Perpetrators in Holocaust Narratives: Encountering the Nazi Beast PDF
Preview Perpetrators in Holocaust Narratives: Encountering the Nazi Beast
Perpetrators in Holocaust Narratives JoannePettitt Perpetrators in Holocaust Narratives Encountering the Nazi Beast JoannePettitt SchoolofEuropeanCultureandLanguages UniversityofKent Kent,UnitedKingdom ISBN978-3-319-52574-7 ISBN978-3-319-52575-4(eBook) DOI10.1007/978-3-319-52575-4 LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2017937311 ©TheEditor(s)(ifapplicable)andTheAuthor(s)2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher,whetherthewholeorpartofthematerialisconcerned,specificallytherightsof translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilarmethodology nowknownorhereafterdeveloped. Theuseofgeneraldescriptivenames,registerednames,trademarks,servicemarks,etc.inthis publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesare exemptfromtherelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. Thepublisher,theauthorsandtheeditorsaresafetoassumethattheadviceandinformation in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publishernortheauthorsortheeditorsgiveawarranty,expressorimplied,withrespectto thematerialcontainedhereinorforanyerrorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade.The publisherremainsneutralwithregardtojurisdictionalclaimsinpublishedmapsandinstitu- tionalaffiliations. Coverillustration©GariWynWilliams/AlamyStockPhoto Printedonacid-freepaper ThisPalgraveMacmillanimprintispublishedbySpringerNature TheregisteredcompanyisSpringerInternationalPublishingAG Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland For mymum A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS This book would never have been completed without the support of colleagues, friends and family. I have been continually inspired by the intellectual community at the University of Kent. Special thanks goes to AxelStähler,whoseunrelentingsupporthasbeencrucialoverthelastfew years,andwithoutwhosecomments,criticismsandsuggestionsthisbook would never have been realised. Axel’s calming influence has pulled me throughmanystressfulmoments;hiscommitmenttosupportingmeinall matters – including those outside of his usual remit – has contributed markedly to the success of the project. I remain eternally grateful for his involvement andsupport. I am also indebted to Sue Vice, who has been a tireless reader and supporter of my work, and whose comments at various stages have been hugely insightful. Sue’s ongoing contributions have been essential to the completion of this project. My thanks are also due to Deborah Holmes, RosieSpenceandLucyJones,whopainstakinglyreadearlierversions,and whosecommentsandcriticisms werevalued inequalmeasure. I consider myself very lucky to have been a part of the Comparative Literaturedepartment atKent. Asbothan undergraduatestudent,trying tofindmywayintheworld,andasanimpoverishedPhDstudent,trying to forge a career for myself, the department has provided a fantastic supportnetwork.Foralltheintellectualexchangesandfinancialcontribu- tions I remain genuinely thankful. My thanks also go to my students, vii viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS whoseacademicendeavourandpassionforthestudyofliteraturehasbeen a constantsource ofinspiration. I am also grateful to those who have been on hand to help me work throughmyideasatvariouspointsoverthelastfouryears.Tothosewho have patiently listened to my academic quandaries, provided feedback on researchpapers,orwhosimplyhelpedmedrinkabottleofwine(ortwo),I remain truly thankful. These discussions helped to keep me sane, and to shape this book into what it has become. Although there are too many people to name, my particular thanks goes to Vered Weiss, Manal Siddiqui, AngelosEvangelou,Melanie DillyandCarrieEeles. IalsothankBenDoyleatPalgrave,forencouragingandcommissioning this book, and Camille Davies and the production team for seeing it through topress. Finally, I owe eternal thanks to my long-suffering partner, Marthinus, myparents-in-lawBarbaraandChristo,andtomyamazingdadandsister, whose unconditional love and support has been vital and to whom I dedicate thisbook. Sections of this book have appeared in different form elsewhere. Some sections were published in ‘Sartre, Goffman and Fictional Nazis: Homogeneity as Identity in Martin Amis’ Time’s Arrow (1991) and Edgar Hilsenrath’s The Nazi and the Barber (1971)’, Interdisciplinary LiteraryStudies18.4.CopyrightThePennsylvaniaStateUniversityPress. This article is used by permission of The Pennsylvania State University Press. C ONTENTS 1 Introduction 1 PartI Onthe Humanity ofNazis: Establishing (Un-)Commonality withthe Reader 2 Nazisin Society 15 3 SubvertingConnections withthe Reader 33 4 Drawing theReader into the Narrative 53 PartII Betweenthe Man andthe (Nazi) Symbol 5 Cogsin the Machine:Testimonies ofHolocaust Perpetrators 73 6 Adolf Hitlerin Fiction andMemory 93 7 Returningtothe Role ofthe Reader 121 ix x CONTENTS Bibliography 139 AuthorsandWorks Index 147 Index 149 CHAPTER1 Introduction Inrecentyears,therehasbeenasurgeofinterestinHolocaustperpetrators, with authors of fiction directing increasing attention to the topic. Recent studiesbySueVice,JenniAdamsandErinMcGlothlinamongothershave formedthebasisofscholarshipinthisarea.Nevertheless,acriticaloverview of perpetrator fiction as a whole has not yet been produced. It is this task thatIundertakehere. Between 1943 and 1946, at least five pieces of fiction were published that portrayed Nazi criminality as a central theme: Max Radin’s The Day of Reckoning (1943), Michael Young’s The Trial of Adolf Hitler (1944), A.M.Klein’sTheHitleriad(1944),CurzioMalaparte’ssemi-autobiogra- phical Kaputt (1946) and Jorge Luis Borges’s ‘Deutsches Requiem’ (1946). Despite this early interest, the end of the war and subsequent post-war silence saw a lull in fictional productions. Even those that did emerge steered away from genuine engagement with the perpetrator perspective and, between 1946and the beginningof the 1970s, very few suchaccountswerepublished.ButwiththetrialofAdolfEichmanninthe early 1960s came a resurgence of interest, and a second wave of fiction emerged throughout the 1970s, with most, although by no means all, featuringAdolfHitlerasacentralfigure;BrianAldiss’s‘Swastika!’(1970), NormanSpinrad’sTheIronDream(1972),RolandPuccetti’sDeathofthe Führer (1972), Philippe van Rjndt’s The Trial of Adolf Hitler (1978), Beryl Bainbridge’s Young Adolf (1978) and Richard Grayson’s ‘With Hitler in New York’ (1979) all fall into this category. Finally, following ©TheAuthor(s)2017 1 J.Pettitt,PerpetratorsinHolocaustNarratives, DOI10.1007/978-3-319-52575-4_1
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