Death in Rome (Penguin Twentieth Century Classics) [Paperback]

"Death In Rome", by Wolfgang Koeppen is characterized by Michael Hoffmann, who both translated the work, and wrote the introduction as, "the most devastating novel about the Germans I have ever read". This book was written in 1954 and when published caused a massive reaction, almost exclusively negative, for the primary characters were either participants in, or the offspring of the World War II Nazi regime. Published only 9 years after the defeat of The Third Reich, its subject matter was still white hot and equally sensitive. This was during a time when people were trying to put the past irrevocably behind them in the hope that time would provide distance, and distance would erode the world's memory.

Everything in this book is at the very least provocative even when read from a distance of 50 years. The author even names his characters to overtly provoke, and incite. Gottlieb Judejahn and the other primary characters are family and obviously share the last name. Gottlieb's possession of the name is arguably the most notorious. He is generously characterized as an unreconstructed Nazi SS Officer whose last name combines the word for Jew with the balance that translates to madness, and weed out. Another name Pfaffrath is a disrespectful name for a priest, and the name Adolf needs no elaboration. The author evens ratchets up the tension when the son (the Priest Adolf) of the unrepentant SS Officer witnesses his father as he fouls a room deep in The Vatican. The author says that as he watched, "Adolf Wept".

These examples are just parts of the setting that surround a bizarre family reunion in Rome. While unfortunate that Mr. Koeppen's work was so suppressed; it is not a stretch to understand why. With the wounds of the atrocities still fresh in the worlds' mind, and with some of the architects still roaming the streets of Europe, this author had the courage to not follow the crowd advocating let's put the past behind us, and to be brutally candid about what the end of the war meant and did not mean.

This book is a masterpiece. It has the wow factor. Somewhere around page 10 I felt I was reading something very different and unique. This is about how people confront or deny cataclysmic events where they played a role. I'd never heard of this book or writer before coming across the excellent reviews that precede mine. There was no letdown. You get a front row seat on German relatives of all types dealing with the past, present and future. It's early 1950's. The family for overlapping reasons are in Rome.

Within this small group Wolfgang Koeppen captures perhaps most of the ways Germans reacted to defeat, the holocaust and the new world. There is the unrepentant ex-General Judejahn, coming back from exile in Africa. He is perhaps the most vivid character; physically repulsive - fleshy, sweating with massive paws for hands hoping he may return home AND be welcome showing his full conceit.

His wife Eva may be the most evil as she longs the Nazism that gave her status and allowed her to channel and direct her hatred which is now reserved for her son who's chosen the Catholic Church to find meaning and solace knowing his family was central to the killing machines and death camps. She is raw with anger and dominating in her brief appearances.

There is Friedrich Pfaffrath, a deeply amoral character representing the feeble enablers to the pre War madness who then make themselves useful to the allies later. They live in a denial of past deeds that is hard to fathom.

While the story takes place in Rome, Koeppen gives us haunting flashbacks; very brief almost photographs that tells of their previous lives during the War. Koeppen makes it very clear that each of the older crowd was not just "following orders". They are responsible. We can see it. Perhaps this is why his book was said to be so unpopular at the time.

Around all these characters there is a plot. Just look at the title! This is a family with issues. There is great pace. The first person voice moves quickly between 6 or 7 characters. The scenes move or overlap. At one time you are in the bar with Judejahn. Next you are outside looking at him through the eyes of his son and nephew. There are twists and turns aplenty. I particularly enjoyed using Google Maps to following along as the streets are all accurately portrayed.

It is exhilarating to read such original work and it will stick with me for quite a long time. For all the history books and novels centered around the War how many actually get you inside the people and then make it believable? It's done here and it works beautifully.

Wolfgang Koeppen's 'Death in Rome' is a profound and thought-provoking novel written in the mid-fifties. While set against the backdrop of Rome, the main theme is a portrayal of the early after-war German society. It is a remarkable book for several reasons. When first published, it was either criticized or, more commonly, ignored only to be praised a few years later by some of Germany's great authors such as Grass and Boll. Death in Rome was the third book of a trilogy, written by Koeppen in quick succession at the time - all addressing aspects of the "new" Germany. It was followed by 40 years of literary silence, except for travel writings and a short autobiography of his youth. Nevertheless, he is now regarded as one of the best German literary authors and his work has experienced a revival since his death in 1996.

The members of one family meet, more or less by chance, in Rome. The protagonists each personify one aspect of German society: the military, the bureaucracy, religion and art. Koeppen weaves the complex story around an unrepentant former SS man, a then and now middle-level bureaucrat, a young priest and a young composer. The latter two being the sons of the older generation. Symbolism and mythology meet the reader everywhere. The links between Germany and Rome are multifaceted, reaching well back in time. The main characters' names were selected for their meanings: Judejahn for the SS man and Adolf for his priestly son. Siegfried, his young, gay composer cousin, explores experimental music that was forbidden during the Nazi period. He also befriends a conductor and his Jewish wife who had escaped the camps.

There are different levels of connections between the different characters as they move in and out of focus of the story line. One is reminded of a ballet or a complicated but well-structured dance where each participant performs his or her part without seeing the overall picture that unfolds for the reader. Rome in its decaying beauty is treated almost like one of the characters in this composition. Koeppen underlines the intricate choreography by leading from one element in the story to another, often interrupting in the middle of a sentence only to complete it in a different scenario. The language also moves from factual detailed descriptions of events to intimate reflections and analysis of characters. For example, Judejahn is not all that he appears and his contradictions are explored through flash-backs to his youth. His wife Eva would rather see him as a dead hero of the past than as a survivor who is at odds with the present. In many ways, Siegfried represents the centre of the narrative and his voice alternates with that of the author. Still, he is not without his own demons. Both he and Adolf attempt to distance themselves, physically and mentally, from their parents and what they represent. However, given their upbringing, can they really escape?

Death in Rome must have been an uncomfortable book for Koeppen's contemporaries who felt it easier to put the book aside than to confront the issues it exposed. Reading the novel today with the advantage of historical perspective, it has to be seen as one of the first successful efforts to critique German society as it emerged from the Nazi period. This novel is an engaging, if disturbing, read. I regret that I didn't know about this and the other books in the trilogy in my younger years. Still, Death in Rome is as powerful a book now as it was when it was first published and should be recommended to readers of all ages interested in recent European history. [Friederike Knabe]