The Man in the Pulpit: Questions for a Father

by Ruth Rehmann, Pamela Lohmann (Introduction), Christoph Lohmann (Introduction)

The Man in the Pulpit is a courageous autobiographical novel by the distinguished and widely praised German novelist Ruth Rehmann. Its narrator, like Rehmann herself, is a middle-class citizen of West Germany in the 1970s—more than a quarter century after the horrors of the Nazi years. Prodded by questions from her children, the narrator begins to reexamine her childhood and the father—a stern, imposing Lutheran minister—who dominated it. Her memories lead her to a fresh, painful understanding of how her father (who died in 1940) tragically reconciled himself to the moral and political outrages of National Socialism. The father’s moral compromises stand in large measure for the failures of Germany as a whole. His critical views of the Weimar Republic, his “apolitical” stance in the face of Nazi aggression, the unsatisfactory guidance he offers his family and parishioners—all contribute to the portrait of a man who fails to find sufficient moral understanding and resolve in the face of the Nazi nightmare. As her story unfolds, Rehmann provides uncommon insights into how the terrible alliance in Germany between “those who were honorable and those who were dishonorable” could have occurred. From the opening memory of father and daughter walking together, singing and joking, to the final deathbed scene, there is no episode, no emotion that does not vibrate with restrained intensity. The relationship between daughter and father is both distant and intimate, simple and complex, happy and angry, and it always takes place in a larger historical context.

215 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Ruth Rehmann (June 1, 1922 – January 29, 2016) was a German writer.

Rehmann was born in Siegburg, the daughter of a local pastor. She studied in Hamburg with the aim of becoming a translator; and then she studied art history, German literature and music. During the 1950s, she worked as a violinist, as a teacher[3] and as a press secretary at the American and Indian embassies. In 1983, Rehmann ran as a Green Party candidate for a seat in the Bundestag.

In 1959, Rehmann published her first novel Illusions (Illusionen). She had attracted much attention when she read a chapter from that book at the Group 47 conference in 1958. Her second novel The People in the Valley (Die Leute im Tal) won first prize in a literature contest. Later novels include:

The Man in the Pulpit (Der Mann auf der Kanzel) (1979)

Farewell from the master class (Abschied von der Meisterklasse) (1985)

The Woman from Schwaig Farm (Die Schwaigerin) (1987)

She has also written several radio plays and some short stories.

(from WIkipedia)

Reviews

[Geraldine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting - good to see daughters writing about their fathers' behaviour in the Nazi time adding to a conversation that originally centred on father/son relationships. also this book was written later than the questioning '60s so adds another perspective.

[Cicely · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very fascinating book about the mentality of the author's family that reflected the Germans fascist attitudes pre WW2.