Reading 1001 discussion

Review thread: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Link to the movie: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020744/

1. What role does the character of Sergeant Grischa play in highlighting the absurdity of war?

2. How does Zweig use the setting of the Eastern Front during World War I to shape the themes of the novel?

3. Discuss the significance of mistaken identity in *The Case of Sergeant Grischa*.

4. How does Zweig portray the conflict between personal morality and duty to the state?

5. What is the significance of Grischa’s escape from the Russian POW camp, and how does it shape his fate throughout the novel?

6. How does Zweig use secondary characters, such as Lieutenant Winfried and Quartermaster-General Schieffenzahn, to reflect differing attitudes toward war and justice?

7. In what ways does the novel criticize military bureaucracy and the rigid structure of command in wartime?

8. What role does fate or destiny play in *The Case of Sergeant Grischa*?

9. How does Zweig explore the concept of "the enemy" in the novel, and what message does this convey about war?

10. What is the ultimate message of the novel regarding individual agency during times of war?

I'm now 2/3 of the way through the novel. It's taking longer to read than I expected, has a lot of words per page. I will try to answer some of Diane's questions later.
Of question 6, Schieffenzahn is called "Quartermaster-General", not Lieutenant, and Winfried is a Lieutenant, at least in the first half of the novel.

George P. wrote: "I'm now 2/3 of the way through the novel. It's taking longer to read than I expected, has a lot of words per page. I will try to answer some of Diane's questions later.
Of question 6, Schieffenzahn..."

Thanks for the feedback. When you finish the book let me know if I should change the titles. Thanks

Our "reviews" section has just one on this book by our member Diane (a different one from our mod for this thread) a few years ago. It is short and hopefully she won't mind me copying it here:

Rating: 4 stars
Based on a true story of mistaken identity, this book centers on the escape of a POW Russian soldier from his German captors during the latter part of WWI. Despite being a prisoner, his situation wasn't all that bad, but he longed to get back home to his family. While his escape was initially a success, he soon found himself far away in a dense wilderness. He soon meets up with other refugees and takes on an assumed identity, which proves even more problematic than his real identity.

Overall, a great book which I may re-read again some day.

I'll tell you what, Arnold Zweig was a very good writer. This story has wonderful portrayals of characters, human strengths and flaws, it has tension and lovely evocative descriptions. The translation by Eric Sutton is really good. While set in WW1, there are no battle scenes just passing references to the trenches. I agree that it's an excellent book and a pity that it is hardly known, at least in the US and probably in Europe as well, nearly 100 years after publication.

It was the best-known of Zweig's series about WW1 known as "Der große Krieg der weißen Männer"- The Great War of the White Men, which also consists of Education Before Verdun (Erziehung von Verdun) and The Crowning of a King (Einseitzung Eines Konigs). These were both published in English translation in the 1930s and I see the university library here has copies. As these are out of copyright, Open Library has ebook in English of Case of Sergeant Grischa consisting of photos of each book page at https://archive.org/details/caseofser... and also of Crowning of a King but doesn't have Education Before Verdun.
I will plan to add more to this comment in the next few days.

Diane wrote: George P. wrote: "Of question 6, Schieffenzahn is called "Quartermaster-General", not Lieutenant, and Winfried is a Lieutenant, at least in the first half of the novel." When you finish the book let me know if I should change the titles.

Yes, Schieffenzahn is referred to as a General in the later part of the novel as well, and Winfried is a Lieutenant. There is a sequel novel, The Crowning of a King, in which Winfried may have been promoted to Captain.

1. What role does the character of Sergeant Grischa play in highlighting the absurdity of war?

The Sargent is actually a prisoner of war but in a war that killed millions and even more millions died from sickness and starvation, the fact that the story revolves around the "rightness" or "justice" in killing one person is the way that the absurdity of war is highlighted.

2. How does Zweig use the setting of the Eastern Front during World War I to shape the themes of the novel?

During WWI Russia had the largest army (although the poorest equipped) and the French and English were desperate to keep them in the fight in order to force Germany to split her forces. However, Russia was in the middle of a huge historical transformation from being a Tsarist Empire to a Communist state, and the revolutionaries had no interest in fighting a war with Germany. Zweig's setting allows him to highlight his theme of the people versus the state. Also, the whole area of the Eastern Front had been territory that was claimed by various nationalities for a very long time. The Lithuanian Empire (once the largest state in Europe), the Russian Empire, Prussia, Poland, and even Belarus claimed that land at one time or another. "Home" becomes an interesting concept when it is applied to land and not culture.

3. Discuss the significance of mistaken identity in *The Case of Sergeant Grischa*.

Zwieg is again playing with the whole concept of identity, especially an identity that is owned by a political state or an army. Grischa was attempting to pass for a harmless deserter rather than an escaped prisoner of war but the person whose identity he took on was already killed. Grischa, in some ways, was haunted by Babka's devil.

4. How does Zweig portray the conflict between personal morality and duty to the state?
The various characters think differently about this question so the reader gets to hear the issue from a number of sides. The lowly working soldiers of the German army lean toward it being murder to execute Grischa because they understand very well that all lowly soldiers are just cannon fodder and although they do their duty, because to not do their duty would mean being executed themselves, it isn't really a question of personal morality. von Lychow sees it as a jurisdiction issue and his underlings see it as a key component of a just state. Germany may be at war, but if they do not follow the specific rules of justice around what is right and what is wrong during wartime than Germany no longer has a right to see itself as a just state. This would lead to revolutionary ideas not unlike what people were thinking in Russia.

5. What is the significance of Grischa’s escape from the Russian POW camp, and how does it shape his fate throughout the novel?

In two specific ways. 1) It starts off the whole plot but also 2) it makes it clear that he is anxious to be home and to be taking part in the revolutionary activities that are happening in Russia. He also is so anxious to be a free man and not be told what to do anymore that he was willing to risk everything to get out.

6. How does Zweig use secondary characters, such as Lieutenant Winfried and Quartermaster-General Schieffenzahn, to reflect differing attitudes toward war and justice?
I partly answered this in number 4 but I didn't mention Schieffenzahn who is hungry for power and is brilliant at building infrastructure where none existed. He does it in the name of German progress and expanding empire but he does it also because he is good at it and every triumph of efficiency adds to his power. He does not care about "justice" for one man, he is looking at the bigger picture where the individual is not important (except of course himself and the emperor). He is also calculating and manipulative regarding putting the old Junker family general, von Lychow, in his place.

7. In what ways does the novel criticize military bureaucracy and the rigid structure of command in wartime?

The whole book is essentially about the German bureaucratic system but Zweig is less specific about the rigid structure of command. The soldiers need a commander to relieve them of their guilt toward killing other humans. They are doing their duty rather than relying on their own judgements. The top functionaries, the army lawyer, the generals and even the lieutenants struggle with what they should be doing in the face of orders that they do not believe are the right thing to do.

9. How does Zweig explore the concept of "the enemy" in the novel, and what message does this convey about war?

There is no real enemy in this book when it come down to individuals. Babka has her devil which in some ways is Grischa's greatest enemy. The German soldiers like Grischa and do not perceive him as an enemy, he is just another soldier who happens to be on the wrong side. One has to get all the way to Schieffenzahn to get to some real thoughts of the enemy and how they need to be put in their place. Even von Lychow sees the enemy as one would see a chess opponent. It is his job to prevent them from winning but it is not his job to judge them. There is often more judgement about the Bosians, or the "dirty Russian" peasants than the opposing army. There are class struggles and in them the enemy is the class that is making the decisions to throw away the lives of so many soldiers.

10. What is the ultimate message of the novel regarding individual agency during times of war?

The book plays with themes of individual identity and inability of individuals to change the course of events, especially the big events of wartime but even the small events. There is little individual agency in peace time either however. Grischa is anxious to get home because he perceives that that may be changing in Russia but it is hearsay and not something he experiences.