Hammerstein oder der Eigensinn: Eine Deutsche Geschichte

by Hans Magnus Enzensberger

1. Auflage, Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main, 2008. 375 S. mit 64 Abb.; 21 cm, Leinen-Einband - gutes Exemplar -

Genres: Nonfiction, History, German Literature, World War II, Germany, Biography, War

376 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

See also:
Cyrillic: Ханс Магнус Енценсбергер

Hans Magnus Enzensberger was a German author, poet, translator and editor. He had also written under the pseudonym Andreas Thalmayr.

Enzensberger was regarded as one of the literary founding figures of the Federal Republic of Germany and wrote more than 70 books. He was one of the leading authors in the Group 47, and influenced the 1968 West German student movement. He was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize and the Pour Le Mérite, among many others.

He wrote in a sarcastic, ironic tone in many of his poems. For example, the poem "Middle Class Blues" consists of various typicalities of middle class life, with the phrase "we can't complain" repeated several times, and concludes with "what are we waiting for?". Many of his poems also feature themes of civil unrest over economic- and class-based issues. Though primarily a poet and essayist, he also ventured into theatre, film, opera, radio drama, reportage and translation. He wrote novels and several books for children (including The Number Devil, an exploration of mathematics) and was co-author of a book for German as a foreign language, (Die Suche). He often wrote his poems and letters in lower case.

Enzensberger also invented and collaborated in the construction of a machine which automatically composes poems (Landsberger Poesieautomat). This was used during the 2006 Football World Cup to commentate on games.

Tumult, written in 2014, is an autobiographical reflection of his 1960s as a left-wing sympathizer in the Soviet Union and Cuba.

Enzensberger translated Adam Zagajewski, Lars Gustafsson, Pablo Neruda, W. H. Auden and César Vallejo. His own work has been translated into more than 40 languages.

Reviews

[Nikos Tsentemeidis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ο Enzensberger αφηγείται πολύ όμορφα την ιστορία του Χάμερσταϊν και της οικογένειας του. Ποιος ήταν ο,Χάμερσταϊν; Ο αρχηγός του γερμανικού στρατού μέχρι τις αρχές του 1934, δηλαδή τους πρώτους μήνες διακυβέρνησης του εθνικοσοσιαλιστικού κόμματος. Μια ισχυρή προσωπικότητα, τόσο που δεν τόλμησε να τον πειράξει ο Χιτλερ.

Από τις αρχές του 1930 ο Χιτλερ επιζητούσε την προσοχή του Χάμερσταϊν, ο οποίος τον αγνόησε συστηματικά και επιδεικτικά. Τη στιγμή που ανήλθε στην εξουσία δεν είχε ακόμα την επιρροή και τη δύναμη να τον διώξει, πράγμα που δεν άργησε να γίνει, χωρίς όμως να τον εκδιώξει, προφανώς από σεβασμό.

Οι κόρες του υπήρξαν ενεργά μέλη του κομμουνιστικού κολμματος της Γερμανίας, σε μια εποχή επικίνδυνη για τις ίδιες, αλλά και για τον πατέρα, ο οποίος όμως, ως φιλελεύθερο πνεύμα σεβάστηκε τις επιθυμίες τους.

Η ιδιαιτερότητα του συγγραφέα, που χρησιμοποιεί και στον «Αναβρασμό» είναι οι φανταστικοί διάλογοι, που τους αποκαλεί μεταθανάτιες συνομιλίες, σαν συνεντεύξεις προσώπων που δεν υπάρχουν στη ζωή πλέον, με ύφος έντονα κριτικό, απόλυτα ειλικρινές, σαρκαστικό, σαν μια σοβαρή μεν, ανάλαφρη και άνευ οποιασδήποτε πίεσης δε, ανάκρισης.

Πρωτότυπο και γεμάτο ενδιαφέρον βιβλίο.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

i had quite a hard time deciding how to classify this book, because while kurt von hammerstein and his family were definitely real people and large parts of the book are factual, and even backed up by documents and photographs,it also contains fictional interviews and conversations with people who are now dead.

in the end i decided to classify the book as non-fictional history for two reasons. first, because i thought that the amount of factual material outweighed the fictional, and secondly, because at the end of the book, the author explains why this is not a novel.

it's a very interesting book, with its various elements, and the hammersteins were a fascinating family.the most interesting thing about them is that they all hated hitler, even general von hammerstein himself, who was leader of the german army before hitler came into power. in fact, it's amazing that hitler didn't have him killed as he did so many others who opposed him.von hammerstein died of cancer in 1943.and then two of his sons were involved in the failed plot to assassinate hitler in 1944, and amazingly enough they both managed to escape.

all in all, it's a good read and should be of interest to anybody who's interested in history, especially german,and of course there are lots of people who are fascinated by hitler and this book should appeal to them as well.

finally, i would like to point out that this book is published by seagull books. i hadn't come across them until recently but now own half a dozen of their titles, and they are particularly attractive books that would enhance anyone's library.

[withdrawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Nevertheless I decided to get to the bottom of the thing, even if it was very late, perhaps too late, with many of the witnesses no longer alive. It seems to me necessary because via the story of the Hammerstein family it is possible to find and describe in a small space all the essential motifs and contradictions of the German emergency: from Hitler's bid for total power to Germany's reeling between East and West, from the destruction of the Weimar Republic to the failure of the resistance, and from the attraction of the Communist utopia to the disappointment of the dream and the end of the cold war. Not least, this exemplary German story is about the last signs of life of the German-Jewish symbiosis and the fact that, long before the Feminist movement of recent decades, it was the strength of women on which the survival of the survivors depended .”

An excellent ‘documentary’ (with a bit of fiction thrown in for effect) about a somewhat unusual upper class family making its way through Hitler’s Germany, with meanderings into Stalin’s USSR, and beyond.

What makes the book interesting is Enzensberger’s uncanny ability to take his reader from the microcosm of a young woman’s dalliance with communism to the macrocosm of both Nazi and Stalinist totalitarianism in a paragraph. Enzensberger jumps around through time, personages and places, seemingly letting the caprices of his mind lead him through the documentary evidence he has uncovered. But just at the point where I was always becoming somewhat impatient with him, I would find myself wondering at the incredible lives the members of this family were living and how it was that humanity can produce such people in a world that also produced those others throughout Europe who seemed to have lost their humanity.

If I had personally known these people, I would not have known what to do with them, just as the various members of the family seem not to have understood nor even to have questioned each other. Indeed, the strong values each of the family members live, the three sisters taking their lives in their hands, the two brothers who need to go into hiding for their role in the July, 1944 attempt to assassinate Hitler. And the father, General Kurt von Hammerstein, former chief of the German Army who silently bows out of any active role in the war and who likely had planned his own part in overturning Hitler. He never seems to speak for himself. He is calm, silent but also uncompromising.

A book that makes one think. I learned a great deal about the history of the time, about people and, perhaps, about another way to write (and read) a book. Highly recommended.

Another edition from Seagull Books’ German Series.

[Baris Ozyurt · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Önplanda komünistler 1919’dan beri Alman devrimini planlarken ve ayaklanmalar tezgâhlayıp Alman militarizmini yerden yere vururken, arkaplanda Kızıl Ordu Reichswer ile sıkı bir çalışma içine girmiştir. Karl Radek 1919 Şubat’ında Bolşeviklerin elçisi sıfatıyla tutuklandığında hücresinde Alman subaylarla görüşür ve ilk temasları kurar. Bir yıl sonra zamanın ordu başkomutanı General von Seeckt, yeni Alman ordusunun inşasında galip devletlerden değil, Bolşevik Rusya’dan yardım alabileceklerini savunur: ‘Almanya ve Rusya’nın, savaştan önce de olduğu gibi, birbirlerine ihtiyaçları var. Almanya Rusya’nın yanında yer alırsa, namağlup olur. Ancak Rusya’nın karşısında yer alırsa geleceğe dair elinde kalmış tek umudunu da yitirir.’ Seeckt, Berlin’de sürgünde yaşayan eski dostu Enver Paşa’yı Moskova’ya yollar. Enver Paşa, Troçki’nin Almanya’yla işbirliği yapmaya, hatta Almanların 1914’te kurdukları doğu sınırını kabul etmeye hazır olduğunu bildirir. Bir yıl sonra Lenin, Kızıl Ordu’nun inşasında Berlin’den destek talep eder.”(s.74)

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enzensberger nimmt die Familiengeschichte derer von Hammerstein, um "exemplarisch" darstellen zu können, was aus welchen Gründen zum Untergang der Weimarer Republik geführt hat und wie man auf verschiedene Art und Weise in die Zeitläufte verstrickt und "schuldig" werden konnte. Dabei geht es ihm darum, aus der Perspektive des Nachgeborenen darüber zu schreiben, wie wenig sich Nicht- Zeitgenossen in das historische Geschehen, in die Motive und Zwänge, unter denen Menschen damals handelten oder auch nicht handelten, hineindenken können. (Heute müsste man wohl ergänzen: Und es mit ihrem Gestus der überlegenen Moral auch gar nicht mehr wollen!) Das ist nach immenser Recherchearbeit für die Hammersteins so weit gelungen, wie die Reaktionsweisen einer Familie des preußischen Militäradels exemplarisch sein können. In der Tat ist interessant, dass die Familie neben dem Widerstand der konservativen Offiziere gegen den österreichischen Gefreiten in Person der Töchter auch Antifaschistinnen hervorbrachte, die sich kommunistisch engagierten, bspw. in der Aufklärungsabteilung der KPD arbeiteten und ein Faible für die Juden hatten.
Aus "exemplarisch" wird hier sichtbar eine Besonderheit. Dieses Besondere ist durchaus interessant und bietet viele Querverbindungen, die für diejenigen Leser/innen interessant sein dürften, die sich mit dem "Hotel Lux" und dem Schicksal deutscher Kommunist/innen unter Stalin beschäftigt haben. (Vgl. z.B. Ruge, Metropol) Davon ab fehlt jedoch viel zum Verständnis der Epoche, denn die Gründe für die Gefolgschaft bzw. das Mitläufertum der Massen mit den Nazis bleiben so unterbelichtet wie etwa die Denkweisen proletarischer oder kleinbürgerlicher Milieus. Kurz, der Anspruch des "Exemplarischen" kann zumindest dann nicht aufrecht erhalten werden, wenn damit die Erhellung des Allgemeinen (Faschismus/ Stalinismus) gemeint ist.
Jenseits dieser Kritik ist das Buch jedoch für alle diejenigen interessant, die sich für den - aus meiner Sicht - ehrenwerten, aber in seinen Ansprüchen und Folgen arg überschätzten Eliten- Widerstand gegen Hitler interessieren. Die Unentschlossenheit und das Zaudern führender Militärkreise z.B. wird nicht ausgespart, aber leider auch nicht erklärt. Hier bleibt das Buch hinter den Erwartungen und eben dem eigenen Anspruch zurück.
Literarisch ist am Stil wenig auszusetzen, soweit es das Non- Fiktionale betrifft. Dem Schriftsteller Enzensberger sind mit der Wiederbelebung der "Totengespräche", einer Ende des 17. und Anfang des 18. Jahrhunderts beliebten Gattung, dann aber doch die Pferde durchgegangen. Sie tragen nichts bei und ihre vom Autor hervorgehobene Funktion, die Leerstellen dort zu füllen, wo die Quellen versiegen oder keine Interpretation möglich machen, sehe ich daher nicht. Die fiktiven Dialoge sind schlicht überflüssig. Bleibt, noch einmal die Rechercheleistung hervorzuheben, die den Leser/innen die wohl kaum mögliche Selbstbeschäftigung mit den Quellen abnimmt und immerhin ein interessantes Bild aus einem Milieu zeichnet, das den meisten Heutigen doch sehr fremd sin dürfte. Hier hat das Buch unbestreitbare Qualitäten, die eine Leseempfehlung rechtfertigen.

[Silvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solide basi storiche per questo saggio romanzato (le interviste ai defunti...) sull'intera famiglia del generale Hammerstein e sulla resistenza al nazismo all'interno delle forze armate tedesche che portò all'attentato ad Hitler del '44.

[Mathieu · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book that is part-novel part-biography, Hammerstein revolves around the mysterious, silent figure of general Kurt von Hammerstein, highest officer in the Reichswehr before Hitler's ascendancy to the chancellery in 1933 and his seemingly retreat from active duties in 1934, a retreat he welcomed even if it was forced by Hitler's circle who rightly saw in Hammerstein an adversary to their power.

The key-question of the book is how some of the elite from the German society of the 20s and 30s could resist against Hitler's regime without sacrificing everything and especially their lives. Hammerstein embodies such passive resistance: never putting himself at the forefront of the opposition but never compromising himself with Hitler's regime. Is it because of his example (Enzensberger seems to think so) that his three daughters all had ties with the Communist Party of Germany or even directly with Moscow and that his two sons were involved in the failed 1944-assassination attempt against Hitler?

And yet, if the book's intent was to show how some of the highest military were everyday heroes in the sense that they always refused Hitler's regime, I think it falls short in its demonstration. They never comprised with Hitler, fine, but they didn't really try to stop him when they had the opportunity in 1932 and 1933 (and even in 1938). Hitler was lucky (the series of happenstances that protected him from numerous planned coups against his regime are astonishing) but he also had managed, as one officer states rather bluntly, to "emasculate" the army. So, they could very well, in reaction, retreat in their aristocratic contempt against this upstart, vulgar madman that they thought Hitler was, but it is all the posturing of defeat that doesn't speak its name.

Finally, I don't know if this failing comes from the ambiguous genre of the book. Neither history book nor novel, I think that this ambiguity, which leads the author to mix different kind of historical sources in the same blend, somehow drowns and dilutes these sources to the point of blurring their interest. The best parts are, I found, the fictional conversations between the author himself and the dead, which comes back from a long literary tradition and showed Ezensberger's temerity, at last, to dare bring something personal in this story. Hence, I believe this book would have been better and more convincing if Ezensberger had showed more of this kind of audacity. But I understand that the weight of history, especially this history, can hinder the liberty of story.

[Yves Gounin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Le baron Kurt von Hammerstein est une figure oubliée de l'histoire allemande.
Ce militaire supérieurement intelligent a pourtant dirigé la Reichswehr jusqu'à sa mise à la retraité d'office début 1934, un an après l'arrivée au pouvoir de Hitler.
Sans s'engager ouvertement contre le régime nazi, il a gardé, jusqu'à sa mort en 1943, ses distances avec lui. Ses enfants, eux, n'ont pas hésité à franchir le pas : ses filles rejoindront le parti communiste, se marieront avec des Juifs, espionneront pour le compte de l'URSS, ses fils comploteront avec von Stauffenberg contre Hitler. Sans jamais s'en vanter : "ils ont simplement fait ce qui devait être fait" (p. 374).
Si Hans Magnus Enzensberger, phare intellectuel de la gauche allemande, s'est intéressé à lui, c'est parce que "l'histoire de la famille Hammerstein (...) en dit long sur la façon dont on pouvait survivre sous le régime hitlérien sans capituler devant lui" (p. 210)
Qu'il y ait eu dans l'hostilité au "petit caporal autrichien", un certain snobisme de classe n'enlève rien à l'intransigeance de Hammerstein.
Il mesure avec réalisme le soutien dont jouit Hitler dans la population allemande. Quand on lui parle d'assassiner le Führer, il répond avec clairvoyance : "Vous allez faire de Hitler un martyr". Et avec un mélange de fatalisme et d'élitisme, il ajoute : "Pusique le troupeau de moutons que sont les Allemands a élu un tel Führer, qu'ils le paient jusqu'au bout" (p. 214)

Il faut reconnaître à Enzensberger le mérite d'avoir exhumer de l'oubli cette figure admirable.
Pour autant, son livre, élu meilleur livre de l'année 2010 par la revue Lire, appelle de ma part quelques réserves de forme. Il se présente comme un patchwork d'extraits de mémoires ou de documents officiels, de photos, d'interviews posthumes (sic !). Là où Daniel Mendelsohn avait trouvé une forme stupéfiante pour faire revivre "Les disparus", Enzensberger livre un travail de bric et de broc, un peu fourre-tout. Outre qu'il fait peu de cas de la rigueur universitaire, il présente le danger de tout niveler, le véridique et le vraisemblable, l'anecdotique et l'essentiel.

[Noah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stilistisch ungewöhnlich - im positiven Sinne - aber eine sehr gelungene Biographie.

[Thomas Hübner · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Silences of Hammerstein is a book by Hans Magnus Enzensberger about a German general and his family, reflecting important periods of 20th-century German history.

The book is not a novel, but also not a normal non-fiction book, but to a certain extent a hybrid - while the author mainly follows the diverse sources on the life of the Hammersteins and retells and classifies them like a good historian, there are also fictional elements: Enzensberger "interviews" his long deceased characters and in these fictitious conversations aspects are reflected that usually go unnoticed in a non-fiction book, such as the supposedly sometimes different view of the historical persons on the events described in the book or things about which the available sources do not provide any information, but which are of equal interest to author or reader.

Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord (1878-1943) came from old but impoverished Prussian nobility. For impoverished aristocrats, the military was at that time the only possible career and so Kurt von Hammerstein entered a cadet school as a child, where he made friends that were to be of great importance for his later successful career. His military career was crowned in 1930, when the general became chief of the army command and thus supreme commander of the Reichswehr, a post he gave up after Hitler came to power because he was hostile to the Nazis.

Hammerstein experienced his youth in the German Empire, the First World War at the front, the difficult years after WWI and the Versailles Treaty, which gave Germany sole responsibility for the war, Germany's foreign policy rapprochement with the Soviet Union and the close military cooperation between the Red Army and the Reichswehr, the turbulent final phase of the Weimar Republic, the rise of Hitler and the Nazi dictatorship. An eventful life indeed, a life in which someone in a prominent military position like Hammerstein often faced difficult and far-reaching decisions. For this reason alone the book about this relatively unknown general is of great interest.

Apart from the historical dimension, the author - and of course the reader - wonders what kind of person the hero of this book was. For example: Was Hammerstein a good husband and father? The record is mixed here – as is the case with probably all husbands and fathers. Hammerstein was without doubt devoted to his wife and he had married for love. He had pushed it through against the initial resistance of his future father-in-law. General von Lüttwitz, Hammerstein's superior for a long time, valued the young officer on the one hand, but considered his daughter's marriage to this have-not to be inappropriate. In the end Lüttwitz agreed so as not to stand in the way of his daughter's happiness.

Later, during his absences during the war and thereafter, Hammerstein's wife often felt that she was on her own. The by no means brilliant salary of a Prussian (later German) general staff officer meant that domestic staff (except for a nanny) was not available and the wife not only had to keep a tight budget to obtain the household with many children, but also to manage the many social obligations as the wife of a general.

In addition, Hammerstein had the habit of leaving domestic and official obligations behind and going on extensive hunting trips. Officially, that never really seems to have gotten him into trouble. The important personalities within the army and Reichswehr Ministry were his personal friends, who liked to turn a blind eye when the general, who was valued for his abilities, was again untraceable for a while. In his own family, these absences were not so well received.

Even as a father, he was often absent. This does not mean that he was not interested in his children, rather he gave them a great deal of freedom from an early age and never interfered in his children's personal or political affairs. He knew that three of his daughters were members of the Communist Party and also had Jewish friends and accepted it without any ifs or buts, just like the role that two of his sons later played in being involved in preparing the assassination attempt on Hitler.

Hammerstein's sloppy handling of military secrets enabled his daughters to make many important documents available to the Soviets. Hammerstein was also in the Soviet Union for a longer time in the 1920s and maintained friendly relations with some high-ranking military figures there, in particular with Marshal Tukhachevsky.

The object of this German-Soviet military cooperation was, on the one hand, a transfer of know-how from which mainly the Soviets benefited. On the other hand, the agreement gave 'unofficial' units of the Reichswehr - the so-called Black Reichswehr - an opportunity to train in the Soviet Union, particularly with technologies that were forbidden to Germany according to the Versailles Treaty, such as the Luftwaffe. Hammerstein was the man to organize the whole scheme from the German side.

How is Hammerstein to be classified politically? Like most officers of his time, he had a conservative upbringing, but apparently without the strong anti-Semitic views that were common at the time. He was skeptical and opposed to political radicalism. He distanced himself from the Kapp Putsch early on, although it was organized by General von Lüttwitz, his father-in-law (Kapp was just a figurehead). After meeting Hitler personally at a dinner in the late 1920s, he knew the man was a nutcase. After Hitler was appointed Chancellor by circles around Hindenburg (without the participation of the Reichstag), Hammerstein, who was also called the Red General because of his alleged sympathies for the political left, resigned. After 1933 he belonged to the resistance groups against Hitler within the military.

In this context it is noteworthy that what was probably the most promising opportunity to end the dictatorship of Hitler and the Nazis went unused in 1934. In the so-called 'Night of the Long Knives', during which Ernst Röhm and several other SA leaders were arrested and murdered, the new regime also used the situation to get rid of other potential enemies of their regime, including Hammerstein's childhood friend, Kurt von Schleicher, a former Chancellor. While the Reichswehr shed no tears for the dead SA leaders, it was different with the murder of Schleicher and the 'beheading' of the army leadership. At this point in time, a military putsch against Hitler would have had a good chance of success, but the window of opportunity passed due also to Hammerstein's reluctancy to make a decision.

What is also interesting about the Hammerstein family is that none of them were actually Nazis and that Hammerstein and that the Nazis were always aware regarding their critical attitude towards the regime. Hammerstein himself died in 1943 from a tumor that was treated too late. The family refused the state funeral and 'forgot' Hitler's funeral wreath, so the event took place with close family and friends only. In the final phase of the war, the Hammerstein family was taken into Sippenhaft (clan custody), but they survived an odyssey under SS guards unscathed.

The final chapters of the book are devoted to the post-war fate of Hammerstein's surviving wife and children. It is interesting how many connections there were between the Hammersteins and important personalities not only in German history, without this being pointed out as particularly noteworthy by any member of the family in their recollections and memoirs. It is not really clear whether this characteristic of not making a fuss about oneself is typical of the Prussian nobility, as the author seems to believe, or whether it is rather a trait of this particular family.

A consistently interesting book, of particular interest to those readers who already have some prior knowledge of German history.

I read the excellent English translation by Martin Chalmers. Seagull Books in Calcutta is one of the best publishers of translated literature in the Anglophone world. Check out their programme (if you haven’t done it yet)!

http://www.mytwostotinki.com/?p=8167

[Pierre Menard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saggio storico molto insolito, sia per l’eterogeneità stilistica, sia per la scelta dei personaggi principali: il barone generale Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord (1878-1943) e il suo entourage familiare. Hammerstein non è figura molto nota al di fuori della cerchia degli storici di professione, e il suo ruolo storico è stato abbastanza marginale: di origini nobili, giovane ufficiale durante il primo conflitto mondiale, scalò i vertici del potere militare nella Repubblica di Weimar, grazie anche all’amicizia con Kurt von Schleicher, figura chiave della politica tedesca negli anni Trenta del secolo scorso. Nominato comandante in capo della Reichwehr (le forze armate della Repubblica di Weimar), Hammerstein si oppose all’ascesa al potere di Hitler e dei nazisti, che disprezzava apertamente, e manifestò caute simpatie di sinistra. Nel gennaio 1934 fu indotto alle dimissioni, mentre iniziava il riarmo tedesco, ma piuttosto stranamente non subì la fine violenta di altri personaggi scomodi per il nuovo regime, come il suo amico Schleicher. Fino alla morte per cancro, avvenuta nell’aprile 1943, si mantenne ai margini della scena politica tedesca, pur mantenendo continui contatti con i cospiratori decisi ad eliminare Hitler. Dei suoi figli, alcuni sposarono la causa comunista allacciando rapporti con i servizi segreti sovietici, altri parteciparono al fallito attentato al Führer nel luglio 1944, rischiando la vita.

Partendo da una profonda e accurata analisi delle fonti storiche, perlopiù dirette - gli archivi, la corrispondenza, ma anche le testimonianze dirette dei numerosi discendenti di Hammerstein -, Enzensberger intende raccontare le complicate vicende di una famiglia di oppositori del regime nazista, che riescono a sopravvivere in un mare in tempesta giocando a dissimulare i propri scopi con rara abilità e una notevole dose di fortuna. L’ostinazione (Eigensinn nel titolo originale) con cui gli Hammerstein, soprattutto le indomite figlie del generale, portano avanti i loro progetti, sembra però coniugarsi con una sorta di incapacità nell’influire davvero sulla storia contemporanea. Sta qui il paradosso che affascina Enzensberger e i suoi lettori: come si poteva sopravvivere nella Germania nazista senza essere ferventi sostenitori del regime? Sembra che la risposta stia nell’adesione continuata ad una forma di cospirazione a bassa intensità, in grado di tenere gli aderenti sul filo del rasoio e, nel contempo, di porli al riparo da azioni eccessivamente eclatanti e certamente fatali. Del resto, e i fatti lo hanno pienamente dimostrato, il tempo della diplomazia e delle ponderate mosse scacchistiche era ormai al tramonto, travolto dai nuovi metodi, decisi, sbrigativi e brutali, che sia la Germania di Hitler che l’Unione Sovietica staliniana stavano perfezionando (si veda per esempio la vicenda del brillante maresciallo russo Tukhachevsky, con cui Hammerstein ebbe alcuni incontri).

Meglio quindi non farsi fuorviare dalla quarta di copertina: Hammerstein non fu il principale punto di riferimento della resistenza antinazista e i suoi stessi figli agirono spesso ignorando il suo volere. E del resto lo stesso Enzensberger, dopo le prime 100 pagine, esaurisce la vicenda politica e umana di Kurt, per seguire quelle dei suoi sette figli e delle rispettive famiglie, e di numerosi altri personaggi che ruotarono attorno al clan Hammerstein. Particolare attenzione viene posta sulle relazioni fra le figlie e alcuni esponenti del comunismo tedesci, che costituiscono lo spunto per una disamina abbastanza interessante dei tormentati altalenanti rapporti fra la Germania e l’Unione Sovietica negli anni Trenta e Quaranta.

Enzensberger intende costruire un vero e proprio saggio storico, ma l’impresa gli riesce a metà: c’è troppa cronaca nelle sue pagine, troppi dettagli non sempre funzionali alla vicenda, troppe lungaggini che sembrano avere lo scopo di aumentare il numero di pagine. Le analisi storiche (ad esempio sull’aristocrazia militare tedesca) sono piuttosto interessanti, ma sono poche. Sembra che Enzensberger non voglia emettere giudizi storici sui personaggi di cui racconta la storia, ma così facendo smorza un po’ l’interesse del lettore. Che l’opera non sia un romanzo, risulta piuttosto chiaro: eppure l’autore sente il bisogno di dichiararlo esplicitamente. L’espediente giornalistico delle interviste ai personaggi deceduti è stimolante, tuttavia ci sono un po’ troppe ripetizioni dilatatorie. L’apparato iconografico è davvero pregevole e contribuisce a rendere più “viva” la materia narrata.

Consigliato a chi apprezza le figure storiche ambigue.

Sconsigliato a chi non ama la cronaca storica.

[The Reading Bibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ayant bientôt terminé ce livre (mélange de biographie, livre d'histoire et de fiction), je puis révéler qu'il s'agisse d'un livre important sur l'histoire de l'Allemagne nazie mettant en perspective des faits ignorés et personnages - résistants - oubliés.
Malheureusement, j'ai eu beaucoup de mal à me plonger dans l'histoire (avec un grand H) à cause de la forme décousue de cet ouvrage, n'ayant parfois ni queue ni tête.
Cependant, pour sa valeur historique et le travail de recherche titanesque effectué par son auteur, cet opus mérite un 4/5.

[Merle · Rating 3 out of 5]

sehr ausgiebig recherchiert aber diese ausgedachten Interviews haben mir echt den Rest gegeben

[Vladan Nedic · Rating 5 out of 5]

odlično

[Tuli Márquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

estupendo ejercicio periodístico con sus dosis de ficción. Para interesados en el período alemán de entre-guerras

[La mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non un romanzo, non un libro storico, ma un libro che racconta una storia reale e drammatica del passato tedesco ed europeo. Hammerstein, capo di Stato Maggiore dell’esercito tedesco al momento dell’ascesa di Hitler, decide di non opporsi con la forza alla nomina del Cancelliere per spirito di responsabilità. E’ consapevole che Hitler è una minaccia reale per il futuro dell’Europa, ma è convinto che il popolo tedesco deve sviluppare i propri anticorpi per diventare immune alla malattia. Hammerstein è un aristocratico, sicuramente lontano da qualunque simpatia verso la sinistra, ma esprime apertamente il proprio giudizio negativo verso il movimento nazista che pure sta raccogliendo le masse. Quindi Hammerstein parla, usa gli strumenti che gli sono propri, quelli della politica, ma non la forza, per il timore che la soluzione sia peggiore del male. In famiglia il generale è apparentemente assente, ma i figli raccolgono l’esempio del padre e a loro volta esprimono posizioni distanti dal nazismo, fino ad entrare nella resistenza. La storia che Enzensberger ci racconta copre un arco di tempo di oltre 30 anni, parte dalla prima guerra mondiale e termina con le sorti dei figli di Hammerstein nel secondo dopoguerra. Lo sforzo è quello di armonizzare documenti storici e un punto di vista che lo scrittore ammette essere del tutto personale, nel tentativo di proporre non una verità ma una riflessione sulla complessità di quel periodo storico e su alcuni dei suoi protagonisti oscuri. Enzensberger entra nella vita della famiglia Hammerstein in punta di piedi, non esprime giudizi, racconta una storia inventando interviste postume con i protagonisti morti, e con grande modestia ci pone di fronte ad un affresco che ci sconcerta e ci lascia malinconici a pensare se veramente tutto quanto è accaduto non potrà mai ripetersi.

[Davide Castiglione · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that I found very interesting for the way it explores a historical period (the ascent of Hitler to power until the failed plot against him on 20 July 1944) by telling the exemplary story of a high official, a general, who opposed Nazism, and of the clandestine network of contacts revolving around him and his large family. The form chosen is also quite atypical in being highly hybrid: it indeed
combines historical documents (reports, witnesses, diaries...), clearly demarcated fictional elements (imaginary but plausible posthumous interviews to deceased people), historical narration and personal insights (e.g., 'L'univocità è un valore molto ambito, soprattutto quando non si tratta di giudicare se stessi, ma gli altri, un ideale, in genere, fin troppo facile da perseguire', p. 72, o anche 'chi rimprovera gli errori politici commessi a coloro che hanno pagato con la vita, soffre di una forma di presunzione a posteriori che non si discosta molto dalla moral insanity', p. 73). Yet there never is a sense of ensuing or willfully executed confusion: the forms alternate to offer a more global and convincing approximation to what happened. The pursuit of the truth is for instance revealed here, in a fictional interview with Kurt von Hammerstein (the protagonist of the book):

E: Sto scrivendo un libro su di lei
H: E' proprio necessario?
E: Sì. Spero non abbia nulla in contrario.
H: Il mio vecchio insegnante di latino diceva sempre che i poeti mentono
E: Non è mia intenzione. Anzi. Voglio sapere esattamente come stavano le cose, per quanto è possibile. Ecco perché sono qui. (p. 15)

A useful review (in Italian) can be found here: https://www.sintesidialettica.it/hamm....

[Mathias Mueller · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Hammerstein oder Der Eigensinn" ist ein beeindruckendes Werk, das dem Leser eine faszinierende Persönlichkeit aus den 1920er und 1930er Jahren Deutschlands näherbringt - General Kurt von Hammerstein. Der Autor skizziert das Bild eines eigensinnigen, unabhängigen Denkers, der sich treu bleibt und nicht in das stereotype Bild eines preußischen Offiziers passt. Als Republikaner, liberaler Familienvater und scharfsinniger Armeechef lebte Hammerstein nach dem Motto: "Angst ist keine Weltanschauung". Seine Ablehnung gegenüber den Nationalsozialisten und die politischen und persönlichen Beziehungen seiner Töchter zu Kommunisten und Juden fügen der Geschichte eine spannende Dimension hinzu.

Was dieses Buch besonders macht, ist die Art und Weise, wie der Autor durch umfangreiche Recherchen und fiktive posthume Gespräche tief in Hammersteins Welt eintaucht. Diese kreativen Elemente verleihen dem Buch eine zusätzliche Tiefe und lassen die Geschichte fast zu lebendig erscheinen, um wahr zu sein. "Hammerstein oder Der Eigensinn" ist nicht nur eine fesselnde Biografie, sondern auch ein eindrucksvolles Stück Geschichte, das zeigt, wie ein einzelner Mensch in turbulenten Zeiten für seine Überzeugungen einstehen kann.

Das Hörbuch ist besonders empfehlenswert. Vor allem die posthumen Gespräche kommen besser rüber als im gedruckten Buch.

[Lilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord (1878 – 1943), a German general, was head of the Reichswehr in 1933 when Hitler presented him with his plans for Germany´s wars to come. A few days later, Hammerstein resigned. Until his death in 1943, the general would prove to be one of the very few who neither gave up nor fell in line or ever were silent.
With his unconventional style, a mixture of documentary and posthumous interviews, Enzensberger brilliantly manages to capture the life of this extraordinary man, maybe unique in German if not in world history. Yet the author´s gripping account does not only shed light on the resistance of Hammerstein himself but also the paths of his seven children, his daughters, the soviet spies in Nazi Germany and his sons, conspirators behind the 20th July. In the end "The Silences of Hammerstein" proves to be a story of defiance and the courage of standing one's ground, of silence, but most importantly of obstinacy, that will never ever lose its importance.

[So · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eine beeindruckende Mischung aus realen Ereignissen und nützlicher Fiktion, die zu einem Lesefluss führt, wie ich ihn selten erlebt habe.

Hammerstein war eine beeindruckende Persönlichkeit in der turbulentesten Zeit, die man sich wohl vorstellen kann. Leider wird ihm m.E. zu wenig Beachtung geschenkt.

Und diese Kategorisierung ist schlichtweg ehrlich:

„Ich unterscheide vier Arten. Es gibt kluge, fleißige, dumme und faule Offiziere. Meist treffen zwei Eigenschaften zusammen. Die einen sind klug und fleißig, die müssen in den Generalstab. Die nächsten sind dumm und faul; sie machen in jeder Armee 90 % aus und sind für Routineaufgaben geeignet. Wer klug ist und gleichzeitig faul, qualifiziert sich für die höchsten Führungsaufgaben, denn er bringt die geistige Klarheit und die Nervenstärke für schwere Entscheidungen mit. Hüten muss man sich vor dem, der gleichzeitig dumm und fleißig ist; dem darf man keine Verantwortung übertragen, denn er wird immer nur Unheil anrichten.“

[Lupo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enzensberger ha scritto un bel libro teso e scorrevole sulla vita e la famiglia di Kurt Hammerstein, capo dell'esercito tedesco messo a riposo da Hitler poco dopo la presa del potere. Hammerstein è il capo di una famiglia per la quale l'antinazismo è sottinteso nella propria storia, e che lo pratica, chi più chi meno attivamente.
Una bella e drammatica storia familiare che si rispecchia nella storia della Germania, e dell'intera Europa, visti i contatti, diretti e indiretti, della famiglia Hammerstein con l'Unione Sovietica. Un pezzo di storia che, se anche non è Storia come scrive HME nelle conclusioni, credo pochi conoscono e che, legittimamente, getta un poco di luce sulle oscurità della Germania nazista.

[Kaya Tokmakçıoğlu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enzensberger'in uzun bir döneme yayılan çalışması, Almanya tarihinin uzun yıllara yayılan bir dönemine odaklanıyor. Nazilerin iktidara gelişinin öncesi ve sonrasını yer yer belgesele varan bir biçemle alan yazar, Almanya solunun tarihini özellikle komünistlerin gözünden değerlendirmeye çalışmış. Çelişkiler içinde kalan bir ailenin aldığı önemli tarihsel kararlar, aile içindeki ideolojik farklılaşmalar bir romancı titizliliğiyle ele alınırken, günümüz emperyalist/kapitalist sistemindeki çelişkilere de odaklanmayı ihmal etmeyen bir "roman"la karşı karşıyayız. Regaip Minareci'nin çevirisi ise cabası...

[Simona Moschini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Che vergogna arrivare alla mia età senza avere mai letto Enzensberger... ma tant'è. Comincio recuperando alla grande con questo capolavoro di documentazione e di stile, che recupera oltretutto protagonisti della (tra virgolette) resistenza tedesca i quali, necessariamente, vissero e operarono nell'ombra: non solo il generale, ma anche le figlie, i loro uomini, la rete di spionaggio sovietico. Molto interessanti anche gli approfondimenti sulla concretissima (al di là delle opposte ideologie) connivenza di interessi militari russo-tedesca tra le due guerre: finalmente mi spiego fino in fondo il patto Molotov-Ribbentrop.

[luisi · Rating 3 out of 5]

„Das es unter den Bedingungen eines solchen Regimes Zonen scheinbarer Normalität gegeben hat, ist allerdings kein Trost; im Gegenteil, es mutet eher unheimlich an. Den Nachgeborenen muss es schwerfallen zu verstehen, wie ungerührt unpolitische Lebenswelten im Angesicht des Terrors überwintern konnten.“

[Julio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una historia familiar muy interesante sobre algunos de los pocos que se opusieron a Hitler.
No es un libro de Historia, más bien un larguísimo reportaje, ameno y claro aunque, a veces, se pierda uno un poco en una sopa de nombres.

[Alvaro Becerra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me agradó la forma en que está escrito. El autor se toma licencias para involucrar la ficción como parte de los hechos fácticos de la historia. En esa medida, podemos encontrar una narración fluida y sencilla de leer para personas desentendidas o que no gustan de los hechos históricos puntuales.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A metà tra il saggio, il resoconto, il romanzo, il documentario. Impreziosito dalle glosse dell'autore, dalle foto d'archivio che fanno rivivere in prima persona gli avvenimenti e l'atmosfera del tempo come anche dalle interviste postume, brevi ma intensi dialoghi che completano l'opera.

[Pablo Seguel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leí este libro estando en Berlín el 2023 y tenía muchas expectativas respecto al trabajo. Pero la verdad es que me cansó el estilo narrativo de la crónica, lo extenso de las entrevistas en el cuerpo del texto y seinto que a la histororia le faltó mayor intriga

[Christoph Sachse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read the German version which is just called "Hammerstein". Exellent portrait of the man and times.