Joseph Roth, Joseph Roth...What Did You See?

Growing up, one of my favorite books that my parents used to read me was Eric Carle's Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do You See? I remember taking note of things in the surrounding environment and continually observing all that is around me.  Since then, I have always been fascinated by my surroundings and taking note of things, both big and small.  Whether a changing political climate or watching the sunrise greet you in the morning, there are things that are meant to be noticed.  And at the risk of sounding too elementary, I believe that the "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" mentality is exactly what Roth seeks to do in his account of What I Saw.  His account details his portrait of Berlin in the interwar period and how the aftermath of World War I in addition to the changing political structure truly left an imprint on him. 

To use the words of the New Yorker, contributing writer Willing Davidson says "Roth was a predictor of doom, both of civilizations and his own".  Following World War I, Germany is left in a standstill and knee deep in the devastation due to the outcomes.  It is interesting that Roth's portrait of life in Berlin (which is detailed in this video above) during this interwar period truly is one that focuses on what I believe to be the "unseen".  The state that Germany finds itself is one of despair due to the repercussions following the war; however, the changing political climate seems to place a veil over the city of Berlin, which, at the time was the current capital of the Weimar Republic and reveal the true nature of people and certain people groups.

Roth's attention to different people groups seeks to give a voice to all those inhabiting the city.  Coming from a Jewish background himself, his portrait of the "Solomon's temple" or even of his journey to Grenadierstrasse of which life is detailed in the photograph above.  In reading this particular portion of his account, it was very interesting that he mentions, "the weakest and far from loveliest of peoples was given the most dreadful curse and most dreadful blessing, the hardest law and the most difficult mission: to sow love on the earth and to reap hatred" (47).  And to recount Davidson's point earlier, Roth indeed seemed to be one that was a "predictor of doom", which in fact he appears to be doing here.  It seems to only be an objective blanket statement of the Jewish people themselves but almost as if it too is a charge that he himself notices solely by being a Jew, which begs the question, how much does his Jewish heritage influence his perceptions, especially in the interwar period?

And it wasn't just the people groups that were being rebuilt during this interwar period, it was also a change to the physical structure of the city.  Whether the simple look of a housing complex, a train station or even a department store in 1930 Berlin, Roth takes notice of how the structures that support the people for all sorts of purposes, truly take on different shapes of their own.  The phrase "a city to meet the people's needs" slowly starts to come to mind in reading his account of the changes to the architecture.  Even Roth's use of the term "industrialized merriment" as he details Berlin's pleasure industry, suggests that a certain degree of frivolity exists in the city. From Roth's perspective, "the entire mechanism by which fun is produced and communicated these days seems ever more simplistic and transparent the more human nature is forced to import entertainment from the outside" (171).  According to his observations, it no longer seems that Berlin is stripped to basics due to the state of the country itself but in turn seeks to find a way to escape from the present through losing itself in the sometimes frivolous nature of entertainment.

And then, as the year 1933 approaches and the ever changing political climate gives rise to Hitler and the Third Reich, Roth's Jewish heritage seems to leap from the pages.  Here, his perspective is not only that of a Jewish man, but also a writer as he attempts to discern the Third Reich's purpose in targeting the Jews (207).  And as we know today, Roth passed away in Paris in 1939 just as Hitler was "destroying Europe".
This video (until 3:30) paints a portrait of this charismatic leader that Roth, "a predictor of doom" saw to an extent the power that Hitler portrayed in becoming chancellor of Germany.

And to Mr. Joseph Roth, I thank you for the raw and yet bold account that you provided.  With sincere thanks to see truly through your eyes, how the changing landscape, whether physical, political or even emotional drove you to stand up and not leave it "unnoticed", I thank you.  In reading some of your last thoughts, I was struck by your words: "now, as the smoke of our burned books rises into the sky, we German writers of Jewish descent must acknowledge above all that we have been defeated.  Let us, who are fighting on the front line, under the banner of the European mind, let us fulfill the noblest duty of the defeated warrior: Let us concede our defeat" (207).  Mr. Roth, may you know that while I understand your writing and purpose for concession, may you know how this account seeks to provide perspective, not only from your Jewish heritage but also from your understanding of this political dictatorship is to be a revered account from history.  So, simply, thank you for gifting us with your raw and honest written words.

Discussion Questions
1) Discuss any of the specific people groups or even "characters" that Roth takes note to mention.  What seems to be the significance of including them?  How did their story influence this interwar period in Berlin?
2) Discuss Joseph Roth and his writings.  He seems to be an observer who can explore his surroundings through a written account.  Is this the way that he approaches all of his writings? If so, why? And if not, why does Just What I Saw receive a different approach?
3) The NY times article coins the phrase and states that Roth is a "predictor of doom".  How does the understanding of that phrase influence the perception of his writing?
Link to NY article: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2012/01/book-excerpt-the-letters-of-joseph-roth.html
4) The religious implications of the Third Reich's rise to power that Roth alludes to in the end of his novel; it seems that it is the beginning of a statement made directly to the Third Reich on behalf of the Jewish people.  Is this the case?  And was it the attack to the Jews specifically or the way that Roth appeared to take offense to how the Third Reich destroyed the written word that influenced his last chapter?
5) On pg. 217, Roth states, "Many of us served in the war, many died. We have written for Germany, we have died for Germany. We have spilled our blodd for Germany in two ways: the blood that runs in our veins, and the blood with which we write. We have sung Germany, the real Germany! And that is why today we are being burned by Germany!" (217).  Discuss the implications of this quote and the role that "hindsight" plays in our understanding of Roth's account.


Resources
Fulbrook, Mary. A History of Germany: 1918-2008 The Divided Nation. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2009. Print.
Roth, Joseph. What I Saw: Reports from Berlin 1920- 1933. London: W.W. Norton & Company., 1996. Print.

A Different Perspective...

When looking at the history of Germany, there are a few key words that truly stand out; Nazi, Hitler, Weimar Republic, Berlin Wall, etc.  Hearing those words almost instantly makes an impression on you as if you are having those words stamped into your mind.  It is true that after hearing those words, they will never leave.  But an interesting aspect of this German word association is that that perspective voids out the possibilities of seeing beyond that narrow and deeply rooted evil time period in Germany’s long history.

The concept of modern German history centers all different components, which make the stories rich; however, it is important to develop a true understanding of Germany in the 20^th century.  Personally, I have grown up immersing myself in history and learning the politics of different governments and policies, the battlefronts in the European theater and how the home fronts rallied to support their troops.  But never, have I ever examined history from this viewpoint; singly focused on one particular country.  It is interesting in Fulbrook’s A History of Germany 1918-2008, she mentions terms like Gotterdammerung and Sonderweg, as means of trying to explain the twists of turns to this German “roller coaster” ride (3).  However, as I continued to pour through accounts of German history, it seemed that Fulbrook had “hit the nail on the head” so to speak.  According to Fulbrook, “to narrate the course of German history in terms of failures and distortions presupposes a ‘normal’ or ‘healthy’ pattern of development” (4).  This seemed interesting to me: it was almost if historians and others only saw failure for Germany and truly reaching beyond that might indeed be near impossible. 

While recognizing that this pattern exists in this somewhat cyclic pattern of 20^th century German history, it is important to examine their history and recognize that current thinking of broad debates of long term patterns of continuity and discontinuity as well as “issues with the collapse of the Weimar democracy, the rise of the Nazis, and of course, the explanation of the ultimately explicable- the mass murder of over 6 million people in the death camps” (Fulbrook 5).  So, while aware of these events that seem to be what people think of in those games of German history word association, let’s take a look at the past and truly start at the beginning of the 20^th century.

This week, it was an opportunity to start fresh at the beginning.  With the writings of Erich Maria Remarque’s classic German war story All Quiet on the Western Front and Sean McMeekin’s The Berlin- Baghdad Express, it provides the beginning to the framework for 20^th century German history.  Beginning in the late 1800s and early 1900s, McMeekin’s account of the Baghdad railway credits “imagination to voyage back in time to the bitter fin de siècle {as it} struggles over the Baghdad railway, when the Orient was still full of mystery, a romantic dream world to the West, still partly unmapped, the last and potentially greatest frontier of European exploration” and how this mystical expression provides the inspiration to various modern culture references (33).  The use of Baghdad was thought to be “a sleepy backwater of the Ottoman Empire” (34).  In order to have this proposed railway set-up, it was necessary to “internationalize the financing” and Germany wanted to play a large role in the construction of this route (39).  However, Germany was unable to raise the finances on their own and continued to arouse the suspicions of the French, British and the Russians (39).  According to McMeekin, “the essential thing was camouflage: Germany must appear not to be building the railway alone, while somehow securing the strategic benefit” (39).  The only advantage that the Germans truly had over France, Britain and Russian bids was that the Sultan “backed” their efforts to secure the construction of this railway; more specifically, he had wanted the Germans to only build the Berlin- Basra line (39-40).  Beyond this initial trust that was formed among parties, Germany had to “pay many prices in order for the rights to build this railway” (43). 

In the wake of 1914 and the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, this event had many implications for this railway.  The beginning of the “holy war” allowed for a platform of German jihad propaganda in British India (McMeekin, 91).  The tensions and constraints of the beginning of the Holy War surged within the Muslim community and it was rumored that the Sultan- Caliph “would proclaim a holy-war against the British” (91).  Not only in the European theater, but also in Muslim countries, the holy war seemed to increase and mount tensions between these countries and further fuel the German jihad (96). 

On the heels of the construction of the railway as well as the surging tensions of war, allegiances were not only tested between countries but also with comrades, as detailed in All Quiet on the Western Front. In this account, Remarque details perspectives of young recruits to the German warforce and truly is a testament to human character in war times.  From initial words of the first pages, I found myself needing to refocus my attention that this was an account from the German perspective and remembering that fact throughout reading this novel.  It seemed that almost in an instant, you are transported to the No. 9 platoon with the likes of Kropp, Tjaden, Kemmerich under Corporal Himmelstoss (23).  The picture that Remarque paints is one of raw contrast, where his accounts of fellow comrades are united under the common cause of fighting for Germany.  Details of the battlefront to the barracks to the hospitals and wards all show the common traits that even the Germans have with our commonly held perspectives of war. 

The beginning to the 20^th century of Germany presents many elements.  It is the themes of rebuilding, struggling, war, comradeship and others that provide this framework and perspective for what lies ahead.  This portion of Germany history is foreign terroritory and a bit of uncharted waters for myself so I look forward to exploring these themes and ideas together and building upon that foundation as time goes on.

Discussion Questions

1)      Review the timeline of the Berlin- Baghdad express and see the interworking of its significance in German’s early 20^th century.

2)      Discuss what the implications of Reamarque’s novel on German perspective entirely.  What was his motivation in writing this novel? How does it contribute to the understanding of Germany in the context it was written?

3)      Discuss the term cyclic failure and how it serves as the basis for how Germany is viewed by other countries and historians today.

4)      Begin a rough timeline of this early period of 20^th century German history.  Examine how knowledge of early German history might have a causal relationship with later events for Germany.

Resources:

Fulbrook, Mary. A History of Germany: 1918-2008 The Divided Nation. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2009. Print.

McMeekin, Sean. The Berlin- Baghdad Express: The Ottoman Empire and Germany’s Bid for World Power. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2010. Print.

Remarque, Erich Maria. All Quiet on the Western Front. New York: Ballantine Books, 1956. Print.

An Exciting Adventure...

I think my love of history first started when I was a young girl.  I remember sitting in the kitchen, the living room in an easy chair or upstairs in the TV room filled with pictures; asking my grandparents questions about who these people were in the photos.  Needless to say, these questions were the start of many countless stories that told the stories of my family...in other words, it was part of my history.  Some of my favorites were those of my grandfather and my grandmother during World War II.  At the time, he was a bombardier in the American Navy and she was a student at Depauw University in Indiana.  Or even in the early 1900s, my great- grandmother was being courted by an airline pilot who used to drop the most beautiful and formal love letters over her farm.  It wasn't until almost 90 years later, that these letters were discovered by some of our cousins in the bathroom wall that they were remodeling and we learned he went on to create the Mason Dixon airline.  I have loved hearing these stories over the years and as some of them have passed away, I treasure each story that I have heard and realize the integral gift that history truly is. 
To be in a classroom and learn about these stories from different places around the world only excites me more about traveling and seeing these places for myself.  Having been to Europe in high school, I have always wanted to return and further explore.  My interest for European history has been focused on the World War II era since I was a young girl and so I am looking forward to exploring it from the German perspective.  It is a chance to read not only accounts from pages of history but to weave images and other mediums to create this picture of 20th century German history.  So needless to say, I am excited for this adventure that lies ahead...