-Hitler statements on postcards they place in buildings around Berlin. Their goal is to inspire a revolt. Instead, the cards inspire terror and fear among those who find them, and ultimately land in the hands of a Gestapo detective. The novel traces the detective's hunt for the couple, and the inter-locking stories of the others who live in the building.This is a powerful book that feels urgent and fresh, bringing to life the fear and anxiety of 'ordinary' Germans during the war. The characters are beautifully drawn and the story is suspenseful. It gets heavy-handed at times about 'good' Germans and the symbolism of a 'new' Germany rising from those who resist, but overall, this is a wonderful book.
What do You think about Jeder Stirbt Für Sich Allein (Ungekürzte Neuausgabe) (1946)?
A must read! Very, very close to being as good as 1984. It could even be just as good.
—steph
One of my favorites reads about WWII Germany. Based on a real Gestapo file.
—laura
Ihan mahtava tarina ja huippuhyvä suomennos!
—shivy
