The Catholic Book Club discussion

1. How does the novel suggest the poisoning of the atmosphere in Germany before Hitler came to power?

Anti-Semitism is a huge factor, but also Max's father (if he's typical)'s militarism (his loyalties to other nations shift, all he cares is that fighting be glorified) and Dr. Mendel's astute observation that both the victor and the vanquished in a war wind up digging in and becoming more bellicose, the loser filled with hate and resentment because they consider their side superior, so if they lost, it must have been "unfair" and must be rectified.

There are a lot of factors, besides the antisemitism. The humiliation of Germany in the treatment of Versailles, although for me the destiny was more cruel with Turkey, and Austria. Second the republic of Weimar to arrive thanks to the Revolution have never been popular, of this way when the problems started the people betrayed them. The SPD have ever won the elections, but they have never ruled, because for not wasting it was more popular to be in the opposition, and the political party that it is ruling was clearly antirepublic. Hindenburg authorized the flag of the second Reich, and he was monarchist. The judge and the military services used to be more compenhensive with the extreme right than the extreme wing (KPD, comunist). Other important factor, withouth which Hitler did not reach the power the economical crash, when America had the crack of 29 indirectly sank Germany. United States was the main creditor of Germany. Other factor the death of the catholic politician of the Zentrum the catholic Stressman. He and Aristid, both of them died in an accident finished with the politic of peace between France, and Germany (Adenauer is not ready to be the sucessor of Stressman, and he was hatred for being of Alsacian. I comented in other part of this topic Hitler has more fear to the Zentrum than SPD. The leader he caused more problems to him was Brüning). Other negative factor the climates of immorality the left wing dedicated to attack the country, this thing generate hatred and mistrust. If the left wing brought Weimar Republic, it was not very intelligent to attack the country. The vicious, and the presence of the criminal organization. This horror cocktail made possible the rise of Hitler and the Empire of Evil. Reality my professor in my third course of history explained to me clearly with a metaphore the Republic of Weimar is a woman that is raped by several soldiers. Who killed to her the last man?, no everybody colaborated in the destruction of the Republic. Weimar had very bad cards if it was not perhaps it had been the comunist Thalman, or Kapp, or Hugenberg, which had destroyed the Republic of Weimar. Germany it is not acustomed to the democracy, and they were not aware to accept it. There was a writer Max Nordau, that he prophetiziced a dictator of Hitler in his novel degeneration.

I thought this was one of the better aspects of the book, in which Beckett shows that the corrosive atmosphere the engulfed Germany in the 1930s built up slowly following the First World War, as good people were almost helpless to stop it. I would say there was always a noxious background of anti-Semitism, that was available to the Nazis to identify a scapegoat. There was the fact of Prussian pride, an Empire for such a short time and built entirely on military prowess, not able to accept defeat in WWI. And then the hugely punitive nature of the peace treaty - as if there were not similar celebrations for the glory to come in the streets of Paris and London in 1914. Then economic mismanagement, all worsened by the worldwide depression of the 1930s, it sure made it easy to think that people must be conspiring against the German nation.

John wrote: "I thought this was one of the better aspects of the book, in which Beckett shows that the corrosive atmosphere the engulfed Germany in the 1930s built up slowly following the First World War, as go..."

I do not agree totally for example Russia, and France were more antisemitic than Germany, indeed there was more freedom to the Jews in Germany than in everywhere. The bad luck was that Hitler reached the power. A novel for example describes the poisoning atmosphere of Germany is "Youth without God" by the austrian writer Odon von Horvath. The novel is very close to the detective novel, but it is really good https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Fonch wrote: "John wrote: "I thought this was one of the better aspects of the book, in which Beckett shows that the corrosive atmosphere the engulfed Germany in the 1930s built up slowly following the First Wor..."

I think it is a mistake to think that because anti-Semitism was worse in Russia in the 1920s and before (certainly true) and in France (I am not sure this is true), therefore anti-Semitism wasn't a problem in Germany. Jews in Germany pre-WWII had access to all of the professions, but only by, for the most part, either converting to Protestantism or by being non-religious. The treatment of "obvious" Jews throughout the novel is discriminatory and Max's mother's Jewish identity is a big family secret.

John wrote: "Fonch wrote: "John wrote: "I thought this was one of the better aspects of the book, in which Beckett shows that the corrosive atmosphere the engulfed Germany in the 1930s built up slowly following..."
John the antisemitism did not reduce in Russia with the arrival of comunism the last year of Stalin he did a purge against the Jews, between the vixtims was the Molotov`s wife Politina. And after was the death/murder of the writer Isaak Babel. Russia is a country with fame of antisemitism, and France also had a Drummond, Gobineau, and some members of Action Français, between them Maurras, which were antisemitic, besides there was the Dreyfuss Affair, which divided France in two factions. It was more probable that a Hitler appeared in France, than Germany, which this thing did not mean that we do not condemn the antisemitism in Germany. I could follow speak about the antisemitism i am reading a book that i am employing to write a review of Colum of Fire, which spoke about this question one chapter. The really the Jews are usually pursued in all countries. Germanyit was not more than other country. The problem now we thought that Germany was more antisemitic than the rest for Hitler.