Every Man Dies Alone - Hans Fallada

"Mother! The Fuhrer has murdered my son. Mother! The Fuhrer will murder your sons, too. He will not stop til he has brought sorrow to every home in the world. Pass this card on. So that many people read it! Don't give to the Winter Relief Fund! Work as slowly as you can! Put sand in the machines! Every stroke of work not done will shorten the war!"

This was the first postcard written by Otto and Anna Quangel, then left in a stairwell of a Berlin business. The first of hundreds. Having just lost their only son in the war, this working class couple decides they must do something to protect their decency and integrity. They must not blindly obey the criminals that are in charge. So they methodically create these postcards and leave them all over the city, in hopes of convincing others to join the fight. A termite revolution, if you will.

Does it work? At the end of the day, most of the postcards dropped were turned into the Gestapo with a hot-potato fear. It surely didn't have the affect the Quangels were hoping for. But in a perfect example of The Butterfly Effect, many devastating results occured. The deaths of at least seven souls, most innocent. Ruination of a successful career. The arrest, interrogation, torture and imprisonment of many. A runaway child. A mother's abandonment of a family. In an era of the predatory, guilt-by-association witch hunt, many do not survive the downfall of the Quangels.

The proud, ethical inspector Escherich keeps a wall-sized map in his office, littered with a red flag for every postcard found. Finding and arresting the "hobgoblin" planting these postcards becomes his mission in life. But when he finally does, he finds himself faced with some pretty humbling realizations. He has participated in the humiliation and the degradation of a decent man, and he questions who, indeed, is the real criminal. He is disgusted to provide "fresh prey" for the authorities. He understands that the only man truly converted by Quangel has sentenced him to death. He has sealed Quangel's fate.

This story, which by the way, is loosely based on a true story, starts out as an interesting tale of intersecting lives. Lives of those not convinced of Hitler's motives. Lives of lazy deadbeats who are always on the take. Lives of those just trying to survive. There are moments of humor - some of the personalities are priceless, and you chuckle. Then an innocent old woman, terrorized by a Hitler Youth punk, jumps out the window to her death. Zero to 60 in a few pages, then back again. The prose is rigid and unembellished, but about two-thirds the way through the book, uses its power to pull you into a dark, murky hole. The last hundred pages made my heart race, made me nautious and almost, I dare say, weepish. However, if you know me, you will know that this is a true sign of a masterpiece. I'm not moved easily in this way. It got to me.

The story of the author bears mentioning, and it is as dysfunctional as any fictional tale. Rudolph Ditzen struggled with his sexuality in his teens, and to protect the reputations of their families, staged a duel with his friend, intending to kill each other. Rudolph's bullet hit its mark; his friend's did not. Ditzen was committed to a sanatorium and was later released. He changed his name to Hans Fallada and moved to Berlin, where he began his literary career. He found some success, but most of his work came under scrutiny of the Third Reich, and his craft and spirit were beaten down by authorities. He became addicted to alcohol and various drugs, and was in and out of asylums. A fellow author and friend brought him the case file of Otto and Elise Hampel, a couple that was incarcerated for a three-year propaganda campaign against the Nazis. From their story, Fallada created the Quangels, and wrote this story in 24 days. He died of a morphine overdose before it was published. Fallada's personal demons and struggles are subtly woven into this story, and leaves you with a feeling of deep regret for his pain.

For those of you who are interested in the German resistance to the Nazis, I whole-heartedly recommend this book. Just plan on reading some Stephanie Plum or David Sedaris afterwards.

5 out of 5 stars