Book Suggestions-Germany
 

We will be heading to Bavaria in May for two weeks. Does anyone have suggestions for good reading material for novels set in Germany or biographies for me? I am not as familiar with German literature or history as I am sure some of you fodorites are.

Pat

It's set up north in Luebeck, not Bavaria, but Thomas Mann's Buddenbrooks is a classic - a rich 19th century family saga with peripheral mention of major historical events of the period.

Following hausfrau's suggestion of Thomas Mann reading will expose you to arguably Germany's greatest novelist of all time - whose command of the German language remains unmatched to me. The Buddenbrooks earned him a nobel prize - which he possibly would rather have deserved for the Magic Mountain, but the Buddenbrooks make for more easy reading material.

Should you be able to get a hand on a translation of Thomas Mann's radio appeals "To the German Audience" broadcast during WW II by the BBC and for the most part recorded in his exile in Pacific Palisades, CA, that could give an enlightening view into the emotional conflict of the German intellectual elite during the Nazi era.

Thomas Mann's brother, Heinrich Mann, is also a relevant German novelist. His probably most famous novel "Der Untertan" (published in English as "The loyal Subject", "The Patrioteer" or "Man of Straw") was written in the pre-math to WW I and published shortly after and illustrates the mentality which led to the fatal trials and tribulations thereafter.

Another nobel prize winner, Heinrich Boell, has written several short stories, among them "Traveller, if you come to Spa" that deal with the horrors of WW II - if you can get a hand on an English edition that would certainly be relevant German literature.

For a very contemporary view on Germany and its ties with its allies John Le Carre's "A most wanted man" is written by a most knowledgeable author, is accurate on details and is very entertaining - it is however also set in the North, rather than Bavaria, but that is not relevant for its theme. The same author has also published "Absolute Friends" that is placed in Germany around the Millennium change and "A small town in Germany" taking place in the upheaval of the years around 1968 - both of them also highly entertaining.

We're headed to Bavaria in October and I picked up what has been an interesting read at the library-"On Hitler's Mountain" by Irmagard A. Hunt. Its the story of her childhood lived in the Berchtesgaden/Obersalzburg area and its transformation under the Nazis. Her childhood observations of the changes, her parents and grandparents differing views, her father's service and her perceptions of the relentless propaganda. It is bringing a sense of reality to me that enriches the history and conflicts of the average german of that time.

Not to forget: It should be relatively easy to get hold of a copy of Hans Fallada's "Every Man dies alone" (published in the UK as "Alone in Berlin") - which was recently rediscovered by US/UK publishers and achieved surprising sales last year. The story deals with a working class couple in Berlin becoming involved in the resistance against the Nazis after their son dies in the war.

An excellent and very readable account and analyis of Hitler as a person as well as his rise and fall would be Sebastian Haffner's "The Meaning of Hitler". It isn't a novel, though.

Who would have guessed all the answers...

Film suggestion: Das schreckliche Maedchen (The Nasty Girl) is set in Passau, so is set in an area perhaps a bit closer to where you might be visiting. It has been set as a film for leaving age high-school students and uni students in my country in the past, but that's going back a few years now. It concerns a young woman who starts probing into the town's Nazi past and turns up much unwanted evidence against contemporary townsfolk. Interesting film but it doesn't showcase the town's sights to any extent so probably isn't that useful as a tourism aid. On the other hand it is quite provocative and does shine a spotlight on some ugly aspects of society.

Can you perhaps be more specific about what aspect of Germany you're interested in? Does it matter if it's not about Bavaria?

Lavandula

Thank you all for these interesting suggestions. I have read
Thomas Mann's novel (The Buddenbrooks). If we go to the northern part of Germany in the future, I will arrange to go to Luebeck. I have a strong picture in my own mind about what
the old city looks like.

No, Lavandula, it does not matter if the books are not set in Bavaria.

Wanttogo

For a good travel book/memoir about the author's trip in by foot in 1934,I recommend A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor

Christopher Isherwood's Goodbye to Berlin and Mr. Norris changes Trains

Stones from the River and Floating in my Mother's Palm--ursula Hegi.

Not exactly a biography but about an important family: The Arms of Krupp by William Manchester

Well, Germans are raised in a "culture of guilt", so basically, the answers you get reflect not so much the dreadful past but the feelings of those posting today. It doesn't make much sense to read Nazi history for the history but to get an idea how parts of the population think.
If you're interested in Nazi history, there's one book that has it all, it's Hitlers "Mein Kampf" (my struggle). If you're interested in the ripples of todays Germany, Sarazins "Deutschland schafft sich ab" or Ulfkottes "Kein Schwarz, kein rot, kein Gold" should give you an idea.

So as not to disappoint logos I'll have to recommend Alan Bullock's <i>Hitler; A Study in Tyranny</i> which I'm rereading after more than 40 years. Plenty of locations and addresses for those fascinated with 'what happened where' and a constant reminder of from where and whom the dog-whistling politicians of today's Right have derived their nauseating rhetoric and tactics. From the same era as Bullock, K.S. Pinson's <i>Modern Germany</i> was the standard English language text as I recall.

Early 90s titles which I've found interesting are Alan Watson's <i>The Germans; Who Are They Now?</i> and Anthony Read and David Fisher's <i>Berlin; The Biography of a City</i>. Any other more recent English language recommendations without an overwhelming Nazi focus?

Second the recommendation for The Nasty Girl and anything and everything by Patrick Leigh Fermour.

Hm, in that case if it needn't be about Bavaria there are lots of more modern films that reflect interesting aspects of culture. I can think of a few, but here is another that I saw recently:

Something not about the Nazis (and to be honest that's very nice) but still a significant time in recent history: The Baader-Meinhof Complex. A little bit sensational but still historically accurate, it looks at the emergence of the Red Army Fraction, which was a domestic terrorist unit in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The late 1960s was a time of left-wing political turmoil in Europe, but specifically in Germany. I really enjoyed this film and I felt I understood the Baby Boomer generation much better after seeing it. Again the scenery is nothing special, you'd never bother to see it for that reason, but it's a thrilling ride. Lots of violence, but those were the times!

Lavandula

>early 1970s
You're young. ;-) and weren't with us in the 1980s, right?
It was bad then, but nobody was as hysterical about terrorism as they are today.

Ha ha, not quite, I was born in 1969 so I remember people talking about the Red Army Faction on the radio / TV (even in Australia), but had no understanding of what it was all about. I get it now.

Lavandula

>it looks at the emergence of the Red Army Fraction

Oops, that's meant to be "Faction" - it's 'Fraktion' in German!

Lavandula

<It was bad then, but nobody was as hysterical about terrorism as they are today>

But then again the violent leftist RAF wasn't indiscriminate as some terrorist movements are today. (The Italian neo-fascists were a different matter with their bombings of the Italicus Express and Bologna railway station.)

Reminded that I have a photograph I took of one of those posters prominently displayed at German railway stations at the time - yellow with the red 'Terroristen' heading and the 'Vorsicht Schusswaffen!' warning following the mugshots, names and details of fifteen wanted persons (in my shot ten of those were women).

Womem make the best terrorists. Men aren't that passionate about their beliefs, they just kill.

It seems that my original post got sidetracked-hmm!

Anyway, thanks to those who made suggestions for reading material. I will go armed with a print-out to my local library to start reading and educating myself today.

Pat

The Lion's Bridge.

http://www.amazon.com/Lions-Bridge-G...5973130&sr=8-2

Well written account of life before and during WWII in Würzburg. Sometimes we do stupid things collectively (starting wars) that we would avoid as individuals.

Regards, Gary