Table Of ContentPerpetrators 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
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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
