Alfred Andersch (1914–1980)

As much philosophy and personal review as it is memoir or history, this short "report" by Andersch has some truly great moments. As he moves through his experiences living in the years of the Third Reich, and then finally fighting (or at least traveling with) and then deserting Hitler's forces, Andersch' pre-occupations are philosophical, revolving around personal freedom, justice, and art. The introduction notes that readers will be doing Andersch a disservice to read him as a hero, and show more that the power of the work comes only when one overlooks his presentation of self. Yet, truly, Andersch doesn't make any attempt to present himself as any sort of a hero. In fact, he speaks instead of what it might mean for him to be heroic, or act heroicly, where instead he constantly carried both cowardice and courage with him at all times, and veered toward cowardice...because cowardice could mean freedom (in life).

This is a short read, and one which is impossible to describe. It speaks honestly of the justice and injustice accompanying non-volunteer armies, citizenship, and even politics, but does so in such a poetic and commonplace language that the words are artful and lasting. Whether it should be considered memoir, philosophy, or history is for each individual reader to decide. It should, however, be read.

Recommended. show less

This novella depicts a Greek lesson at a grammar school in Munich in 1928. In the beginning of the lesson, the headmaster enters the room to inspect the class. The reader experiences the lesson from the perspective of student Franz Kien, who does not have good grades in the subject. However, the two striking aspects of the novella are that the headmaster is Gebhard Himmler, father of Heinrich Himmler (one of the main architects of the Holocaust), and that the text is autobiographical, with show more Franz being the alter ego of Alfred Andersch. He really was a student at this school, and he really met Gebhard Himmler during a Greek lesson.

The story is like a chamber play, the blackboard and teacher's desk are a stage, and we witness it all play out. The interactions between the headmaster and the young teacher, the fear and excitement of the students, Franz's nervousness and his thoughts about Himmler. Moreover, there is the political background, and it is apparent when Franz thinks about his family, his classmates, and about what he knows about his headmaster's son.

There is an afterword by the author in which he explains why he decided to fictionalize his experience and that contains more information about the text.

This is a quick read, but it is gripping and disturbing, and I do recommend it. show less

Mein Verschwinden in Providence. Erzählungen (Engl. My Disappearance in Providence & Other Stories) is a collection of nine short stories by Alfred Andersch, published in 1971. All stories were written between the Spring of 1968 and the Spring of 1971. The stories are published in the order in which they were written, which hinders the reader to construe a meaning or signficance of the stories.

Some of the stories contain autobiographical elements. Alfred Andersch, who was born 100 years show more ago, in 1914, was drawn into the army during the Second World War. A decade before the war, he had been imprisoned in a concentration camp for his sympathies with Communism.

Three of the stories, "Brüder", "Festschrift für Captain Fleischer" and "Die Inseln unter dem Winde" deal with the Second World War. In each of these stories there is a character by the name of Franz Kien, who seems to be an alter ego of Alfred Andersch. "Brüder" is about two brothers who are musing about being drawn into the army. "Festschrift für Captain Fleischer" deals with a group of German Prisoners of War in an intern camp in the United States and the process of de-Nazification, as they need to come to terms with their new status and the fact that Germany has lost the war. The story deals with interesting aspects about the soldiers capacity to remain sane, absorb the many impressions of their new environment (the story is set in the United States), and matters of honour and respect, shown by a Jewish officer. "Die Inseln unter dem Winde" deals with a foreign visitor to Germany, who is shown around by Franz Kien. The story describes how Kien at first suspects, and gradually realizes that the foreign visitor sympathizes with the ascending Nazi powers. The story is set in the final years before the war.

Some stories seem to deal with developments in Germany after the war, and the changes in people's ideas and attitudes towards Americans. Thus, in the story "Tochter" some of the characters German is studded with English expressions, and other English language influences, even to the extent that they cause mistakes to be made in German grammar. Other stories are clearly set during the students protests and "second" rise of communism in Germany during the 1960s. The title story "Mein Verschwinden in Providence" consists of a series of 110 vignettes which represent suggested chapters or scenes for a novel to be written.

It seems the "war stories" are the strongest felt stories. They are apparently most close to the core themes of Alfred Andersch. Most other stories are only somewhat interesting, as they trace contemporary developments in Germany, but there is no clear thematic development. The repeated appearance of the character Franz Kien, suggests that the stories describe a personal development, but other stories seem unrelated.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Alfred Andersch emerged as one of the most important post-war authors, but in recent years, doubt has been cast on his sincerety, and the truthfulness of his autobiographical writing related to the war experience. However, it seems many German authors seem tainted by this type of behavior. It will probably take another generation to re-evaluate this "menschliches-alzu-menschliches" behavior of denial are distortion. Once all biographical facts have been explored and studied, it will most likely be possible in the future to appreciate parts of these writers oevre as opposed to insisting on 100% ideological purity. Surely, a large part of the work must be original and sincere. It would really be throwing the baby out with the bath water, to fully discard an author such as Alfred Andersch.

Alfred Andersch was born in 1914 and died in 1980. show less

Tenere tra le mani una Medusa in perfette condizioni è sempre una piacevole sensazione, se quello che stai leggendo poi è pure un degnissimo pezzo di letteratura tedesca anni '60 e ti senti in sintonia con l'autore non ti resta che leggere fino alla fine! (ed è proprio così che è andata).
Un ebreo tedesco fa i conti con la Shoa, la perdita dei famigliari, la perdita di ogni fede (nella Storia, nell'Uomo, in Dio), sente l'esigenza di apportare un cambiamento alla propria vita e da show more giornalista diventa romanziere. La narrazione riguarda proprio la nascita e la stesura del romanzo (quello che il lettore sta leggendo), inframmezzata da riflessioni sul giornalismo e su quelle simpatiche canaglie di giornalisti come il protagonista che si sposta tra Berlino Roma e Londra (facendocele sentire).
Di certo non un capolavoro, di certo una buona lettura. show less