What do you think?
Rate this book
Jakob Littners Aufzeichnungen aus einem Erdloch.
Ähnlich kontrovers wie schon Wolfgang Koeppens Werke der Fünfziger Jahre, Tauben im Gras, Das Treibhaus und Der Tod in Rom als überhaupt erste literatisierte Kritik an der noch jungen, heiligen deutschen Demokratie vom Literaturbetrieb aufgenommen und bewertet worden sind, stiftete auch die Wiederveröffentlichung von Jakob Littners Aufzeichnungen aus einem Erdloch 1992 im neu initiierten Jüdischen Verlag unter Suhrkampscher Federführung Verwirrung. So irritierte Koeppen zunächst mit der, wenn überhaupt, dann nur auf höchst diffuse Weise geklärten Autorschaft des Romans. 1948 ano-nym bei einem kleinen Münchener Verleger mehr oder weniger unbeachtet veröffentlicht, erscheint das Buch 44 Jahre später erneut, diesmal unter Koeppens Namen. Er erläutert im Vorwort: "Der Verleger fragte mich: ‚Willst du es schreiben?'" Die Situation scheint geklärt: der vom Holocaust gezeichnete Jude Littner floh nach Kriegsende in die USA, seine wenigen Aufzeichnungen hinterließ er Koeppen, damit dieser ein Buch daraus mache, brachte ihn zur Belohnung mit amerikanischen Carepaketen durch den deutschen Nachkriegshunger. Einzige Bedingung: Littner sollte fiktionaler Charakter, der Autor anonym bleiben. Doch das 1948 publizierte Ergebnis stellte Littner nicht zufrieden. Das Buch ver-schwand vom Markt, Littner starb, bevor er eine eigene Fassung veröffentlichen konnte. Erst 1992 er-schien die Neuauflage, durch Koeppen endlich Gewinn versprechend. Doch plötzlich tauchte das Litt-nersche Originalmanuskript auf. Dieses ähnelt dem 1948 veröffentlichen, von Koeppen nach Littners angeblich nur spärlichen Notizen geschaffenen Buch so sehr, dass die Frage nach Eigenprodukt oder geistigem Diebstahl, nach dreistem Plagiat oder genialischem Einfallsreichtum unvermeidbar wurde, ebenso unvermeidbar wie der darauffolgende Rechtsstreit zwischen Suhrkamp und den Erben Littners. - Koeppen sollte die Aufdeckung des Schwindels übrigens nicht mehr erleben, er starb 1996.
- GenresGermany
190 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1948
1 person is currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Wolfgang Koeppen
66 books42 followersWolfgang Arthur Reinhold Koeppen (June 23, 1906 – March 15, 1996) was a German novelist and one of the best known German authors of the post-war period.
Koeppen was born out of wedlock in Greifswald, Pomerania to Marie Köppen, a seamstress who also worked as a prompter at the Greifswald theater. He did not have contact with his father, ophthalmologist Reinhold Halben, who never formally accepted the fatherhood. In 1920, Koeppen left Greifswald permanently, and after 20 years of moving about, settled in Munich, living there the remainder of his life.
He started out as a journalist. In 1934 his first novel appeared while he was in the Netherlands. In 1947, Koeppen received a book contract to rewrite the memoirs of the philatelist and Holocaust survivor Jakob Littner (born 1883 in Budapest, died 1950 in New York City). The resulting novel caused some controversy based on whether Koeppen was given a written manuscript to guide his work on Littner, and the novel never sold well. In 1992, a new edition was published, which led to the discovery of Littner's original text. In 2000, Littner's original manuscript was published in English and in 2002, in German.
In 1951, Koeppen had published his novel Tauben im Gras (Pigeons on the Grass), which utilized a stream of consciousness literary technique and is considered a significant work of German-language literature by Germany's foremost literary critic Marcel Reich-Ranicki. "Das Treibhaus" (1953) was translated into English as "The Hothouse" (2001) and was named a Notable Book by the "New York Times" and one of the Best Books of the Year by the "Los Angeles Times." Koeppen's last major novel Der Tod in Rom (Death in Rome) was published in 1954. In the ensuing years, Koeppen found it difficult to complete longer works.
Between 1962 and 1987, Koeppen received numerous literary prizes in the Federal Republic of Germany. In 1962 he was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize.
Koeppen was born out of wedlock in Greifswald, Pomerania to Marie Köppen, a seamstress who also worked as a prompter at the Greifswald theater. He did not have contact with his father, ophthalmologist Reinhold Halben, who never formally accepted the fatherhood. In 1920, Koeppen left Greifswald permanently, and after 20 years of moving about, settled in Munich, living there the remainder of his life.
He started out as a journalist. In 1934 his first novel appeared while he was in the Netherlands. In 1947, Koeppen received a book contract to rewrite the memoirs of the philatelist and Holocaust survivor Jakob Littner (born 1883 in Budapest, died 1950 in New York City). The resulting novel caused some controversy based on whether Koeppen was given a written manuscript to guide his work on Littner, and the novel never sold well. In 1992, a new edition was published, which led to the discovery of Littner's original text. In 2000, Littner's original manuscript was published in English and in 2002, in German.
In 1951, Koeppen had published his novel Tauben im Gras (Pigeons on the Grass), which utilized a stream of consciousness literary technique and is considered a significant work of German-language literature by Germany's foremost literary critic Marcel Reich-Ranicki. "Das Treibhaus" (1953) was translated into English as "The Hothouse" (2001) and was named a Notable Book by the "New York Times" and one of the Best Books of the Year by the "Los Angeles Times." Koeppen's last major novel Der Tod in Rom (Death in Rome) was published in 1954. In the ensuing years, Koeppen found it difficult to complete longer works.
Between 1962 and 1987, Koeppen received numerous literary prizes in the Federal Republic of Germany. In 1962 he was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 17, 2019
Preliminary review, as of February 27, 2019
English translation of title "Jakob Littners Aufzeichnungen aus einem Erdloch: Roman" = "Jakob Littner's notes written from a hole in the ground: novel".
I finished reading this little booklet (book would be an exaggeration) last night. I am presently not able to write a review, as I am still under shock.
I have read many Holocaust memoirs, and they all moved me deeply, yet this little booklet shook me to the ground, even though Jakob Littner did not even make it to one of the death camps.
March, 30, 2019: Finally able to attempt writing a review.
Upfront: There are several different still available publications of Jakob Littner’s Holocaust story.
If you can read German, please google the history of this book. It’s a loooong story—too long to tell detailed in this review.
For those who don’t read German, here, as I understood it, and as briefly as possible:
Jacob Littner survived the Holocaust by lots of luck (or, as he would put it, by divine providence) and by hiding in three different underground facilities. During his ordeal, he jotted down notes, from which he wrote a memoir after the Third Reich had collapsed and WWII had ended. Littner gave this memoir (or his original notes—I could never quite figure this out) to a publisher (the, then, just founded Kurt Desch Verlag), in the winter of 1946/47. The publisher handed this memoir (or the original notes?) to the writer Wolfgang Koeppen and asked him whether he wanted to rewrite this story and get it into a publishable form. Koeppner agreed, and a verbal contract resulted between him and Littner. Littner, who was about to emigrate to America, was to send two Care packages every month, and Koeppen would rewrite the story. It remains unknown whether there ever was a legal contract of any kind between the publisher and Littner.
Littner and Koeppen both kept their part of the deal, but the resulting book, published 1948 (which I could not find anywhere on Amazon), was a flop. At the time, no one, really no one, was interested in Jewish genocide survival stories. (The term “Holocaust” for this genocide had not even been coined.)
Littner, then, had his (probably unaltered) memoir published, also in 1948, with the title “Mein Weg durch die Nacht” (my way through the night). The publisher was the Helmut Kluger Verlag. This book, too, was a flop--for the same reason as Koeppen’s first book. (I could not find this book on Amazon.)
(From what I could find out, it seems that Koeppen never learned about Littner’s memoir being published by the Helmut Kluger Verlag. I could not find out whether Littner had his memoir published because he did not like Koeppen’s version, because it was a financial flop, or because he never learned that Koeppen’s book even had been published. These were still turbulent times.)
Littner’s original memoir, “Mein Weg durch die Nacht” (my way through the night) was republished in 1985, by the Kupfergraben Verlag. It has the title “Aufzeichnungen aus einem Erdloch” (notes written from a hole in the ground). I could not find out whether this title had been taken from Koeppen’s book or whether it might have been the title (or under-title) of Littner’s manuscript. Here is the link to this book: https://www.amazon.com/Aufzeichnungen... (There are off and on copies available on Amazon, at decent prices.) And if you don’t grab one right away, it might soon be gone.
(There is also another publication of Littner’s memoir, “Mein Weg durch die Nacht”, on Amazon. It’s published by Metropol, and it features annotations to Koeppen’s version. Last I checked, they offered 4 used copies from $ 204.57 up and a new copy for $ 700.—. I think I’ll pass this offer. :-))
Then, more than 4 decades after the first 2 publishings of Littner’s story, when Holocaust tales came “into fashion”, Wolfgang Koeppen’s book was republished by the famous Suhrkamp Taschenbuchverlag. And it became a bestseller. Yet not only did it become a bestseller, it also became a literature scandal, as Littner’s heirs accused Koeppen of plagiarism and sued the Suhrkamp Verlag. From what I could find, not much came out of this law suit because Littner was long dead (he had died in 1950), and Koeppen died in 1996, not too long after the scandal broke and the law suit was filed. With the main witnesses dead, all that might have been achieved is a settlement.
The edition I bought and read is from 1994. (I no longer see it on Amazon.) The edition shown on Goodreads is from the newly created Jewish Publishing Company within the Suhrkamp Verlag. The title of this edition has the addition “Roman” (= novel). This is, of course, total nonsense but seems to be meant as a legal protection for the publisher (or may be part of some settlement).
If you can read German, please read the complete book description of the above edition. Yet I would like to point out that all one can find anywhere in the internet about these different publications is quite confusing. I tried to get a clear picture but could only find a quagmire of contradictory information.
And now to the actual reviews of the two books I read:
First to Koeppen’s version of Littner’s story:
I found this little booklet a masterpiece, a literary gem. It is written in the style of a diary, or even a log book. And occasionally it tells more with what it doesn’t tell than with what it does tell.
After I had finished reading this booklet, I wanted to learn more, wanted to find the original notes (which I, meanwhile, assume, no longer exist), and I also wanted to find an English translation for my Goodreads friends who don’t read German. Besides, I wanted to compare Koeppen’s book with Littner’s own voice.
I eventually found, bought, and read “Journey Through the Night: Jakob Littner’s Holocaust Memoir”, by Kurt Gruebler, a remote relative of Littner who has researched Littner’s life. This book contains not only an English translation of Littner’s memoir but also information about Littner’s life before and after the Holocaust, and it further contains photographs. Here is the link to this book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
So now to Littner’s own voice, his memoir, which seems to have been well translated into English:
Yes, it gave additional information. Yes, this additional information was interesting (at least, for the most part). And yes, I am glad to have read this book because Littner’s story is truly fascinating and tells a lot about this horrific time in history that other Holocaust stories don’t cover so much (i.e., the attitude and actions of the general population). But let me tell you: I found the literary value of Littner’s memoir to be zero. Littner had no talent whatsoever for writing. And I can fully understand that the publisher (Kurt Desch Verlag), whom Littner had approached with his manuscript (may it have been his original notes or his produced memoir), had asked Koeppner to rewrite the story. No renowned publisher would have published this memoir without severe editing or, better still, rewriting the story.
Ephraim Kishon once wrote: “The art of writing is the art of leaving things out.” This is what almost continuously came to my mind when reading Littner’s memoir. While almost everything he wrote was interesting information, he would frequently kill one impressive sentence with the following sentence(s). As a matter of fact, this memoir would be an excellent study object for a college to teach students “How Not to Write”.
I highly appreciated the photographs in Kurt Gruebler’s book as well as all the information supplementing Littner’s memoir.
Finally to the harsh critical voices throughout the literary world regarding Koeppen’s changes to the original story:
I consider these criticisms unfair. Whatever Koeppen left out, needed to be left out to raise the book from the level of a grade-8 essay to something that deserved the label “literature”. And whatever Koeppen added (which was very little) improved the book, did not distort anything, fit right into the picture, and could pass for “poetic license”, even in a non-fiction book.
Koeppen was particularly attacked for the end of his book, where he lets Littner say something like that he hates no one, that while he won’t forgive, he won’t judge but leaves it up to God to judge, as only God can judge, and He may judge mercifully where every human mercy would be “Vermessenheit” (impudence). It was stated that a German did not have the right to put such words into a Jew’s mouth. I can only say that what Koeppen put into Littner’s mouth was an eloquent expression of Littner’s own ideology. Littner was a very religious man. As a matter of fact, his memoir is rather preachy—a bit too preachy for not-so-religious readers. Koeppen played this overpowering religiosity down a bit to make the book more readable. With the words he put into Littner’s mouth, Koeppen did not falsify anything.
From what I remember reading, most or all of such criticism came from Jews. And I don’t hold it against them. After what Jews suffered in the Holocaust, I forgive them any unfairness toward any German. It is only natural that some Jews will be overly critical of Germans. Actually, I have never been able to understand how most Jews can be so very nice to Germans. The nicest and most caring doctors I ever had were Jewish. (And had I known more about the Holocaust at the time, I don’t think I would have ever dared to enter their offices; I would have expected them to kick me out.) The nicest and most decent lawyer I ever had to do with was Jewish. (No difference there.) And the first Jews, an elderly couple, I ever met privately (during a vacation in Florida, in 1980) were so very nice and kind to me and my mother (who, born 1907, was at the age that she could have been a Nazi broad). They had no way of knowing whether my family had been Nazi or anti-Nazi, and we never touched the subject.
Yes, I have said it before, and I will say it again and again: Jews, in average, are not only more intelligent than other nationalities, races, and ethnic groups, they are also more ethical, decent, and kind.—Yes, I know that this doesn’t apply to each and every Jew. And the above book also tells about not-so-nice Jews (within the Jewish Council and the Jewish militia). Please note that I said “in average”. When I generalize, I don’t mean that this applies to each and every individual. Not every German was a murderous SS criminal. And not every Jew is an Einstein. However, it is undeniable that certain traits, good or bad, are more prevalent in one gene pool than in another.
It has been 5 weeks that I finished Koeppen’s book and about 3 weeks that I finished Kurt Gruebler’s book (which includes Littner’s memoir). I still can’t get it out of my head how abominably the majority of the general population (of not only Germany but also of other European countries) behaved toward the innocent genocide victims, who were hunted, crowded, starved, mistreated, and butchered, as it should not even be done to animals. I keep wondering how the majority of the general population (in whatever so-called civilized country) might behave today if its democracy were destroyed and a dictatorship were established. We all know what an evil dictator and his henchmen will do to their victims (i.e., to dissidents, opponents, and whatever minorities will be used for scape goats). Yet how will the majority of the general population behave? I am afraid it will behave similar to as it acted toward Jakob Littner and millions of his fellow sufferers. Let’s face it: The general population of today carries the same genes as the general population carried 7 and 8 decades ago.
So beware of false prophets who use propaganda to brainwash the uneducated masses, unrealistic dreamers, and immature young people. Speak up against any attempt to destroy our democracy. Speak up as long as you can without taking major risks. Once Marshal Law will have been declared, free speech will have been gagged, and/or the right of assembly will have been curtailed or revoked, it will be too late.
P.S. The 5-star rating is for Koeppen’s book. I won’t rate Kurt Gruebler’s book that contains Littner’s memoir. Yet, despite of its lack of literary value, I consider it a must-read.
English translation of title "Jakob Littners Aufzeichnungen aus einem Erdloch: Roman" = "Jakob Littner's notes written from a hole in the ground: novel".
I finished reading this little booklet (book would be an exaggeration) last night. I am presently not able to write a review, as I am still under shock.
I have read many Holocaust memoirs, and they all moved me deeply, yet this little booklet shook me to the ground, even though Jakob Littner did not even make it to one of the death camps.
March, 30, 2019: Finally able to attempt writing a review.
Upfront: There are several different still available publications of Jakob Littner’s Holocaust story.
If you can read German, please google the history of this book. It’s a loooong story—too long to tell detailed in this review.
For those who don’t read German, here, as I understood it, and as briefly as possible:
Jacob Littner survived the Holocaust by lots of luck (or, as he would put it, by divine providence) and by hiding in three different underground facilities. During his ordeal, he jotted down notes, from which he wrote a memoir after the Third Reich had collapsed and WWII had ended. Littner gave this memoir (or his original notes—I could never quite figure this out) to a publisher (the, then, just founded Kurt Desch Verlag), in the winter of 1946/47. The publisher handed this memoir (or the original notes?) to the writer Wolfgang Koeppen and asked him whether he wanted to rewrite this story and get it into a publishable form. Koeppner agreed, and a verbal contract resulted between him and Littner. Littner, who was about to emigrate to America, was to send two Care packages every month, and Koeppen would rewrite the story. It remains unknown whether there ever was a legal contract of any kind between the publisher and Littner.
Littner and Koeppen both kept their part of the deal, but the resulting book, published 1948 (which I could not find anywhere on Amazon), was a flop. At the time, no one, really no one, was interested in Jewish genocide survival stories. (The term “Holocaust” for this genocide had not even been coined.)
Littner, then, had his (probably unaltered) memoir published, also in 1948, with the title “Mein Weg durch die Nacht” (my way through the night). The publisher was the Helmut Kluger Verlag. This book, too, was a flop--for the same reason as Koeppen’s first book. (I could not find this book on Amazon.)
(From what I could find out, it seems that Koeppen never learned about Littner’s memoir being published by the Helmut Kluger Verlag. I could not find out whether Littner had his memoir published because he did not like Koeppen’s version, because it was a financial flop, or because he never learned that Koeppen’s book even had been published. These were still turbulent times.)
Littner’s original memoir, “Mein Weg durch die Nacht” (my way through the night) was republished in 1985, by the Kupfergraben Verlag. It has the title “Aufzeichnungen aus einem Erdloch” (notes written from a hole in the ground). I could not find out whether this title had been taken from Koeppen’s book or whether it might have been the title (or under-title) of Littner’s manuscript. Here is the link to this book: https://www.amazon.com/Aufzeichnungen... (There are off and on copies available on Amazon, at decent prices.) And if you don’t grab one right away, it might soon be gone.
(There is also another publication of Littner’s memoir, “Mein Weg durch die Nacht”, on Amazon. It’s published by Metropol, and it features annotations to Koeppen’s version. Last I checked, they offered 4 used copies from $ 204.57 up and a new copy for $ 700.—. I think I’ll pass this offer. :-))
Then, more than 4 decades after the first 2 publishings of Littner’s story, when Holocaust tales came “into fashion”, Wolfgang Koeppen’s book was republished by the famous Suhrkamp Taschenbuchverlag. And it became a bestseller. Yet not only did it become a bestseller, it also became a literature scandal, as Littner’s heirs accused Koeppen of plagiarism and sued the Suhrkamp Verlag. From what I could find, not much came out of this law suit because Littner was long dead (he had died in 1950), and Koeppen died in 1996, not too long after the scandal broke and the law suit was filed. With the main witnesses dead, all that might have been achieved is a settlement.
The edition I bought and read is from 1994. (I no longer see it on Amazon.) The edition shown on Goodreads is from the newly created Jewish Publishing Company within the Suhrkamp Verlag. The title of this edition has the addition “Roman” (= novel). This is, of course, total nonsense but seems to be meant as a legal protection for the publisher (or may be part of some settlement).
If you can read German, please read the complete book description of the above edition. Yet I would like to point out that all one can find anywhere in the internet about these different publications is quite confusing. I tried to get a clear picture but could only find a quagmire of contradictory information.
And now to the actual reviews of the two books I read:
First to Koeppen’s version of Littner’s story:
I found this little booklet a masterpiece, a literary gem. It is written in the style of a diary, or even a log book. And occasionally it tells more with what it doesn’t tell than with what it does tell.
After I had finished reading this booklet, I wanted to learn more, wanted to find the original notes (which I, meanwhile, assume, no longer exist), and I also wanted to find an English translation for my Goodreads friends who don’t read German. Besides, I wanted to compare Koeppen’s book with Littner’s own voice.
I eventually found, bought, and read “Journey Through the Night: Jakob Littner’s Holocaust Memoir”, by Kurt Gruebler, a remote relative of Littner who has researched Littner’s life. This book contains not only an English translation of Littner’s memoir but also information about Littner’s life before and after the Holocaust, and it further contains photographs. Here is the link to this book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
So now to Littner’s own voice, his memoir, which seems to have been well translated into English:
Yes, it gave additional information. Yes, this additional information was interesting (at least, for the most part). And yes, I am glad to have read this book because Littner’s story is truly fascinating and tells a lot about this horrific time in history that other Holocaust stories don’t cover so much (i.e., the attitude and actions of the general population). But let me tell you: I found the literary value of Littner’s memoir to be zero. Littner had no talent whatsoever for writing. And I can fully understand that the publisher (Kurt Desch Verlag), whom Littner had approached with his manuscript (may it have been his original notes or his produced memoir), had asked Koeppner to rewrite the story. No renowned publisher would have published this memoir without severe editing or, better still, rewriting the story.
Ephraim Kishon once wrote: “The art of writing is the art of leaving things out.” This is what almost continuously came to my mind when reading Littner’s memoir. While almost everything he wrote was interesting information, he would frequently kill one impressive sentence with the following sentence(s). As a matter of fact, this memoir would be an excellent study object for a college to teach students “How Not to Write”.
I highly appreciated the photographs in Kurt Gruebler’s book as well as all the information supplementing Littner’s memoir.
Finally to the harsh critical voices throughout the literary world regarding Koeppen’s changes to the original story:
I consider these criticisms unfair. Whatever Koeppen left out, needed to be left out to raise the book from the level of a grade-8 essay to something that deserved the label “literature”. And whatever Koeppen added (which was very little) improved the book, did not distort anything, fit right into the picture, and could pass for “poetic license”, even in a non-fiction book.
Koeppen was particularly attacked for the end of his book, where he lets Littner say something like that he hates no one, that while he won’t forgive, he won’t judge but leaves it up to God to judge, as only God can judge, and He may judge mercifully where every human mercy would be “Vermessenheit” (impudence). It was stated that a German did not have the right to put such words into a Jew’s mouth. I can only say that what Koeppen put into Littner’s mouth was an eloquent expression of Littner’s own ideology. Littner was a very religious man. As a matter of fact, his memoir is rather preachy—a bit too preachy for not-so-religious readers. Koeppen played this overpowering religiosity down a bit to make the book more readable. With the words he put into Littner’s mouth, Koeppen did not falsify anything.
From what I remember reading, most or all of such criticism came from Jews. And I don’t hold it against them. After what Jews suffered in the Holocaust, I forgive them any unfairness toward any German. It is only natural that some Jews will be overly critical of Germans. Actually, I have never been able to understand how most Jews can be so very nice to Germans. The nicest and most caring doctors I ever had were Jewish. (And had I known more about the Holocaust at the time, I don’t think I would have ever dared to enter their offices; I would have expected them to kick me out.) The nicest and most decent lawyer I ever had to do with was Jewish. (No difference there.) And the first Jews, an elderly couple, I ever met privately (during a vacation in Florida, in 1980) were so very nice and kind to me and my mother (who, born 1907, was at the age that she could have been a Nazi broad). They had no way of knowing whether my family had been Nazi or anti-Nazi, and we never touched the subject.
Yes, I have said it before, and I will say it again and again: Jews, in average, are not only more intelligent than other nationalities, races, and ethnic groups, they are also more ethical, decent, and kind.—Yes, I know that this doesn’t apply to each and every Jew. And the above book also tells about not-so-nice Jews (within the Jewish Council and the Jewish militia). Please note that I said “in average”. When I generalize, I don’t mean that this applies to each and every individual. Not every German was a murderous SS criminal. And not every Jew is an Einstein. However, it is undeniable that certain traits, good or bad, are more prevalent in one gene pool than in another.
It has been 5 weeks that I finished Koeppen’s book and about 3 weeks that I finished Kurt Gruebler’s book (which includes Littner’s memoir). I still can’t get it out of my head how abominably the majority of the general population (of not only Germany but also of other European countries) behaved toward the innocent genocide victims, who were hunted, crowded, starved, mistreated, and butchered, as it should not even be done to animals. I keep wondering how the majority of the general population (in whatever so-called civilized country) might behave today if its democracy were destroyed and a dictatorship were established. We all know what an evil dictator and his henchmen will do to their victims (i.e., to dissidents, opponents, and whatever minorities will be used for scape goats). Yet how will the majority of the general population behave? I am afraid it will behave similar to as it acted toward Jakob Littner and millions of his fellow sufferers. Let’s face it: The general population of today carries the same genes as the general population carried 7 and 8 decades ago.
So beware of false prophets who use propaganda to brainwash the uneducated masses, unrealistic dreamers, and immature young people. Speak up against any attempt to destroy our democracy. Speak up as long as you can without taking major risks. Once Marshal Law will have been declared, free speech will have been gagged, and/or the right of assembly will have been curtailed or revoked, it will be too late.
P.S. The 5-star rating is for Koeppen’s book. I won’t rate Kurt Gruebler’s book that contains Littner’s memoir. Yet, despite of its lack of literary value, I consider it a must-read.
March 22, 2024
Koeppen baseerde zich voor deze roman op het leven van ene Jakob Littner, een jood die de Holocaust had overleefd en zijn uitgever had gecontacteerd met zijn verhaal. In een zeer droge taal beschrijft de auteur de verschrikkelijke lotgevallen van Littner en zijn pogingen om te overleven in die onmenselijke tijden: de pogroms, de getto's, de slechte hygiëne, het onderduiken, de willekeurige executies, ... Een bij momenten kafkaëske nachtmerrie op een heel menselijke manier geschreven. 4.25/5
"We zijn door de nacht gegaan. Ik weet dat ik geen belangrijke rol in de dodendans van de tijd heb gespeeld en slechts een kleine figurant was in de grootse enscenering van de duivel."
"Ik pijnigde mijn hersens hoe we onszelf kunnen helpen en in mijn nood schoot me de gouden brug in mijn mond te binnen. Maar hoe kon ik de brug uit de kaak krijgen? Ik kon immers niet naar een tandarts gaan en er ook niet een laten komen. Ik probeerde de operatie zelf uit te voeren."
"De volgende dag lagen voor het zwembad de identiteitspapieren van de doden en hun foto's. De wind en een paar kinderen speelden ermee."
"Wilde honden hadden de grond omgewoeld. Ze hadden stukken lijk in hun vochtige bekken tot in de stad meegenomen. De hond van een boer bracht een hand in het huis van zijn baas."
"We zijn door de nacht gegaan. Ik weet dat ik geen belangrijke rol in de dodendans van de tijd heb gespeeld en slechts een kleine figurant was in de grootse enscenering van de duivel."
"Ik pijnigde mijn hersens hoe we onszelf kunnen helpen en in mijn nood schoot me de gouden brug in mijn mond te binnen. Maar hoe kon ik de brug uit de kaak krijgen? Ik kon immers niet naar een tandarts gaan en er ook niet een laten komen. Ik probeerde de operatie zelf uit te voeren."
"De volgende dag lagen voor het zwembad de identiteitspapieren van de doden en hun foto's. De wind en een paar kinderen speelden ermee."
"Wilde honden hadden de grond omgewoeld. Ze hadden stukken lijk in hun vochtige bekken tot in de stad meegenomen. De hond van een boer bracht een hand in het huis van zijn baas."
July 12, 2015
Die Knappheit und gelegentliche Sprunghaftigkeit der Darstellung ist zugleich die Stärke und die Schwäche des Buches, das den Überlebensbetrieb um jeden Preis innerhalb eines kleinen Ghettos schildert.
Es erscheint kaum vorstellbar, dass etwas hinzu gedichtet wurde, lediglich die Kenntnis von Vernichtungslagern zum Zeitpunkt der regelmäßigen Auskämmungen durch die jüdischen Miliz und den Judenrat erscheint etwas fragwürdig. Das Engagement der früheren Geschäftspartnerin aus München für Littner wirkt auch etwas übermenschlich.
Das Verebben des Erzählstroms und die immer größeren Zeitsprünge gegen Ende sprechen für eine authentische Quelle.
Die Geschichte war auf jeden Fall eine sehr mitrei��ende und nahe gehende Lektüre, für fünf Sterne fehlt es einfach zu sehr an literarischen Qualitäten.
Es erscheint kaum vorstellbar, dass etwas hinzu gedichtet wurde, lediglich die Kenntnis von Vernichtungslagern zum Zeitpunkt der regelmäßigen Auskämmungen durch die jüdischen Miliz und den Judenrat erscheint etwas fragwürdig. Das Engagement der früheren Geschäftspartnerin aus München für Littner wirkt auch etwas übermenschlich.
Das Verebben des Erzählstroms und die immer größeren Zeitsprünge gegen Ende sprechen für eine authentische Quelle.
Die Geschichte war auf jeden Fall eine sehr mitrei��ende und nahe gehende Lektüre, für fünf Sterne fehlt es einfach zu sehr an literarischen Qualitäten.
August 22, 2013
Eines der härtesten und ehrlichsten Bücher über den Holocaust, das ich kenne. Knapp und grausam und entwaffnend in der Lektüre und der Beschreibung des Judenlebens als Währungseinheit, kein Chargieren, kein moralisches Abwägen, kein Exempel, nur ganz hart dran am glückhaften Überleben in den Zeiten einer systematischen Ausrottung. Sensationell fand ich die offene Selbsteinschätzung des angeblich naiven bzw. unpolitischen Juden: Littner entspricht damit in gewisser Weise dem ungeheuerlichen Klischee, das jene Ignoranten beschwören, die eine Teilschuld bei den Opfern suchen. Und er fragt ganz einfach zurück, wieso er hätte annehmen sollen, dass Menschen, die er kannte und die ihn herzlich begrüssten und mit denen er täglich verkehrte, eigentlich willens und imstande sind, ihn töten zu lassen. Das Buch ist Pflicht für mindestens diese und die kommende Generation. Es wird immer andere Gründe und Anlässe für Tyrannei geben, was Menschen sich antun können, wenn sie dazu erzogen werden, das ist hiermit wohl abgedeckt.
September 28, 2011
Ein schwer zu bewertendes Werk. Was soll man auch mit einem überarbeiteten autobiographischen Bericht, den Zeitgenossen für literarisch nicht veröffentlichenswert hielten, anfangen? Wenn der Urheber des Originals, eben jener Jakob Littner, die Veröffentlichung ablehnt - aber schließlich sind das ja nicht mehr seine, eigenen, Aufzeichnungen. Trotzdem (oder gerade deswegen?) bleibt eine äußerst eindringliche Erzählung übrig, die sprachlich fesselt und den Leser ans Werk kettet. Zu Schade, dass es früh so unbeachtet blieb.
January 3, 2024
Un impresionante testimonio del holocausto que tiene de particular el no centrarse en la experiencia de los campos de concentración, sino de los judíos que estuvieron permanente huyendo, escondidos en sótanos, con el miedo de ser descubiertos y asesinados. Koeppen ha hecho de Jakob Littner un personaje impresionante de la literatura, pero no debe olvidarse que Littner fue, ante todo, un ser humano que vivió realmente en la humedad y la oscuridad de la tierra durante años y que nos plantea cara a cara la pregunta por el mal, la justicia y el perdón.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews