A blacklisted author – Erich Kästner
Many authors were blacklisted by the German Nazi party during the Third Reich – one of them was Erich Kästner. He did not support Hitler´s ideologies and had to live under severe constraints as an author. But unlike many of his writing colleagues he never left Germany.
He is mainly known for children books. I am almost sure that every child in Germany knows and loves Erich Kästner´s stories “Emil and the Detectives”, “Pünktchen and Anton”, or “The flying classroom“ – even today.
He is also the author of “Das doppelte Lottchen”, a book about identical twins, separated by their divorced parents at birth who meet in a summer camp as ten year olds for the first time and decide to swap roles to meet the other parent. Sounds familiar? It’s the original source behind the Disney film “Parent Trap”.
He wrote one major adult novel in Germany called “Fabian”, which was published in 1931. The English version is called “Going to the dogs: the story of a moralist”.
The book plays in post WW I Berlin and describes the life of Jakob Fabian, an unemployed moralist and intellectual who strolls through the city looking for work and friends. He meets people with different experiences, traumas and expectations of life trying to find their way around in the post-war times where values and morals sometimes seem to fade.
A great book that is not outdated and definitely recommended.
Do you know any of Erich Kästner´s books? Which one would you recommend?