Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada
While Germany brazenly plowed through Europe and invaded Russia, the euphoria of the German command was not universal in the general population. A quiet undercurrent of opposition existed in some working-class Germans. The opposition was fragmented and largely ineffective suppressed by fear and a constantly vigilant SS. In a small apartment building, a couple—Otto and Anna Quangel, who have just lost their son in combat, carry out their own opposition in their little apartment community of fanatical NAZIs, SS snitches, a Jewish woman in hiding, and a ne’er-do-well womanizer.
Otto
Quangel is a foreman in a factory that makes coffins. He is a dedicated
and productive supervisor but not a member of the NAZI party. In the
secrecy of his tiny apartment, he and
Anna write postcards bearing anti-NAZI, anti-Fuerr statements and drop
them in various buildings. If caught, their punishment would likely be
death. After two years, they have dropped several hundred postcards.
Inspector Escherich is assigned to the case labeled “Hobgoblin.” Escherich is methodical and slow. “Escherich was a huntsman—the old detective was a lover of the chase. It was in his blood. Others hunted will boar; he hunted humans.” (165)
But after two years without a suspect, Escherich finds himself a victim of the SS. As pressure mounts to solve the case, others become ensnared. Enno Kluge is a drifter and womanizer whose wife, a postal employee, has figured him out and dumped him. Too lazy to work, he visits a doctor’s office to get a work exemption. In the crowded waiting room, someone drops a postcard. The doctor’s assistant quickly blames Enno, and the Gestapo are brought in. Escherich believes Enno is incapable of writing the card, but under pressure to solve the problem of the post cards, he takes Enno in for questioning. At best, he assumes Enno got the card from someone else, he releases Enno and puts two officers to shadow him, hoping he will lead them to the author of the card. But they lose him as he heads for old girlfriend Hetty, who would have the sense not to take him in had he not been a target of the Gestapo. Years earlier, her husband—a communist—was hauled away and she never saw him again.
“And this man of fifty or so, this habitual drifter, idler, and womanizer began to pray like a schoolboy: Please God, let me be lucky once more in this life, just this once more! I promise to turn over a new leaf, only please let Hetty take me in.” (203)
Enno plays on her hatred of the Gestapo and finds a home.
His companionship apparently compensates for his laziness and more. Hetty leaves Enno in charge of her shop while she does an errand, returns to find the shop closed and cash drawer empty. Enno had run off with the money to bet on the horses and made enough to pay Hetty to money he took and more. However, the breach of trust remains in Heddy’s mind as she weights the fear of living the remainder of her life as a spinster versus spending it with a ne’er-do-well.
A low-life snitch named Emil Borkhausen locates Kluge and demands money to keep his whereabouts secret and loses it in a street fight. He then cooperates with the Gestapo for a reward. When Gestapo investigator Escherich learns that he was seeking money from both sides, he reneges on the reward, leaving Borkhausen penniless.
But inspector Escherich now has Kluge in his possession. He takes Kluge to a park and kills him, the first casualty in a sinister tapestry of deceit, betrayal, and senseless killings over anti-NAZI postcards that continue to appear. The Quangels remain free and continue their work, despite some close calls as Escherich continues his pursuit.
Author Hans Fallada takes the reader into the minds of ordinary Germans. Some live in fear of the SS and feel disgust for Hitler and his government. Others embrace Hitler’s government and are loyal supporters of the party. Some have no thoughts either way and try to make a meager living as vigilantes for the SS. Many die as a result of their beliefs.
Every Man Dies Alone is a compelling book for its portrayal of the street level perspective of NAZI Germany and the tactics of the government to penetrate and eliminate pockets of resistance. The writing is straight narrative with little finesse in wording or structure, but as the work is translated from the German it is difficult to assess the original. The biographical information indicates that Fallada wrote the book in twenty-four days and did not live to see its publication.
Melville
House Publishing
Original German publication 1947
English translation 2009
ISBN 9781935554042
539 pages