Every Man Dies Alone
Hans Fallada (Translation by Michael Hofman)
Melville House Publishing
55 Jablonski Strasse. An ordinary apartment house in Berlin, 1940. The Persicke family, Hitler loyalists to a fault, live on the first floor. Herr Persicke is a Nazi Party functionary. He has two oldest sons in the dreaded SS, the younger in the Hitler Youth. On the second floor live the Quangels. Herr Quangel is a furniture factory foreman. They’re just a quiet man and his wife, keeping their heads down. Elderly Jewish woman Frau Rosenthal lives on the top floor. Her husband was recently taken away to a concentration camp by the Gestapo. She suspects it won’t be long before they call for her. Petty criminal Borkhausen is always hanging around, looking for an easy mark to blackmail.
One day the Quangels receive the news their only son Ottochen was killed fighting in France. Below them the Persicke family noisily celebrates their Fuhrer’s triumph over the French. The Quangels slowly come to realize they won’t tolerate the situation any longer. In their own quiet way, in the prevalent atmosphere of fear and suspicion, the Quangels decide to strike back. They begin dropping postcards criticizing the Nazi regime in random places. No criticism of the regime is permitted, so it’s not long before the authorities in the shape of Gestapo Inspector Escherich is on their trail. The Quangels can trust nobody. Certainly not the Persickes or Borkhausen. Deception leads to murder and betrayal. It’s not long before the quiet, unassuming Quangels face the Nazi’s version of justice—but has their small act of defiance created the energy that’ll one day overthrow their persecutors?
Inspired by a true story and colored by Hans Fallada’s own experiences, this novel is a tale relevant to our times of how an ordinary man’s act of defiance against official and everyday oppression can help turn the tide.
