Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Note on Hans Fallada's 'Little Man--What Now?' I wanted to clear things up, because I myself was a little confused, so I did the research.

     Hans Fallada's books were banned by Hitler.  Little Man--What Now?, although written pre-WWII, 1932, is not an anti-Semitic book.  There is possibly one line in the entire book, which may be construed that way.*
     However, according to Random House Publishing, a Jewish film maker made it into a movie in Hollywood.  At this point and due to this, Hitler banned Fallada's books. 
     When ordered to write an anti-Semitic book, he had a break down, turned to alcohol and drugs, and ended up in an asylum for the criminally insane, and I believe that is where he died.
     I am not saying that he was any kind of hero, but as a writer, an artist, I think he was a deep soul, unable to follow the rules of cruelty and hatred.  That is just my opinion.

      *After reading the book myself, I have to say that it is anti-Semitic in my own opinion, and there is more than one line that is blatantly so.  Perhaps, and being a Course in Miracles student, I dislike judgment, but he may have gone crazy, not only because of his books being banned, and not wanting to be ordered by Hitler to write a truly anti-Semitic book, he may have felt guilty for having written an anti-Semitic book just prior to all that happened to the Jews, but I may be inventing my own scenario, so never mind.  My mind has a way of trying to analyze what makes others tick, even when I do not know them.  But, truthfully, I am not going to spend any more time pondering this.

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