Hotel Berlin

by Vicki Baum

»Die Frage, die mich Tag und Nacht nicht in Ruhe ließ, war: Wie sieht es jetzt in Deutschland aus? Was denken, fühlen, fürchten und hoffen die Deutschen in einem Augenblick, da schon die ganze Welt das Menetekel an der Wand lesen kann?«

Vierundzwanzig Stunden in einem Luxus-Hotel in Berlin in den letzten Tagen des Zweiten Weltkriegs. Draußen fallen Bomben, drinnen haben die Nazigrößen ihr halboffizielles Quartier eingerichtet. Aber auch andere Menschen unterschiedlichster Herkunft finden Zuflucht im Hotel, darunter eine bekannte Schauspielerin namens Lisa Dorn, eine schillernde Figur, Freundin diverser Generäle. Sie entdeckt zufällig, dass sich in ihrem Zimmer der weithin gesuchte Student Martin Richter verbirgt, der kurz vor seiner geplanten Hinrichtung aus den Fängen der Gestapo fliehen konnte. Statt ihn zu verraten, versteckt sie ihn, und während draußen die Welt untergeht, verlieben sich die beiden ineinander …

Ein temporeicher Schicksalsroman, den man atemlos und mit Tränen in den Augen verschlingt.

Genres: Fiction, Germany, Historical Fiction, Classics

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1944

About the author

Vicki Baum (penname of Hedwig Baum) was born in a Jewish family in Vienna, Austria. She moved to the United States in 1932 and when her books were banned in the Third Reich in 1938, she started publishing in English. She became an American citizen in 1938 and died in Los Angeles, in 1960.

Reviews

[Brodolomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Hotel Berlin” je nastavak romana “Ljudi iz hotela” AKA "Grand Hotel “, dostojnog primera zabavne literature Vajmarske Nemačke iz 1929. godine o mondenskom berlinskom hotelu, gde se u kratkom vremenskom periodu na ograničenom prostoru susreću i isprepliću životi nekoliko likova. Nastavak je napisan 15 godina kasnije, ratne 1943. i to u Americi, gde je Baumova emigrirala (logično, bila je austrijska Jevrejka). U njemu neki novi gosti svojim životima pletu nove priče u hotelu prestonice Trećeg Rajha tokom rata. Ali, kao i sa većinom nastavaka, i bez ovog se moglo.

Roman je pisan pod sna’nim uplivom savezničke ratne propagande, što je očekivano s obzirom na godinu izdanja. Nemačka iz 1943. je u knjizi predstavljena razrušena od savezničkih bombi, iako se masovno bombardovanje tada još uvek nije odigralo (Reklo bi se da se Baumova pokazala kao prorok i da je dobro predvidela dalji tok rata). Propaganda je uticala delom i na koncepcije pojedinih likova, ali I na rasplete, te pojedini delovi zvuče programski.

Pristojna proza sa zanatski vešto izvenedim zapletom u pojedenim trenucima se spušta na nivo trivijalne međuratne književnosti. Patos se meša sa brzim i duhovitim dijalozima. Uglavnom tipski likovi i dinamična fabula, potreba da se stalno nešto dešava, iskrsava, lomi. Kao što rekoh, moglo se i bez ovoga ali da se prsti lepe za stranice, lepe se.

[Jill H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoy classic film, you are familiar with the excellent Grand Hotel (1932), starring Greta Garbo and John Barrymore. It was written by this author who fled Germany for the United States when the Nazis came to power and she wrote this somewhat similar book in 1944.

The story returns to the same luxury hotel in 1943 which has drastically changed and has become the center for the Gestapo, spies, Nazi elite, and black marketeers. As Germany is now losing the war, there is much wheeling and dealing behind the scenes, involving people that are trying to leave Berlin and those who insist that Germany is winning the war. It is a dangerous place to be.

The author intertwines the lives of the characters but concentrates on a German General, an actress who is the General's mistress, and an underground leader who is being sought by the Nazis and is hiding in the hotel. He finally takes refuge in the actresses suite and the game of hide and seek begins.

The author's opinions and own experiences color the narrative but that is to be expected due to the time that it was written. I honestly don't know if it is a good book but I certainly enjoyed it.

Note: I have an original copy with the slip cover and the back page includes this:
This book, like all books, is a symbol of the liberty and the freedom for which we fight. You, as a reader of books, can do your share in the desperate battle to protect those liberties - Buy War Bonds

[Noah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Der Roman changiert zwischen trivial und genial. Trotz des etwas angestaubten Zeitkolorits mit Dialogen, weiß Vicki Baum zu packen und bei aller Parteilichkeit und Propaganda gut zu unterhalten. Das eigentlich erstaunliche an dem Werk ist die Prophetie. Sie hat die Weiße Rose entweder ultraschnell verarbeitet oder ebenso antizipiert, wie sie die Stauffenberg-Verschwörung (1944) und den totalen Luftkrieg in diesem Roman von 1943 bereits aufgreift und verarbeitet.

[Lyudmila Spasova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Много вълнуваща книга, написана по време на ВСВ. Затова в нея има едно автентично звучене и правдоподобност у поведението на героите, които правят и без това потресаващите събития още по-живи.

Вики Баум заслужава внимание и е нужно да се преиздава. Романът изобилства от интересни характери, има наситено действие и силно послание. Прозренията за характера на германеца по онова време ми помагат да разбера още по-добре как един народ се е омотал в мрежата на мошеник-авантюрист като Хитлер.
Ще напиша и по-сериозен отзив.

[Julia K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book for many reasons. It was written DURING WWII, and is a brilliant slice of history "in the moment." I much prefer books of their time versus historical fiction. The protagonist is a struggling actress Lisa Dorn, who was favored by Hitler. She is desperately trying to survive the war and each character who enters the Hotel Berlin faces no-win situations. The Hotel Berlin has been commandeered by the Nazis and details the lives of those who work there, visit, or are held there against their will. The book is even more enlightening if you take the time to look up the various German terminology used in the book. My copy if filled with annotations and definitions that increased my knowledge and understanding of this time period. The story wraps up with an explanation of Dorn's back story that was very moving.

[Gerhard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Das ist ein Antikriegsroman. Die letzten Tage des 2. Wkriegs in Berlin, ein deutscher Kriegsflüchtling, eine Schauspielerin und jede Menge Offiziere in einem Hotel. Großartig, spannend, sehr lesenswert.

[Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because when I was a kid, I saw on TV the movie "Hotel Berlin." It was dark and impressive. And I remember many scenes from it even these many years later. A while ago, I learned that the movie was based on the book "Hotel Berlin '43" by Vicki Baum. So, I had to read it.

I got the book from the library, and I think I'm the first person to have read it since maybe the 1950s. But having also read the great study of 1940s art called "Facing the Abyss," I thought this book was a good entree to moving onto the more serious stuff mentioned there. (I recommend Facing the Abyss if a person is interested in literary history. See my review.)

Miss Baum was a refugee. The book, written in the midst of World War II, has some features of a work of propaganda in that it has a tone of societal disintegration, defeatism, cynicism and terrible physical danger. All this would likely give a boost to the American mood at the time.

But the book outlasts its time because Miss Baum tells a good yarn. The setting is a large and luxurious hotel in Berlin that is slowly falling apart because of bombing. Many high status persons now live at the hotel. (There are also references to the unhappy low status people outside the hotel who also have to endure a nightly regime of terror and sleeplessness as the Allied air war intensifies.) The book is essentially about how one man, a fugitive, hides in the hotel and manages, with help, to make his way past the hotel's revolving doors to a form of freedom. In cinematic fashion, the man and a famous actress, now living in the hotel, have a sudden desperate fling and fall in love. The actress' other lover is a general who is now under a political cloud that is crushing him. There are numerous other characters that appear and have roles in the book -- the airforce pilot on leave, the hotel's resident floozy who is also on the payroll of the Gestapo, but who, in surprising ways, has a heart of gold -- as when she sides with an old Jewish woman in the claustrophobia of an air raid shelter. Then, there are the Nazi leaders, bureaucrats, diplomats and security people, all trying to convince themselves that everything will be fine despite the sinking in their stomachs. Etc., etc.

The book is fairly exciting and well paced. Although it is short, Ms. B. is able to take us along in the daily life of various characters -- from a long argument between a poet and a British turncoat broadcaster to difficult negotiations with Swedish businessmen who no longer like the bottom line in dealing with Germany, and so on. Nazi ugliness is not hidden -- the hotel floozy's Jewish friend is confronted and subject to painful open vituperation. The sense of unfreedom and limited scope of action is well depicted.

The emotional climax of the book is the confinement of most of the characters in the hotel's air raid shelter during a long and violent raid, probably one of the first "1000-bomber" raids out of Britain. The noise, the shaking, the repressed hysteria are well done. When people emerge, the hotel is in even worse condition with its windows blown out and its glories trampled. Where will all these doomed people go?

(Please note that the film diverges from the book. The film was made more noir, less romantic, than the book. I'd love to see it again, but it's not immediately available to me.)

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let's be clear about this book : it was written in 1943-1944 by a Jewish refugee from the Third Reich, who was living in Hollywood. There is clearly a propaganda component to this story : it describes how the Third Reich is crumbling, not just in the physical sense (bombs raining down on Berlin), but more importantly, how even the most naive believers in the Nazi ideology have their eyes opened.

The setting of the story is a grand hotel in Berlin, one of the last spots where Nazi functionaries and their guests can enjoy a semblance of luxury, service and graciousness. But under the threadbare elegance lies the rot of the dying Third Reich. The military officers know that the war is lost and the gestapo knows that they can no longer contain the popular revolts. Middle-aged hotel staffers either hope to escape being called up for military duty, or eagerly hope for it.

The plot of the book revolves around Martin Richter, who escaped from the SS and is hiding in the hotel. He finds himself in the hotel room of beautiful Lisa Dorn, the very young and politically naive actress who thinks life in Nazi Germany is just grand, and sooner or later all those tiresome countries will understand that Hitler just wants to bring order and discipline to a decadent Europe. Their encounter, driven by romantic attraction, will mean a super-fast political education for Lisa. in the meantime, her elderly lover, a general, has received clear orders to commit suicide now that his involvement in a plot against Hitler has been discovered. A heinous SS man is turning the hotel upside down to find Martin Richter, a harassed diplomat tries to save what and who he can. An English writer who is forced to broadcast propaganda suddenly breaks loose. The hotel trollop is confronted with her past. All of them are disillusioned with the Third Reich and hope to save something - their life, their honor, or just the survival of Germany. The contrast between, and mutual disdain of, the old-guard military men, with their Prussian codes of honor, versus parvenus Nazi bureaucracy, is noticeable in every interaction.

So it's a book that clearly appealed to the emotions of its intended audience. Because the author knew what she was talking about in terms of decor and social customs, even though she had left Europe almost a decade before, the book has an authentic ring.

[Gemma entre lecturas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Acabé con las existencias de libros que llevaba este pueste de mayo, en una librería de segunda mano, me ofrecieron esta novela por cincuenta céntimos, no se hable más, mío, ¿quién se puede resistir a este precio?

 

                No sé por dónde empezar, me ha gustado tantísimo, sí que es cierto, me encantaría que la reeditaran, esta lectura es de 1965. A grandes rasgos de qué va esta joya, en este hotel en decadencia, vive la flor y nata hitleriana. El Tercer Reich se reúne en sus salas, aquí nace y mueren los rumores, se hacen y deshacen las promesas, se atemoriza y amenaza, se engatusan a los neutrales. Fuera de estos muros hay una ciudad llena de gente desesperada, cansada y exhausta, cargada de preocupaciones, miedos y odios, fuera hay miseria, una miseria que se extiende por toda Europa. Es como una burbuja ajena al momento.

                Entre estos muros existe Lisa Dorn, siempre esta feliz, vive en una realidad idílica de adoctrinamiento que da miedo, está acostumbrada a un mundo de peligros imaginarios y pasiones verbales que nada tiene que ver con lo que está sucediendo, sino más bien cercano a los papeles que representa en el teatro. Para ella morir en la batalla es heroico y hermoso, la romanización de la guerra. Este tipo de personas dan miedo, existen, viven en esa burbuja, apoyan, cree en los valores e ideas de Hitler y su gran obra, no razona críticamente, no observa en la situación que se encuentra Tilli, es invisible, todas las víctimas son invisibles. Lo acepta todo sin reparos. A su habitación llegará Martin huyendo de la Gestapo, y abrirá los ojos a Lisa, «Yo era feliz. ¿Por qué tuvo que contarme esas espantosas historias?», un personaje con una personalidad inmadura.

                La vida se repite, es cíclica, para llegar al poder se prometen cosas, para conquistar la cima se miente sin escrúpulos, pero para mantenerse más. ¿Qué dijo Hitler el 2 de septiembre de 1939? «Ya no volverá a suceder que Alemania y Rusia choquen en el campo de batalla». Y allí estaba Martin y su amigo muerto Kurt en Stalingrado, aquello no fue un infierno, fue diez veces peor. «Cuando uno piensa en ello, descubre que todo era una mentira».

 

                Creo que esta novela se publicó en plena guerra, eso me dijo el librero, no he tenido tiempo de comprobarlo y di por buenas sus explicaciones. La autora era judía, que vivió y trabajó en Alemania donde nacieron sus hijos, así que tenía lazos fuertes con el país, de alguna forma en la figura de Lisa se aprecia ese amor a Alemania. Habla sin tapujos del miedo que se tenía a la Gestapo, a los que no deja muy bien parados en la novela, también de la mala situación de las tropas alemanas en la contienda, la ausencia de material y apoyo táctico.

 

                Me gustó mucho, no sé si fue el momento, la situación o la pasión que puso el librero, pero me atrapó.

 

Autora

[Lizzy Siddal (Lizzy’s Literary Life) · Rating 5 out of 5]

An oldie but goodie.

[Kaja · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5/5 ⭐️ Mein Herz weint ❤️‍🩹

[Rayrumtum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vicki Baum was author of the famous Grand Hotel which eventually became an iconic movie and later a musical. That was set around a Berlin Hotel in the late 20s/early 30s where several interesting characters with background stories entwined. The author set this novel in the same or similar hotel during 1943. She wrote it in 1944 so she didn't have the benefit of hindsight. Anyhow, there are several fascinating characters in this story who are in a Germany where the tide has begun turning against them. Particularly interesting was a scene when the main characters are in a bomb shelter during a major Allied bombing raid. Personally, I like this book even better than Grand Hotel.
If you like books where the action revolves around a set location, give this a read.

[Cristián G C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un pequeño momento en la vida de los personajes que habitan o visitan por unos días el Hotel Berlin, desde el piloto aviador con quemaduras, la bella actriz de teatro y el luchador de la libertad Richter, pasando por el interesante y patético retrato del general prusiano, Hotel Berlín es una historia de guerra, de ideas, de la miseria humana y de un cierto antifascismo que no debe escapar a la vista, es un relato sencillo pero anti totalitarismos.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good short novel that lends excitement, dread and the feeling what Berlin must have felt like as the Allies began air raids.
I especially enjoyed reading this book because the copy I read belonged to my mother, purchased when it was first written. I wonder if she read , and wi der what it was like for her, if she did.

[Jess Ess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. The characters are great and the whole thing has a satirical bent. Reading this book feels like watching a great 40s film. Read it in German, which lets the humour really shine through.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose to read this as it was written just before the end on the war and wanted to see how the author thought the outcome would change Gemany. The author was wrong but the book was very good.

[Diana Kullman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Churchill mentioned this novel in VOL VII of his biography as one of the few novels he read during the war. It was published in 1944 so very much a realistic view of Berlin in 1943.

[Roxana · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true page turner, I didn't quite expect it from a 'classic'. Knowing that this was written in exile in 1943 makes it even more fascinating.

[steph_bookin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5/5

[Darjeelingdo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dans la postface à sa nouvelle traduction du roman en 2021, Cécile Wajsbrot résume très bien l'intérêt du livre de Vicki Baum :

« Quel roman étonnant… Après Grand Hôtel, Vicki Baum a de nouveau choisi un grand hôtel comme microcosme, cette fois d'un monde en décomposition où se croisent soutiens du régime nazi qui essaient encore d'y croire, résistants, célébrités, où se font prises de conscience tardives et changements de camp opportunistes - un navire en perdition. Quel roman visionnaire aussi , écrit en 1943, à un moment où l'abime n'était pas encore si proche ni si profond. »

Tout ce que l'écrivaine dépeint en effet, les bombardements alliés intensifs sur Dresde ou Berlin et les villes en ruines, le complot des généraux, n'auront lieu que plus tard.
Mais pour Vicki Baum, « Le monde entier voyait les signes précurseurs et savait que cela arriverait, seuls les Allemands n'y croyaient pas. ».

J'ai trouvé ce huis-clos magistralement écrit, avec une galerie de portraits saisissants, des dignitaires de la Wehrmacht et de la Gestapo, des diplomates et hommes d'affaires étrangers, un journaliste anglais prisonnier chargé de propagande , un pilote de chasse traumatisé, un jeune résistant en fuite, une vedette de la scène théâtrale égérie du régime nazi qui se retrouve à vivre « pour de vrai » le genre de drame shakespearien qu'elle joue si bien sur scène …
Le roman se lit d'ailleurs presque comme une pièce de théâtre, avec unité de temps et de lieu, on en visualise parfaitement le décor et l'ambiance, de même que la terreur qui saisit tout ce petit monde dans l'abri anti aérien de l'hôtel alors qu'un déluge de feu tombe sur le quartier.
La fin ouverte choisie par l'auteure est aussi bien venue.

Une préface de Vicki Baum et une postface de sa traductrice offrent un éclairage très intéressant sur l'écriture du roman (écrit en anglais) et ses traductions successives en allemand.
Une belle découverte.

[Liebes Buch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Das ist mein erstes Buch von Vicki Baum, das ich lese, und ich bin gleich begeistert!
Viele Bücher, die den Krieg thematisieren, stellen eine sehr reflektierte und geschichtliche Ebene dar. Die Menschen sind aber im echten Leben nicht moralisch oder geschichtlich.
Vicki Baum versteht es meisterhaft, Menschen so zu zeigen, wie sie im Alltag sind. Und zu zeigen, wie die Gesellschaft funktioniert: nämlich ungerecht.
Im Grunde hat dieser Roman keinen richtigen Helden. Lisa Dorn ist eine wunderschöne Schauspielerin- der Partei folgsam ergeben. Tilli schlägt sich als abgetakelte Hure durch und kann an nichts anderes denken als an ein paar neue Schuhe und der englische Schriftsteller Geoffrey Nichols hofft, von den Nazis verschont zu werden, wenn er den Briten Lügenmärchen über die Stärke Deutschlands auftischt.
Ihr Schicksal wendet sich als sich ein von den Nazis abgefallener Student im Hotel versteckt.
Mir hat das sehr gefallen und ich fand dieses Buch spannend!
Ich habe sogar geweint.
Vicki Baum war ein kultivierter Mensch, sie macht Verweise auf Goethe und die Bibel. Ausserdem halte ich ihre Darstellung der Gesellschaft für gelungen..
Schön dramatisch-wie das echte Leben!

[Isabelle Zazaboum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ce roman n’est pas une simple fiction des années de guerre à Berlin mais un roman d’anticipation paru en 1943 aux Etats-Unis où l’auteure vit depuis 1932 et dans lequel elle décrit ce qu’elle estime être le devenir de l’Allemagne !

L’histoire se déroule en huis-clos dans ce Palace où se retrouvent quelques personnages importants du régime nazi et aristocrates, leur femme pour certains, leur maîtresse pour d’autres, un héros, un fugitif, tous pour se protéger des bombardements qui sonnent comme les prémices de la fin du IIIè Reich !

Chaque personnage est abordé minutieusement avec ses forces et ses faiblesses, ses pensées et ses prises de conscience. Tous les faits sont tellement près de la réalité qui arrivera quelques années plus tard, que j’ai souvent oublié que le roman a été écrit bien avant leur déroulement ! Bluffant et quelle brillante analyse du déclin qui n’était pas encore annoncé !

Assurément un livre à lire pour son réalisme prémonitoire.

#HôtelBerlin43 #NetGalleyFrance #rentreelitteraire2021

[Isabelle Zazaboum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ce roman n'est pas une simple fiction des années de guerre à Berlin mais un roman d'anticipation paru en 1943 aux Etats-Unis où l'auteure vit depuis 1932 et dans lequel elle décrit ce qu'elle estime être le devenir de l'Allemagne !

L'histoire se déroule en huis-clos dans ce Palace où se retrouvent quelques personnages importants du régime nazi et aristocrates, leur femme pour certains, leur maîtresse pour d'autres, un héros, un fugitif, tous pour se protéger des bombardements qui sonnent comme les prémices de la fin du IIIè Reich !

Chaque personnage est abordé minutieusement avec ses forces et ses faiblesses, ses pensées et ses prises de conscience. Tous les faits sont tellement près de la réalité qui arrivera quelques années plus tard, que j'ai souvent oublié que le roman a été écrit bien avant leur déroulement ! Bluffant et quelle brillante analyse du déclin qui n'était pas encore annoncé !

Assurément un livre à lire pour son réalisme prémonitoire.

#HôtelBerlin43 #NetGalleyFrance #rentreelitteraire2021

[Martin Thiele-Schwez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ein (meist) fesselndes Kammerspiel, dem es gelingt mit schlaglichtartigen, symbolischen Erzählungen die Endphase der NS-Zeit und des 2.WKs einzufangen. Dabei fängt es die Bandbreite der Charaktere ein, von arglos naiv bishin zu wahnhaftem Militarismus.

[Romane Pl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Très étonnant et visionnaire. Tout se passe en huis clos dans un hôtel fréquenté par des dignitaires et soldats nazis, des stars et aussi des fugitifs. C'est bien tourné, bien ficelé, bien écrit. Clap clap.

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro sobre la segunda guerra mundial, escrito sin rabia. No describe el horror vivido por los perseguidos sino las vivencias de los poderosos encerrados en un hotel mientras saben que la guerra está perdida. Me ha gustado

[Simge · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10

its like a very good theater play

[Alexandra D.]

http://livresforfun.overblog.com/2021...

[Amélie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Verrückt, wie echt und realitätsnah Vicky Baum Berlin 1943 beschrieb, obwohl sie über 10 Jahre nicht mehr dort lebte und ihr Schreiben sich zu einer Prophezeiung entwickelt. Wirklich gutes Buch!

[Ivette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this book 5 stars simply because it surprised me. Romance has never been my preferred genre and reading/watching something set during WW2 usually isn't my thing despite my interest in world history. I found this book in an antique store and bought it for 3lv (1.5 euros) simply because I liked the green cover (not the one shown here). I didn't even know what it was about. However I started reading it and found myself so indulged in it. The characters were surprisingly well written and it didn't fail to show the horror of the war despite never picturing a battle field (from what I remember, it's been a few months since I read it) and despite it being centered around a growing romance between a pilot and an actress. I was reading it every chance I had. On the train from and to school, during class if I had finished my work. This is not what I expected and it was a delightful surprise.