Deutsches Requiem

by Jorge Luis Borges

Cuento "Deutsches Requiem", de Jorge Luis Borges, originalmente publicado en el libro El Aleph, en 1949.

Genres: Short Stories, Historical Fiction

7 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 1949

About the author

Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator regarded as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known works, Ficciones (transl. Fictions) and El Aleph (transl. The Aleph), published in the 1940s, are collections of short stories exploring motifs such as dreams, labyrinths, chance, infinity, archives, mirrors, fictional writers and mythology. Borges's works have contributed to philosophical literature and the fantasy genre, and have had a major influence on the magic realist movement in 20th century Latin American literature.
Born in Buenos Aires, Borges later moved with his family to Switzerland in 1914, where he studied at the Collège de Genève. The family travelled widely in Europe, including Spain. On his return to Argentina in 1921, Borges began publishing his poems and essays in surrealist literary journals. He also worked as a librarian and public lecturer. In 1955, he was appointed director of the National Public Library and professor of English Literature at the University of Buenos Aires. He became completely blind by the age of 55. Scholars have suggested that his progressive blindness helped him to create innovative literary symbols through imagination. By the 1960s, his work was translated and published widely in the United States and Europe. Borges himself was fluent in several languages.
In 1961, he came to international attention when he received the first Formentor Prize, which he shared with Samuel Beckett. In 1971, he won the Jerusalem Prize. His international reputation was consolidated in the 1960s, aided by the growing number of English translations, the Latin American Boom, and by the success of Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude. He dedicated his final work, The Conspirators, to the city of Geneva, Switzerland. Writer and essayist J.M. Coetzee said of him: "He, more than anyone, renovated the language of fiction and thus opened the way to a remarkable generation of Spanish-American novelists."

Reviews

[John Dishwasher John Dishwasher · Rating 4 out of 5]

The principal argument behind this story is that from a historical perspective there are many defeats that can be seen as victories. The man confessing this tale is arguing that though Nazi Germany was defeated in WWII, that defeat would ultimately be a victory because the destruction wrought by Nazis and the war would eventually give rise to a new order. He is about to be executed as a concentration camp torturer and he is absolutely unrepentant because he believes that in the end his cause will still win. In an indirect way this reminds me of September 11. The perpetrators of the attack brought down the twin towers and died in the act. The US reacted then by starting two wars rather quickly, and, in short order, declaring them both victories. On the surface, in the moment, the perpetrators and the philosophies guiding them were quickly defeated. But where are we now 19 years later? Still spending 700 million dollars a day fighting wars. I wonder if, similar to the reasoning of Borges’ narrator, those men believed that bringing down the twin towers would push the US into a mindset which would end in its eventual bankruptcy. If that happens, following this story’s logic, something new should arise from our self-destruction. The difference, however, is that we are destroying ourselves stupidly, not realizing that we are doing so. While those terrorists, like Borges’ protagonist, maybe believed that we would do exactly this. Who then is the victor?


Two quotes:

“No pretendo ser perdonado, porque no hay culpa en mí, pero quiero ser comprendido.”

“Yo sé que casos como el mío, excepcionales y asombrosos ahora, serán muy en breve triviales.”

[Jose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me flipa que lo que da fin al relato, esto:

"Miro mi cara en el espejo para saber quién soy, para saber cómo me portaré dentro de unas horas, cuando me enfrente con el fin. Mi carne puede tener miedo; yo, no."

sirva a su vez como el hipotético perfecto comienzo de la historia de un terrorista islámico suicida.

[Verano por siempre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cada jodida línea es gloriosa. Ve y léelo ahora mismo.

[Mabi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my..Jorge Luis Borges es tan inteligente. He leído infinidad de libros del nazismo y holocausto y he aborrecido toda la vida a la Alemania de esa época y todos sus soldados seguidores, pero por primera vez leo el punto de vista de un soldado alemán. Claro que tenía que ser fusilado y claro que no cambia mi repugnancia ante Hitler y desagrado del Holocausto. El punto de vista que Borges le pone al personaje es muy creativo.
Me encantan las comparaciones que hace con Hitler, el rey David, etc. Me quito el sombrero, Borges.

[Eliana Leal · Rating 5 out of 5]

"...todos los hechos que pueden ocurrirle a un hombre, desde el instante de su nacimiento hasta el de su muerte, han sido prefijados por él. Así, toda negligencia es deliberada, todo casual encuentro una cita, toda humillación una penitencia, todo fracaso una misteriosa victoria, toda muerte un suicidio."

"Que el cielo exista, aunque nuestro lugar sea el infierno."

[candela · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Si la victoria y la injusticia y la felicidad no son para Alemania, que sean para otras naciones. Que el cielo exista, aunque nuestro lugar sea el infierno."
y ese final que le dioooo!!!! estoy enamorada de los cuentos de borges, no puedo parar

[Juan Bernal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Noveno cuento de El Aleph

Historia de un militar nazi que está a punto de morir y cuenta su historia.

Este relato nos narra cómo hasta los actos más inhumanos pueden ser vistos como normales si tu entorno así los ve.

Antes de morir, este militar nazi no se arrepiente de nada, no quiere ser perdonado, solo entendido. Quiere que el resto del mundo sepa y entienda por qué hizo lo que hizo, dando a entender que cualquier otra persona hubiese hecho o hará lo mismo en un futuro en sus mismas circunstancias.

[Pau · Rating 3 out of 5]

El protagonista es tan insoportable que probablemente sea lo más realista que he leído sobre lo que debe sentirse estar en la cabeza de un fascista durante media hora. Un monólogo de incoherencias y narcisismo envuelto en prosa elegante.

[nico!? · Rating 4 out of 5]

«Ignoro si Jerusalem comprendió que si yo lo destruí, fue para destruir mi piedad. Ante mis ojos, no era un hombre, ni siquiera un judío; se había transformado en el símbolo de una detestada zona de mi alma. Yo agonicé con él, yo morí con él, yo de algún modo me he perdido con él; por eso, fui implacable.»

[Lulú 🍃 · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Ignoro si Jerusalem comprendió que si yo lo destruí, fue para destruir mi piedad. Ante mis ojos, no era un hombre, ni siquiera un judío; se había transformado en el símbolo de un detestada zona de mi alma. Yo agonicé con él, yo morí con él, yo de algún modo me he perdido con él; por eso fui implacable".

[Parker Trager · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascists have a unique theory of intersubjectivity that ought to be studied via an emphasis on the master but more importantly the Petty bourgeois academics. Borge’s does this through this short story

[Luis Carlos Aldana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Toda una Filosofía narrada desde un punto de vista en primera persona.
Excelente como todo lo del Maestro Borges

[Thore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am speechless by the nuance, depth and finesse of these seven (!) pages. What an author, excited to read more.

[Chris Rohlev · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was always skeptical that Borges had a heart and I sadly put him in the box next to Nabokov. This story in is Collected Fiction changed my mind completely.

[Michelle Contreras ( Palabras de Otoño) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un cuento bastante cortico e interesante pues cuenta la historia de un militar nazi que en ese momento será ejecutado. Allí, explica que no quiero ser perdonado, solo comprendido por todo lo que hizo.

Es una perspectiva diferente de ver el mundo y toda la historia del nacizmo.