The Wall: And Other Stories

by Jurek Becker, Christine Becker (Introduction)

Jurek Becker was one of the giants of postwar German literature. The novel for which he is best-known, Jacob the Liar , won wide acclaim, was awarded the Heinrich-Mann and Charles Veillon Prizes, and was made into two movies. It has been called “a novel about the martyrdom of Europe’s Jews that has never been surpassed” (Times Literary Supplement). The Wall is a new, brief collection of stories by Becker that have either never been translated into English or been published here in book form before. The title story, “The Wall,” recounts two boys’ risky adventure when they scale the wall of a transit camp to visit the ghetto their families have recently vacated. In “The Most Popular Family Story,” a favorite anecdote recounted year after year at the gatherings of an extended Jewish family subtly marks the absences left by the Holocaust. Also included are two stories of Communist East Germany and the wall that divided Berlin, “The Suspect” and “Romeo,” as well as a short essay on the Lodz ghetto, “The Invisible City.” Christine Becker has provided an introduction to the collection.

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Genres: Short Stories, Jewish, Historical Fiction

128 pages, Hardcover

First published May 6, 2014

About the author

Jurek Becker (* vermutlich 30. September 1937 in Łódź, Polen als Jerzy Bekker geboren[1]; † 14. März 1997 in Sieseby, Schleswig-Holstein) war ein deutscher Schriftsteller, Drehbuchautor und DDR-Dissident.

Jurek Becker (probably September 30, 1937 – March 14, 1997) was a Polish-born German writer, film-author and GDR dissident. His most famous novel is Jacob the Liar, which has been made into two films. He lived in Łódź during World War II for about two years and survived the Holocaust.

Reviews

[German Embassy Book Club · Rating 5 out of 5]

The newly published short story collection „The Wall“ by Jurek Becker may be short, but it is a fascinating glimpse into the history of Germany. The collection consists of five stories, the longest of which is fifty pages, and one essay. It begins with the namesake story, a tale of three boys growing up in a Jewish ghetto. From there, Becker takes the reader on a journey through Germany’s troubled history. He ends the collection with an essay entitled “Invisible City” which recalls Becker’s own experience in a Jewish Ghetto.
Four of Becker’s stories are told in the first person, two from the perspective of children. Becker does a good job of showing each of his characters as reactionary. It seems like, especially in the case of “The Suspect” and “The Most Popular Family Story,” the protagonists exist as a result of their environments. The plot is often driven as a result of an action from an authority figure, whether it be an officer guarding a Jewish Ghetto in Poland or the unseen surveillance organization that forces “The Suspect” to disappear. Becker paints vivid pictures of the confusion of his characters and in doing so reveals them for who they really are. It takes skill to characterize in a short story, but Becker does it with enormous care.
As a student of German history, I enjoy reading any post-war novels or stories and I am especially interested in any story about the Cold War. Becker includes one story from each major cultural upheaval since he was born in 1920 (The Depression, WWII, the GDR and the Berlin Wall) and weaves together fiction with undeniable fact.
I found “The Suspect” to be the most provocative story, especially given the current political climate, but I must say that “The Tale of the Sick Princess” was my favorite. I read Jacob the Liar several years ago and after reading these stories I am going to pick up “The Boxer” as well. Great writing style, great storyteller. Highly recommended!

Book Review by Lauren Rogers, Press Officer at the German Embassy Washington.

[Jake Cooper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mostly dull, but I liked "The Most Popular Family Story" on the sorrow of indignities, and "The Invisible City" on the author's frustration that he has no memories of his infancy in the Lodz Ghetto.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. Well crafted short stories about life in the Jewish ghettos of Nazi occupied Poland and post-war East Germany.

[The Jewish Book Council]

Reviewed by Gary Katz for the Jeiwsh Book Council.