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Address Unknown
A rediscovered classic, originally published in 1938 and now an international bestseller. When it first appeared in Story magazine in 1938, Address Unknown became an immediate social phenomenon and literary sensation. Published in book form a year later and banned in Nazi Germany, it garnered high praise in the United States and much of Europe.
A series of fictional letters between a Jewish art dealer living in San Francisco and his former business partner, who has returned to Germany, Address Unknown is a haunting tale of enormous and enduring impact.
64 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1938
About the author
Kathrine Kressmann Taylor
19 books127 followersBorn Kathrine Kressmann, she married Elliott Taylor in 1928. Her first and most famous book, "Address unknown", was initially published by Story magazine. As both the editor and her husband deemed the story "too strong to appear under the name of a woman", she took on the pseudonym Kressman Taylor, which she used for the rest of her professional life.
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July 26, 2023
4.5*
Brilliant. How all short novels should be. Poignant, with a strong message and perfect ending.
This was another one of those books that I had no idea how they ended up on my TBR. I’ve never heard of the author or the novel but there it was, staring at me, somehow calling to me. So glad I answered.
From the book’s introduction, I found out that Address Unknown was written in 1938 and it was very successful in the States at the time it was published. After WW2, it was also translated in many languages but it slowly lost its popularity with the passing of time.
The novel is written in epistolary form and it consists of letter exchanges between two former friends of German origin. They jointly own an art Galery in New York and in 1932. One of them decides to return to Germany with his family while the other friend is a Jew. The correspondence that follows, between November 1932 and March 1934, shows the change in the behaviour of a normal person who falls prey to Nazism. The ending was so strong and ironic, pure perfection.
What is fascinating about this novel is its prescient character. It writes about pogroms before they happened. The author had the idea to write this book after discussing with Jewish friends who lost friends to Nazi ideology and who could not explain how someone can turn so much towards evil. It was quite extraordinary that the American public knew almost nothing about what was happening in Germany and this book took them by surprise.
The writing might not be the most literary, but its impact and structure makes up for it. Highly recommended.
Brilliant. How all short novels should be. Poignant, with a strong message and perfect ending.
This was another one of those books that I had no idea how they ended up on my TBR. I’ve never heard of the author or the novel but there it was, staring at me, somehow calling to me. So glad I answered.
From the book’s introduction, I found out that Address Unknown was written in 1938 and it was very successful in the States at the time it was published. After WW2, it was also translated in many languages but it slowly lost its popularity with the passing of time.
The novel is written in epistolary form and it consists of letter exchanges between two former friends of German origin. They jointly own an art Galery in New York and in 1932. One of them decides to return to Germany with his family while the other friend is a Jew. The correspondence that follows, between November 1932 and March 1934, shows the change in the behaviour of a normal person who falls prey to Nazism. The ending was so strong and ironic, pure perfection.
What is fascinating about this novel is its prescient character. It writes about pogroms before they happened. The author had the idea to write this book after discussing with Jewish friends who lost friends to Nazi ideology and who could not explain how someone can turn so much towards evil. It was quite extraordinary that the American public knew almost nothing about what was happening in Germany and this book took them by surprise.
The writing might not be the most literary, but its impact and structure makes up for it. Highly recommended.
June 26, 2020
Reading this article in The Guardian last week, which praises Address unknown as an anti-Nazi-novel that saw into the future, I admit I am frightened that the author is right concluding that the novel’s prescience is not confined to its time and saw into our own future too. In hindsight, it is this chilling perspective which makes the novel even more worth reading at present.
As originally published in 1938, this is a striking document as Kathrine Kressmann Taylor wrote on ordinary, liberal-minded and civilised people sliding into anti-Semitic barbarism even before the wave of violent pogroms which took place on November 9 and 10, 1938, known as Kristallnacht. According to her son’s foreword, the story is purportedly based on Kressmann’s bewilderment at the change of mind and heart of some American-German friends who had returned from Germany and since had disavowed former Jewish friends. As she worried about what she felt as the lack of awareness, care and insight in the US on the nature of Nazism, her journalistic instincts were triggered and her research on the regime resulted in this (fictional) account.
Address unknown consists of the (fictional) correspondence between two Germans who run an art gallery in California and start to write letters when Martin Schulse in 1932 returns to Germany with his family while his Jewish friend and business partner Max Eisenstein stays in San Francisco. From the letters unfolds a powerful and finely written short story documenting the disintegration of their longstanding friendship by the slithering down from liberalism into opportunism, ideological blinding and cowardice, ending up in cruelty and bitter, cold-blooded revenge. The brevity of the format – we get to read 19 short letters stretching from November 1932 to March 1934 – tells not to expect so much as a subtle portrayal of the characters (Martin’s, who next to the other abject opinions he will ventilate once settled in Germany, earlier on displays a vision on women as baby machines, might come across as rather caricatural), but the brutal denouement is nonetheless poignant and gut-punching.
Coincidentally this story turned out a timely tandem read with a recent thought-provoking essay De eerste boze burger by the Dutch writer Arnon Grunberg, a slightly philosophical pamphlet on migration and xenophobia which deals with certain psychological mechanisms at play – one of his central theses that the fear of the ‘newcomer’ in society parallels the anxiety of a jealous lover. He equals one’s love for one’s country with the pursuit of paradise, the pursuit of ‘the one’ not lover but place where one can live, which one can call home and call its own– so it belongs to one exclusively, like some people feel the need to consider their lover exclusively theirs – turning the newcomer into a threat and a rival and so spurring sentiments in the vein of one’s land, like one’s lover, shouldn’t be welcoming another lover, making one feel replaceable (according to Grunberg this fear of being replaced is a deeply embedded fear, referring to the chanting in Charlottesville in 2017 ‘Jews will not replace us’). Reading this essay written by an author having grown up in a family of Jewish immigrants, originally from Germany (his mother was a survivor of Auschwitz) for me made the reflections of Martin Schulse on the rise to power of Hitler and his views on the Jews which tune slowly to the regime’s only more haunting and frighteningly relevant nowadays.
Although I am aware comparisons of current times and mores with the 1930s are not to be made heedlessly (and in the small region where I happen to live seem to have become almost taboo since the rise to power of the Nationalists), this cynic tale could function as a cautionary read for anyone inclined to minimalize or gloss over the weight of words as being merely words when confronted with deliberately provocative tough statements of populist political leaders for instance taunting the ‘Gutmenschen’ offering shelter to homeless refugees in winter or sneering about the victims’ own responsibility when a child of two accompanying her migrant parents has been killed by a police bullet (startling assertions chilling me to the bone).
(Paintings by Sylvie Coupé Thouron)
As originally published in 1938, this is a striking document as Kathrine Kressmann Taylor wrote on ordinary, liberal-minded and civilised people sliding into anti-Semitic barbarism even before the wave of violent pogroms which took place on November 9 and 10, 1938, known as Kristallnacht. According to her son’s foreword, the story is purportedly based on Kressmann’s bewilderment at the change of mind and heart of some American-German friends who had returned from Germany and since had disavowed former Jewish friends. As she worried about what she felt as the lack of awareness, care and insight in the US on the nature of Nazism, her journalistic instincts were triggered and her research on the regime resulted in this (fictional) account.
Address unknown consists of the (fictional) correspondence between two Germans who run an art gallery in California and start to write letters when Martin Schulse in 1932 returns to Germany with his family while his Jewish friend and business partner Max Eisenstein stays in San Francisco. From the letters unfolds a powerful and finely written short story documenting the disintegration of their longstanding friendship by the slithering down from liberalism into opportunism, ideological blinding and cowardice, ending up in cruelty and bitter, cold-blooded revenge. The brevity of the format – we get to read 19 short letters stretching from November 1932 to March 1934 – tells not to expect so much as a subtle portrayal of the characters (Martin’s, who next to the other abject opinions he will ventilate once settled in Germany, earlier on displays a vision on women as baby machines, might come across as rather caricatural), but the brutal denouement is nonetheless poignant and gut-punching.
Coincidentally this story turned out a timely tandem read with a recent thought-provoking essay De eerste boze burger by the Dutch writer Arnon Grunberg, a slightly philosophical pamphlet on migration and xenophobia which deals with certain psychological mechanisms at play – one of his central theses that the fear of the ‘newcomer’ in society parallels the anxiety of a jealous lover. He equals one’s love for one’s country with the pursuit of paradise, the pursuit of ‘the one’ not lover but place where one can live, which one can call home and call its own– so it belongs to one exclusively, like some people feel the need to consider their lover exclusively theirs – turning the newcomer into a threat and a rival and so spurring sentiments in the vein of one’s land, like one’s lover, shouldn’t be welcoming another lover, making one feel replaceable (according to Grunberg this fear of being replaced is a deeply embedded fear, referring to the chanting in Charlottesville in 2017 ‘Jews will not replace us’). Reading this essay written by an author having grown up in a family of Jewish immigrants, originally from Germany (his mother was a survivor of Auschwitz) for me made the reflections of Martin Schulse on the rise to power of Hitler and his views on the Jews which tune slowly to the regime’s only more haunting and frighteningly relevant nowadays.
Although I am aware comparisons of current times and mores with the 1930s are not to be made heedlessly (and in the small region where I happen to live seem to have become almost taboo since the rise to power of the Nationalists), this cynic tale could function as a cautionary read for anyone inclined to minimalize or gloss over the weight of words as being merely words when confronted with deliberately provocative tough statements of populist political leaders for instance taunting the ‘Gutmenschen’ offering shelter to homeless refugees in winter or sneering about the victims’ own responsibility when a child of two accompanying her migrant parents has been killed by a police bullet (startling assertions chilling me to the bone).
(Paintings by Sylvie Coupé Thouron)
![Profile Image for Orsodimondo [part time reader at the moment].](https://cdn.statically.io/img/i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/users/1528452721i/10490224._UY200_CR39,0,200,200_.jpg)
December 10, 2022
UCCIDE PIÙ LA PENNA DELLA SPADA
1922: bambini tedeschi giocano con le banconote durante l'iperinflazione della Repubblica di Weimar. Famose anche le foto di gente che andava a fare la spesa con la carriola piena di denaro svalutato.
È bella la storia di questo libro, di come nasce, ed è importante e bella la storia che racconta.
A trentacinque anni, dirigente di un’agenzia pubblicitaria, Kathrine Taylor adotta il nom de plume di Kressmann Taylor, aggiungendo al suo cognome quello del marito e usandolo come se fosse un nome di battesimo d’impronta maschile.
E questo prezioso piccolo (una sessantina di pagine) libro è sbocciato nel 1938, prima apparso su una rivista e poi l’anno dopo pubblicato con vendite record per l’epoca (subito cinquantamila copie!).
Il presidente Hindenburg si congratula con Hitler dopo la nomina a cancelliere il 30 gennaio 1933.
Sembra un libro illuminato, precursore: vede dove molti non arrivavano, vede cose che molti ignoravano, non capivano, o facevano finta.
Racconta i primi anni del nazismo al potere. Racconta le speranze dei tedeschi che in Hitler videro la possibilità di riscatto e rivincita dopo l’umiliazione della Grande Guerra, dopo i disastrosi anni della Repubblica di Weimar (1919-1933).
E lo fa attraverso uno scambio di lettere.
Due amici, soci in una galleria d’arte con sede a San Francisco (in Geary St). Il tedesco Martin, che torna in patria, a Monaco di Baviera – e l’ebreo americano Max (Maxel), che rimane in California a gestire la galleria.
Si scrivono, si conoscono da molto, sono amici intimi, si chiamano fratelli. Martin è sposato e ha tre figli: ma ha avuto una bella storia extraconiugale con la sorella più giovane di Max, l’amico complice e consenziente.
E sarà proprio a causa di lei, ebrea, attrice, che per passione del teatro accetta un ingaggio a Berlino a fine 1933, che la situazione cambia bruscamente.
Non aggiungo altro sulla trama. Ci sono un paio di colpi di scena che vale la pena leggere in proprio.
Non per niente il cinema se ne appropriò già nel 1944: mentre, dopo il successo iniziale, per i successivi sessant’anni il libro cadeva nel dimenticatoio, fino al repechage di un editore francese nel 1999, il film diretto dal regista William Cameron Menzies (cinque anni prima scenografo di “Via col vento”) arrivava sullo schermo con Paul Lukas nella parte di Martin e Morris Carnovsky in quella di Max Eisenstein.
Paul Lukas interpreta Martin Schulz nel film del 1944. Qui insieme a Carl Esmond nella parte del barone von Friesche.
Lo scambio epistolare (una ventina di lettere, nessuna particolarmente lunga) inizia il 12 novembre 1932 e si chiude il 3 marzo 1934. È, quindi, piuttosto compatto, limitato nel tempo: tanto più colpiscono in un così breve arco temporale gli snodi del plot.
Il librino riesce a descrivere bene, in modo altamente illuminante, in che modo il nazismo ha potuto cambiare il modo di pensare e sentire di molti tedeschi, per quanto colti, intelligenti, sensibili, agiati, fino a trasformarli in “volenterosi carnefici di Hitler”. L’antisemitismo in Germania non fu certo invenzione nazista: ma Hitler riuscì a coinvolgere nell’odio per gli ebrei una massa di persone come mai prima di allora.
Un altro momento del film: qui siamo nella galleria d’arte di Max, interpretato da Morris Carnovsky.
Esistono più versioni sullo spunto originale di questo breve romanzo epistolare. Quella che sembra più vicina al vero dice che l’attenzione di Kathrine Kressmann Taylor fu attratta da un breve articolo di giornale uscito poco tempo prima (questione di settimane, mesi al massimo, ma sempre nel 1938): tornati a casa dalla Germania, alcuni studenti americani avevano scritto ai loro amici tedeschi lettere fraterne dove prendevano in giro Hitler - in risposta avevano ricevuto un accorato invito a cambiare tono e argomenti dato che la posta era sotto stretta sorveglianza, e non c’era nulla da scherzare, il pericolo era concreto (proprio come succede nel romanzo).
Le lettere di Max, l’ebreo americano, passano dall’abbraccio dolce e avvolgente dell’inizio, a un tono ufficiale martellante e implacabile: dalla dolcezza iniziale, passando attraverso preoccupazione accorata fino alla spietata maschera di sicurezza finale.
Le risposte del tedesco Martin seguono un percorso inverso: dall’entusiasmo per i nuovi accadimenti nazionali (i successi di Hitler), al coinvolgimento interessato (ma anche no) al pensiero antisemita, fino alla paura finale.
Entrambi vittime.
Ed entrambi carnefici.
La locandina del film diretto da William Cameron Menzies.
1922: bambini tedeschi giocano con le banconote durante l'iperinflazione della Repubblica di Weimar. Famose anche le foto di gente che andava a fare la spesa con la carriola piena di denaro svalutato.
È bella la storia di questo libro, di come nasce, ed è importante e bella la storia che racconta.
A trentacinque anni, dirigente di un’agenzia pubblicitaria, Kathrine Taylor adotta il nom de plume di Kressmann Taylor, aggiungendo al suo cognome quello del marito e usandolo come se fosse un nome di battesimo d’impronta maschile.
E questo prezioso piccolo (una sessantina di pagine) libro è sbocciato nel 1938, prima apparso su una rivista e poi l’anno dopo pubblicato con vendite record per l’epoca (subito cinquantamila copie!).
Il presidente Hindenburg si congratula con Hitler dopo la nomina a cancelliere il 30 gennaio 1933.
Sembra un libro illuminato, precursore: vede dove molti non arrivavano, vede cose che molti ignoravano, non capivano, o facevano finta.
Racconta i primi anni del nazismo al potere. Racconta le speranze dei tedeschi che in Hitler videro la possibilità di riscatto e rivincita dopo l’umiliazione della Grande Guerra, dopo i disastrosi anni della Repubblica di Weimar (1919-1933).
E lo fa attraverso uno scambio di lettere.
Due amici, soci in una galleria d’arte con sede a San Francisco (in Geary St). Il tedesco Martin, che torna in patria, a Monaco di Baviera – e l’ebreo americano Max (Maxel), che rimane in California a gestire la galleria.
Si scrivono, si conoscono da molto, sono amici intimi, si chiamano fratelli. Martin è sposato e ha tre figli: ma ha avuto una bella storia extraconiugale con la sorella più giovane di Max, l’amico complice e consenziente.
E sarà proprio a causa di lei, ebrea, attrice, che per passione del teatro accetta un ingaggio a Berlino a fine 1933, che la situazione cambia bruscamente.
Non aggiungo altro sulla trama. Ci sono un paio di colpi di scena che vale la pena leggere in proprio.
Non per niente il cinema se ne appropriò già nel 1944: mentre, dopo il successo iniziale, per i successivi sessant’anni il libro cadeva nel dimenticatoio, fino al repechage di un editore francese nel 1999, il film diretto dal regista William Cameron Menzies (cinque anni prima scenografo di “Via col vento”) arrivava sullo schermo con Paul Lukas nella parte di Martin e Morris Carnovsky in quella di Max Eisenstein.
Paul Lukas interpreta Martin Schulz nel film del 1944. Qui insieme a Carl Esmond nella parte del barone von Friesche.
Lo scambio epistolare (una ventina di lettere, nessuna particolarmente lunga) inizia il 12 novembre 1932 e si chiude il 3 marzo 1934. È, quindi, piuttosto compatto, limitato nel tempo: tanto più colpiscono in un così breve arco temporale gli snodi del plot.
Il librino riesce a descrivere bene, in modo altamente illuminante, in che modo il nazismo ha potuto cambiare il modo di pensare e sentire di molti tedeschi, per quanto colti, intelligenti, sensibili, agiati, fino a trasformarli in “volenterosi carnefici di Hitler”. L’antisemitismo in Germania non fu certo invenzione nazista: ma Hitler riuscì a coinvolgere nell’odio per gli ebrei una massa di persone come mai prima di allora.
Un altro momento del film: qui siamo nella galleria d’arte di Max, interpretato da Morris Carnovsky.
Esistono più versioni sullo spunto originale di questo breve romanzo epistolare. Quella che sembra più vicina al vero dice che l’attenzione di Kathrine Kressmann Taylor fu attratta da un breve articolo di giornale uscito poco tempo prima (questione di settimane, mesi al massimo, ma sempre nel 1938): tornati a casa dalla Germania, alcuni studenti americani avevano scritto ai loro amici tedeschi lettere fraterne dove prendevano in giro Hitler - in risposta avevano ricevuto un accorato invito a cambiare tono e argomenti dato che la posta era sotto stretta sorveglianza, e non c’era nulla da scherzare, il pericolo era concreto (proprio come succede nel romanzo).
Le lettere di Max, l’ebreo americano, passano dall’abbraccio dolce e avvolgente dell’inizio, a un tono ufficiale martellante e implacabile: dalla dolcezza iniziale, passando attraverso preoccupazione accorata fino alla spietata maschera di sicurezza finale.
Le risposte del tedesco Martin seguono un percorso inverso: dall’entusiasmo per i nuovi accadimenti nazionali (i successi di Hitler), al coinvolgimento interessato (ma anche no) al pensiero antisemita, fino alla paura finale.
Entrambi vittime.
Ed entrambi carnefici.
La locandina del film diretto da William Cameron Menzies.
February 1, 2019
Words have power. We readers know that as we find ourselves moved to tears, beside ourselves with outrage, or smiling at the foibles of our fellow humans – and ourselves.
Spoken words have power, too. Charismatic leaders and fanatic leaders know this, and know exactly how to put their words across to increase their own power. Generating and maintaining fear is one way to do it; taking credit for improvements that are actually the result of a previous leader’s efforts is common; and so is scapegoating.
Scapegoating is probably the most insidious and destructive use of words ever. Take a problem that you know concerns the largest number of people, find a scapegoat group of people, and in speech after speech, in written words and spoken words, on film or any media available, and the weak and ignorant and fearful masses will follow this leader into the maw of hell.
Does any of this sound familiar? It should. History tells us these are the tactics Adolf Hitler used to justify mass genocide – “intentional action to destroy a people in whole or in part” according to Wikipedia. Destroying people either physically and/or in their souls.
This little book was published in the United States in 1938 and became a classic in the author’s own lifetime. Its popularity was instant and far-reaching for the time, yet it wasn’t until many decades later that it reached continental Europe. Since its initial publication it has surged into popularity again and again because of the truths it bears – and the warnings.
World War II has been over for more than 70 years. When the war ended, everyone everywhere said, “Never again.” Did we mean it or are they just more words?
Spoken words have power, too. Charismatic leaders and fanatic leaders know this, and know exactly how to put their words across to increase their own power. Generating and maintaining fear is one way to do it; taking credit for improvements that are actually the result of a previous leader’s efforts is common; and so is scapegoating.
Scapegoating is probably the most insidious and destructive use of words ever. Take a problem that you know concerns the largest number of people, find a scapegoat group of people, and in speech after speech, in written words and spoken words, on film or any media available, and the weak and ignorant and fearful masses will follow this leader into the maw of hell.
Does any of this sound familiar? It should. History tells us these are the tactics Adolf Hitler used to justify mass genocide – “intentional action to destroy a people in whole or in part” according to Wikipedia. Destroying people either physically and/or in their souls.
This little book was published in the United States in 1938 and became a classic in the author’s own lifetime. Its popularity was instant and far-reaching for the time, yet it wasn’t until many decades later that it reached continental Europe. Since its initial publication it has surged into popularity again and again because of the truths it bears – and the warnings.
World War II has been over for more than 70 years. When the war ended, everyone everywhere said, “Never again.” Did we mean it or are they just more words?
November 6, 2021
Set in the 1930’s, and first published in 1938, ‘Address Unknown’ shares with the reader, a series of letters between friends and former business partners, Martin Schulse and Max Einstein. Max is a Jewish art dealer in San Francisco, whilst Martin has returned to his beloved Germany.
It demonstrates how the rise of Hitler and fascism convinced millions of everyday citizens to vote for the National Socialist German Workers’ (Nazi) Party, and hailed Hitler as a national savior in gigantic stadium rallies. We see how it affects a friendship and business partnership, that was, until that point, completely solid, with the rise of Hitler slowly turning Martin against his old friend, something that Max can neither believe nor understand. The changing mood of the times makes it a very dangerous time in history to be of the Jewish faith, as the world was about to find out.
The power of the written word was never more pertinent than it is here, with the correspondence being used to wound without physically doing so.
A sad, disturbing, but important read!
It demonstrates how the rise of Hitler and fascism convinced millions of everyday citizens to vote for the National Socialist German Workers’ (Nazi) Party, and hailed Hitler as a national savior in gigantic stadium rallies. We see how it affects a friendship and business partnership, that was, until that point, completely solid, with the rise of Hitler slowly turning Martin against his old friend, something that Max can neither believe nor understand. The changing mood of the times makes it a very dangerous time in history to be of the Jewish faith, as the world was about to find out.
The power of the written word was never more pertinent than it is here, with the correspondence being used to wound without physically doing so.
A sad, disturbing, but important read!
February 5, 2022
Address Unknown by Katherine Kressmann Taylor is credited as being an early warning cry in the US about the rising tide of facism and the atrocities committed under Hitler. Published in Story Magazine in 1938 under the name Kressmann Taylor—as the short story was deemed ‘too strong to appear under the name of a woman’—this epistolary tale follows two German art dealers who had moved to the United States after the Great War. Max Einstein, a Jewish man, has stayed in the US while his long-time friend and business partner, Martin Schulse, has returned to Berlin coinciding with Hitler’s rise to power. As the two exchange letters, Max watches in horror as his friend succumbs to Nazi propaganda and ideology, fracturing their friendship irrevocably and leading to extreme ends. While it is a singular moment in history, the story resonates to the present day as a terrifying insight into the pull toward violent subservience to toxic nationalist supremacy that still infringes on basic human decency to this day and this tragic revenge plot short story is just as impactful now as it was in 1938.
In the afterword written by the author’s son it is said that the story was inspired by an actual news story that occurred in the late 30s. America was hearing second-hand reports of the rising tide of fascism and much of it was filtered or dismissed by wealthy men sympathetic to Hitler like Charles Lindbergh and Henry Ford, the latter running his own anti-semetic newspaper, The Dearborn Independent. American student’s studying in Berlin wrote to the US warning them of the dangers of Hitler and Nazism, attempting to provide first-hand accounts that people would listen to despite cries of falsehood. Their fraternity brothers thought it would be funny to write them letters mocking Hitler, to which they received desperate responses urging them to stop.
This brief story, abou 60 pages in print, follows from this notion. It begins with cordial exchanges full of brotherly love. Martin is quickly unsympathetic, as it is revealed he cheated on his wife with Max’s younger sister, but Max still seems to hold him in high regard and understanding. However, Max also harbors more overt misogyny with insistances to get married for the sake of having someone do all your chores and to keep them too busy having babies to ‘to fret about anything.’ Big shocker this prick suddenly begins to counter Max’s concerns about Hitler by praising the new leader.
There is a painful desperation as Max pleads with his former friend to look at the lack of humanity in his new-found ideologies. Both men want good outcomes for Germany, but Martin sees the extermination of the Jews as fully acceptable for this purpose, going so far as to claim he loved Max ‘despite’ being Jewish. It is with extreme sadness and frustration someone suddenly realizes a friend or relative would view your own murder as justified simply for your identity, thinks your existance is worth less than their profits, or holds opinions that open opportunity for violence against people you love. Watching people you thought you knew fall prey to violent ideologies has been a tragic occurrence through human history and wherever you are in the world there is likely such a struggle happening. Recent mutations of this in the United States have happened with families torn apart by members ravaged by QAnon conspiracies, though so far there has not been much bloodshed as elsewhere (public book burnings are now happening though.)This happens the world over and this is happening to Max and his sister.
After a dramatic and horrific sudden event, Max begins to extract revenge of Martin, who has said he can have no further friendly conversation with Max and all communication must be strictly business related. Cleverly, Max makes business letters and sends cables to Martin full of specific art piece dimensions, large stock numbers, oddly specific mentions of dates and weather that are understandably appearing to German mail censors as code. The end is bleakly satisfying but in a way that makes you shudder for the humanity of it all.
Brief but infinitely impactful, Address Unknown is a minor masterpiece. The style is so slick and smooth, with a few visual aids to pull you into the theater of it all. Granted, the two voices aren’t very unique, but the power of the story and the impressions of atrocities it imposes upon you certainly gloss over any minor gripes. This is just as important today as when it was written, and the recent reprinting seems ominous. It is a reminder to take note of the warning signs and to take action before it is too late. Take care of yourselves and each other, friends.
4.5/5
In the afterword written by the author’s son it is said that the story was inspired by an actual news story that occurred in the late 30s. America was hearing second-hand reports of the rising tide of fascism and much of it was filtered or dismissed by wealthy men sympathetic to Hitler like Charles Lindbergh and Henry Ford, the latter running his own anti-semetic newspaper, The Dearborn Independent. American student’s studying in Berlin wrote to the US warning them of the dangers of Hitler and Nazism, attempting to provide first-hand accounts that people would listen to despite cries of falsehood. Their fraternity brothers thought it would be funny to write them letters mocking Hitler, to which they received desperate responses urging them to stop.
’Stop it. We’re in danger. These people don’t fool around. You could murder [someone] by writing letters to him.’
This brief story, abou 60 pages in print, follows from this notion. It begins with cordial exchanges full of brotherly love. Martin is quickly unsympathetic, as it is revealed he cheated on his wife with Max’s younger sister, but Max still seems to hold him in high regard and understanding. However, Max also harbors more overt misogyny with insistances to get married for the sake of having someone do all your chores and to keep them too busy having babies to ‘to fret about anything.’ Big shocker this prick suddenly begins to counter Max’s concerns about Hitler by praising the new leader.
There is a painful desperation as Max pleads with his former friend to look at the lack of humanity in his new-found ideologies. Both men want good outcomes for Germany, but Martin sees the extermination of the Jews as fully acceptable for this purpose, going so far as to claim he loved Max ‘despite’ being Jewish. It is with extreme sadness and frustration someone suddenly realizes a friend or relative would view your own murder as justified simply for your identity, thinks your existance is worth less than their profits, or holds opinions that open opportunity for violence against people you love. Watching people you thought you knew fall prey to violent ideologies has been a tragic occurrence through human history and wherever you are in the world there is likely such a struggle happening. Recent mutations of this in the United States have happened with families torn apart by members ravaged by QAnon conspiracies, though so far there has not been much bloodshed as elsewhere (public book burnings are now happening though.)This happens the world over and this is happening to Max and his sister.
After a dramatic and horrific sudden event, Max begins to extract revenge of Martin, who has said he can have no further friendly conversation with Max and all communication must be strictly business related. Cleverly, Max makes business letters and sends cables to Martin full of specific art piece dimensions, large stock numbers, oddly specific mentions of dates and weather that are understandably appearing to German mail censors as code. The end is bleakly satisfying but in a way that makes you shudder for the humanity of it all.
Brief but infinitely impactful, Address Unknown is a minor masterpiece. The style is so slick and smooth, with a few visual aids to pull you into the theater of it all. Granted, the two voices aren’t very unique, but the power of the story and the impressions of atrocities it imposes upon you certainly gloss over any minor gripes. This is just as important today as when it was written, and the recent reprinting seems ominous. It is a reminder to take note of the warning signs and to take action before it is too late. Take care of yourselves and each other, friends.
4.5/5
October 8, 2022
Address Unknown by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor is an epistolary novella that features a series of fictional letters between Max Eisenstein, a German-American art dealer of Jewish faith living in San Francisco and his friend and business partner, Martin Schulse who has recently returned to Germany with his family. Together they owned and operated Schulse-Eisenstein Galleries in San Francisco.
The series of eighteen letters (and one cablegram) stretches from 1932 when Martin moves back to Munich and ends in 1934 and follows a timeline in pre-WW2 Europe charting Hitler’s gradual ascent to power and the strengthening of anti-Semitic sentiments resulting in persecution Jews. Parallel to the changes in the political landscape and ideology in Nazi Germany we see the disintegration of what we can assume was a long-standing friendship. We see, on the one hand, the changes in Martin’s attitude and commitment towards his friendship with Max and his growing devotion to Hitler and Nazism on the other. Max, initially, is hopeful that their friendship would remain unaffected and attempts to remind Martin of the liberal beliefs they shared before Martin’s departure.
“But there is another realm where we can always find something true, the fireside of a friend, where we shed our little conceits and find warmth and understanding, where small selfishnesses are impossible and where wine and books and talk give a different meaning to existence. There we have made something that no falseness can touch. We are at home.”
We witness how Martin emerges from his initial hesitation over Hitler’s agenda(“Yet cautiously to myself I ask, a leader to where? Despair overthrown often turns us in mad directions.”) to a fully indoctrinated and committed Nazi (his reference to Hitler as the “Glorious Leader”).
“I have never hated the individual Jew–yourself I have always cherished as a friend, but you will know that I speak in all honesty when I say I have loved you, not because of your race but in spite of it.”
Martin denounces liberalism as “musty sentimentalizing” and stands firm in his decision to distance himself from Max lest he loses favor with the Nazi party or is viewed as a traitor. (“Do you know what it is to be taken to a concentration camp?”, he writes to Max). His words portray him as a man who is slowly being brainwashed into believing that the oppression and persecution of the Jewish population would result in establishing a “superior” race and securing a great future for Germany. The darkness within him and his loss of humanity is evident in his refusal to help Griselle, Max’s sister with whom he once shared a romantic relationship, when she approaches him for help - an act that ultimately forces Max’s hand.
Written in 1938, this novella was inspired by the changes the author noted in her own German friends who were influenced by Nazism upon returning to Germany. Even though the timeline of this novella pre-dates WW2, it remains just as powerful and relevant to this very day. At approximately sixty-six pages, this is a short but impactful read that will leave a lasting impression. This is an important book, the kind of book that is meant to be read, shared, and never forgotten. In the introduction to this book , Margot Livesey aptly sums up the timelessness of the central theme of this thought-provoking novella.
“How do we know what we know, and when do we know it? Why does a good person become a bad person? What power does a citizen have against the state?”
The series of eighteen letters (and one cablegram) stretches from 1932 when Martin moves back to Munich and ends in 1934 and follows a timeline in pre-WW2 Europe charting Hitler’s gradual ascent to power and the strengthening of anti-Semitic sentiments resulting in persecution Jews. Parallel to the changes in the political landscape and ideology in Nazi Germany we see the disintegration of what we can assume was a long-standing friendship. We see, on the one hand, the changes in Martin’s attitude and commitment towards his friendship with Max and his growing devotion to Hitler and Nazism on the other. Max, initially, is hopeful that their friendship would remain unaffected and attempts to remind Martin of the liberal beliefs they shared before Martin’s departure.
“But there is another realm where we can always find something true, the fireside of a friend, where we shed our little conceits and find warmth and understanding, where small selfishnesses are impossible and where wine and books and talk give a different meaning to existence. There we have made something that no falseness can touch. We are at home.”
We witness how Martin emerges from his initial hesitation over Hitler’s agenda(“Yet cautiously to myself I ask, a leader to where? Despair overthrown often turns us in mad directions.”) to a fully indoctrinated and committed Nazi (his reference to Hitler as the “Glorious Leader”).
“I have never hated the individual Jew–yourself I have always cherished as a friend, but you will know that I speak in all honesty when I say I have loved you, not because of your race but in spite of it.”
Martin denounces liberalism as “musty sentimentalizing” and stands firm in his decision to distance himself from Max lest he loses favor with the Nazi party or is viewed as a traitor. (“Do you know what it is to be taken to a concentration camp?”, he writes to Max). His words portray him as a man who is slowly being brainwashed into believing that the oppression and persecution of the Jewish population would result in establishing a “superior” race and securing a great future for Germany. The darkness within him and his loss of humanity is evident in his refusal to help Griselle, Max’s sister with whom he once shared a romantic relationship, when she approaches him for help - an act that ultimately forces Max’s hand.
Written in 1938, this novella was inspired by the changes the author noted in her own German friends who were influenced by Nazism upon returning to Germany. Even though the timeline of this novella pre-dates WW2, it remains just as powerful and relevant to this very day. At approximately sixty-six pages, this is a short but impactful read that will leave a lasting impression. This is an important book, the kind of book that is meant to be read, shared, and never forgotten. In the introduction to this book , Margot Livesey aptly sums up the timelessness of the central theme of this thought-provoking novella.
“How do we know what we know, and when do we know it? Why does a good person become a bad person? What power does a citizen have against the state?”
February 5, 2023
¡Menuda joya tenía yo olvidada en la estantería! Una lectura maravillosa. Ochenta páginas con formato epistolar, que pasan a estar entre mis mejores lecturas del año. No soy muy amiga de los relatos cortos, pero este es de una calidad indiscutible. Redondo y perfecto.
El libro fue publicado en 1938 en la revista Story, causando un enorme interés. En su nota final, Kathrine Kressmann nos cuenta como se gestó.
Poco antes de la guerra, unos amigos suyos alemanes, cultos y de buen corazón, que habían vivido en EEUU, regresaron a Alemania. En poco tiempo se convirtieron en nazis acérrimos. Se negaban a admitir críticas al régimen de Hitler. Todo lo que hacía, incluida su política racial, era necesario. Cuando volvieron a California de visita, se negaron incluso a saludar a judíos, que habían sido amigos suyos. Esa actitud, ese cambio tan radical, la llevó a investigar sobre Hitler y sus adláteres. Lo que descubrió la dejó horrorizada. En aquel momento la postura de EEUU ante los conflictos en Europa, era aislacionista. Nadie sabía ni se interesaba por lo que estaba ocurriendo allí. Solo contaban con los testimonios de los que huían (siempre en tela de juicio), o de los estudiantes estadounidenses que volvían a casa desde universidades alemanas.
En 1939, se publicó en Inglaterra. Se proyectó una traducción al holandés, pero los avances de Hitler al comienzo de la guerra impidieron que se llevará a efecto. Huelga decir que los nazis prohibieron el libro en los territorios ocupados por ellos.
La trama se desarrolla de forma epistolar desde 1932 hasta 1934. Dos socios y amigos, uno, Martin, es alemán y reside temporalmente en EEUU. El otro, Max, judío-alemán, aunque afincado desde la infancia en dicho país. Juntos abren una galería de arte en California. El negocio va bien y en 1932, Martin decide que es el momento de regresar a Alemania con su familia. La forma en que este regreso le cambia y las consecuencias que conlleva para ambos, es el trasfondo del libro.
El final, tremendo. Que la autora haya sido capaz de trasmitir toda esa dureza y con esa profundidad en un relato de 80 páginas es para aplaudir y no parar. Magistral. Ni le falta ni le sobra. Una maravilla.
No cuento más. Es difícil extenderse sin hacer spoilers y a este libro hay que llegar sabiendo lo justo. Solo recomendar encarecidamente su lectura. Es un imperdible. Quienes lo hayan leído me darán la razón y los que no, de verdad, ya estáis tardando.
El libro fue publicado en 1938 en la revista Story, causando un enorme interés. En su nota final, Kathrine Kressmann nos cuenta como se gestó.
Poco antes de la guerra, unos amigos suyos alemanes, cultos y de buen corazón, que habían vivido en EEUU, regresaron a Alemania. En poco tiempo se convirtieron en nazis acérrimos. Se negaban a admitir críticas al régimen de Hitler. Todo lo que hacía, incluida su política racial, era necesario. Cuando volvieron a California de visita, se negaron incluso a saludar a judíos, que habían sido amigos suyos. Esa actitud, ese cambio tan radical, la llevó a investigar sobre Hitler y sus adláteres. Lo que descubrió la dejó horrorizada. En aquel momento la postura de EEUU ante los conflictos en Europa, era aislacionista. Nadie sabía ni se interesaba por lo que estaba ocurriendo allí. Solo contaban con los testimonios de los que huían (siempre en tela de juicio), o de los estudiantes estadounidenses que volvían a casa desde universidades alemanas.
En 1939, se publicó en Inglaterra. Se proyectó una traducción al holandés, pero los avances de Hitler al comienzo de la guerra impidieron que se llevará a efecto. Huelga decir que los nazis prohibieron el libro en los territorios ocupados por ellos.
La trama se desarrolla de forma epistolar desde 1932 hasta 1934. Dos socios y amigos, uno, Martin, es alemán y reside temporalmente en EEUU. El otro, Max, judío-alemán, aunque afincado desde la infancia en dicho país. Juntos abren una galería de arte en California. El negocio va bien y en 1932, Martin decide que es el momento de regresar a Alemania con su familia. La forma en que este regreso le cambia y las consecuencias que conlleva para ambos, es el trasfondo del libro.
El final, tremendo. Que la autora haya sido capaz de trasmitir toda esa dureza y con esa profundidad en un relato de 80 páginas es para aplaudir y no parar. Magistral. Ni le falta ni le sobra. Una maravilla.
No cuento más. Es difícil extenderse sin hacer spoilers y a este libro hay que llegar sabiendo lo justo. Solo recomendar encarecidamente su lectura. Es un imperdible. Quienes lo hayan leído me darán la razón y los que no, de verdad, ya estáis tardando.
July 15, 2020
"A short time before the war, some cultivated, intellectual, warmhearted German friends of mine returned to Germany after living in the United States. In a very short time they turned into sworn Nazis. They refused to listen to the slightest criticism about Hitler. During a return visit to California, they met an old, dear friend of theirs on the street who had been very close to them and who was a Jew. They did not speak to him. They turned their backs on him when he held his hands out to embrace them. How can such a thing happen? I wondered. What changed their hearts so? What steps brought them to such cruelty?
These questions haunted me very much and I could not forget them. It was hard to believe that these people whom I knew and respected had fallen victim to the Nazi poison. I began researching Hitler and reading his speeches and the writings of his advisors. What I discovered was terrifying. What worried me most was that no one in America was aware of what was happening in Germany and they also did not care. In 1938, the isolationist movement in America was strong; the politicians said that affairs in Europe were none of our business and that Germany was fine. Even Charles Lindbergh came back from Germany saying how wonderful the people were. But some students who had returned from studying in Germany told the truth about the Nazi atrocities. When their fraternity brothers thought it would be fun to send them letters making fun of Hitler, they wrote back and said, “Stop it. We’re in danger. These people don’t fool around. You could murder one of these Nazis by writing letters to him.”"
That is how Kathrine Kressmann Taylor explained the inspiration behind Address Unknown, now regarded as one of the seminal works of anti-Nazi literature. Originally published in 1938, the short story is written in the form of an exchange of letters at the height of the rise of Nazism in Germany, between two business partners and friends. Martin is a gentile who has recently returned to Germany and becomes indoctrinated into Nazi ideology. Max is a Jew who stayed back in America to continue the business.
"Does the surgeon spare the cancer because he must cut to remove it? We are cruel. Of course we are cruel."
The story explores themes of bigotry and fascism and how the tables could be so easily turned on people who live by fear-mongering by vilifying others. The story uses the most amazing concept: using a letter as a weapon of vengeance. I believe this book is surprisingly relevant in this era of liberalism when fascist ideals are again on the rise and being easily circulated and accepted by the masses. It is unfortunate that over 80 years after its publication, the underlying premise still holds true and relevant.
January 21, 2023
-5.0
-54 pages
- no spoiler's
Max is forty years old living in California.
Martin, also forty has recently moved back to Germany. Now corresponding through letters, we see a slow breakdown of two extremely close friends and business partners leading into the total destruction of their relationship. The first letter we see that Max writes to Martin is dated 1932.
Fast forward; the response letter that Max had written back to Martin is stamped : Returned to Sender "Address Unknown."
* The bio of this author is impressive.
-54 pages
- no spoiler's
Max is forty years old living in California.
Martin, also forty has recently moved back to Germany. Now corresponding through letters, we see a slow breakdown of two extremely close friends and business partners leading into the total destruction of their relationship. The first letter we see that Max writes to Martin is dated 1932.
Fast forward; the response letter that Max had written back to Martin is stamped : Returned to Sender "Address Unknown."
* The bio of this author is impressive.
May 17, 2021
Why do more people not talk about this book? Originally published in 1938, this story is series of fictional letters between a Jewish art dealer living in San Francisco and his former business partner, who has returned to Germany. Through these letters we see the Nazi's grow stronger, we see the way people were indoctrinated, and we see how insidious their power was.
Apparently the book was written after the author was shocked at the changes she would see in how her American-German friends after they returned to Germany. How normal people caught up in the hatred and madness. I rarely use phrases like "this is a powerful work" because it seems like the go-to cliché phrase for saying it made you think or feel something, but in this case, it seems not only accurate, but the only way I can currently express my reaction. This is a powerful and at times quite shocking work.
Again, I do not know why I had never heard of this before. It was apparently very well received upon publication, and it is an important work. Why this one is not regularly taught in Highschool English, I do not know. There is nothing more I can say and no more praise I can offer. A rare 5/5 stars.
My thanks to Netgalley and Ecco for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Apparently the book was written after the author was shocked at the changes she would see in how her American-German friends after they returned to Germany. How normal people caught up in the hatred and madness. I rarely use phrases like "this is a powerful work" because it seems like the go-to cliché phrase for saying it made you think or feel something, but in this case, it seems not only accurate, but the only way I can currently express my reaction. This is a powerful and at times quite shocking work.
Again, I do not know why I had never heard of this before. It was apparently very well received upon publication, and it is an important work. Why this one is not regularly taught in Highschool English, I do not know. There is nothing more I can say and no more praise I can offer. A rare 5/5 stars.
My thanks to Netgalley and Ecco for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
March 13, 2023
Address Unknown by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor is a Short Epistolary Style Fiction Read!
A friendship destroyed by the tides of history...
Business partners Max Eisenstein and Martin Schulse are owner-operators of the Schulse-Eisenstein Galleries in San Francisco. They're also friends and their families are closely connected.
Martin, a Gentile, has decide to return to his beloved Germany with his family. Max, a Jew, remains in America to keep the business running.
Through their correspondence from 1932 - 1934, a span of 16 months, readers witness the deterioration of a friendship and business relationship, as antisemitism, Nazism, and Hitler quickly takes hold of Germany and its people.
Address Unknown is a rediscovered Classic and it's as shocking as it is unbelievable. It demonstrates the power of words, the dangers of extremism, and consequences of intolerance that divides and polarizes. The epistolary writing style of this novel gives it a feel of authenticity.
I listened to the Audible audiobook narrated by Rob Shapiro and George Newbern. The narration was nothing fancy or elaborate, and appropriately so. It's just two men reading letters addressed to each other while their relationship grows further and further apart. The narration aptly matches the tone of the story.
Address Unknown is Kathrine Kressmann Taylor's debut novel and was first published in "Story" magazine in September 1938 under the name "Kressman Taylor" assuming it to be too strong a story to have a woman's name attached. She continued to use this pseudonym for the remainder of her working life. The book was published in 1939 by 'Simon and Schuster' and banned in Germany when published internationally. It remained unknown to most of Europe for 60 years.
I challenge my GR friends to read (96 pages) or listen (1 hour 8 minutes) to this amazing and very short read/listen and not feel as emotionally spent as I did afterwards. I highly recommend!
5 Remarkable Stars!⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A friendship destroyed by the tides of history...
Business partners Max Eisenstein and Martin Schulse are owner-operators of the Schulse-Eisenstein Galleries in San Francisco. They're also friends and their families are closely connected.
Martin, a Gentile, has decide to return to his beloved Germany with his family. Max, a Jew, remains in America to keep the business running.
Through their correspondence from 1932 - 1934, a span of 16 months, readers witness the deterioration of a friendship and business relationship, as antisemitism, Nazism, and Hitler quickly takes hold of Germany and its people.
Address Unknown is a rediscovered Classic and it's as shocking as it is unbelievable. It demonstrates the power of words, the dangers of extremism, and consequences of intolerance that divides and polarizes. The epistolary writing style of this novel gives it a feel of authenticity.
I listened to the Audible audiobook narrated by Rob Shapiro and George Newbern. The narration was nothing fancy or elaborate, and appropriately so. It's just two men reading letters addressed to each other while their relationship grows further and further apart. The narration aptly matches the tone of the story.
Address Unknown is Kathrine Kressmann Taylor's debut novel and was first published in "Story" magazine in September 1938 under the name "Kressman Taylor" assuming it to be too strong a story to have a woman's name attached. She continued to use this pseudonym for the remainder of her working life. The book was published in 1939 by 'Simon and Schuster' and banned in Germany when published internationally. It remained unknown to most of Europe for 60 years.
I challenge my GR friends to read (96 pages) or listen (1 hour 8 minutes) to this amazing and very short read/listen and not feel as emotionally spent as I did afterwards. I highly recommend!
5 Remarkable Stars!⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
October 29, 2021
I tend to avoid historical fiction concerning WWII but this classic was published in 1938, the year before it even started. It’s strikingly and hauntingly accurate about what was to come from Germany in the following years. It’s a must-read! This is short, only 96 pages, and written in epistolary format consisting of letters written between two friends and business associates, one who is newly returned to Germany and the other is a Jew.
March 24, 2021
"Address Unknown" written in 1938, has remained timely for over 80 years. Written in epistolary form, consisting of nineteen letters and one cablegram written between the fall of 1932 and the spring of 1934 , the points of view of two friends, co-owners of an art gallery in San Francisco were revealed. Martin Schluse had decided to move back to Germany with his wife and three young sons. "You are right to go...you have never become American despite your success here...Take your sturdy German boys back to the homeland to be educated", so states Max.
Martin described his thirty room house in Munich, a house purchased on the cheap. "How poor is now this sad land of mine...but...we employ now ten servants for the same wages of our two in the San Francisco home...Our American income places us among the wealthy here." Writing from the Schluse-Eisenstein Gallery, Max described taking delight in "meaningless little triumphs...gloating because I have tricked a giddy old woman into buying a monstrosity...You with your country house and your affluence...We are vain and we are dishonest persons...".
It had been fourteen years since World War I, "the old despair has been thrown aside like a forgotten cart." Martin writes, "I think in many ways Hitler is good for Germany...strong as only a great orator and a zealot can be...a big movement...a feeling that we of Germany have found our destiny...Even now there are wrongs being done...these things pass; if the end in view is right...Is the end right?"
Max is distressed at reports from the Fatherland...a terrible pogrom...it is almost unbelievable that the old martyrdom must be endured in a civilized nation. Martin's view is that "a few must suffer for millions to be saved...In defeat for fourteen years...we rise in our might...the rebirth of the new Germany under our Gentle Leader!"
A long-standing friendship has unraveled. Once Martin moved to Germany, his liberal views morphed into action, his intention to put his "back and shoulders" behind the great new movement. He was a German patriot, now a member of the National Socialist Party. It was impossible to correspond with a Jew. Max's sister, an actress living in Europe, had been offered an acting job in Berlin. Although using a stage name, "her features, gestures and emotional voice proclaimed her [ethnicity]." Where is she now?
"Address Unknown" by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor is an anti-Nazi work of fiction. The reader is privy to the conversation between two former friends. As Martin's ideological views emerged, he disavowed his friendship and correspondence with Max. The power of words...a cablegram sent to Martin...to a man [Max] had loved as a brother... This cautionary novel should become an essential student read.
Thank you Ecco and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Martin described his thirty room house in Munich, a house purchased on the cheap. "How poor is now this sad land of mine...but...we employ now ten servants for the same wages of our two in the San Francisco home...Our American income places us among the wealthy here." Writing from the Schluse-Eisenstein Gallery, Max described taking delight in "meaningless little triumphs...gloating because I have tricked a giddy old woman into buying a monstrosity...You with your country house and your affluence...We are vain and we are dishonest persons...".
It had been fourteen years since World War I, "the old despair has been thrown aside like a forgotten cart." Martin writes, "I think in many ways Hitler is good for Germany...strong as only a great orator and a zealot can be...a big movement...a feeling that we of Germany have found our destiny...Even now there are wrongs being done...these things pass; if the end in view is right...Is the end right?"
Max is distressed at reports from the Fatherland...a terrible pogrom...it is almost unbelievable that the old martyrdom must be endured in a civilized nation. Martin's view is that "a few must suffer for millions to be saved...In defeat for fourteen years...we rise in our might...the rebirth of the new Germany under our Gentle Leader!"
A long-standing friendship has unraveled. Once Martin moved to Germany, his liberal views morphed into action, his intention to put his "back and shoulders" behind the great new movement. He was a German patriot, now a member of the National Socialist Party. It was impossible to correspond with a Jew. Max's sister, an actress living in Europe, had been offered an acting job in Berlin. Although using a stage name, "her features, gestures and emotional voice proclaimed her [ethnicity]." Where is she now?
"Address Unknown" by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor is an anti-Nazi work of fiction. The reader is privy to the conversation between two former friends. As Martin's ideological views emerged, he disavowed his friendship and correspondence with Max. The power of words...a cablegram sent to Martin...to a man [Max] had loved as a brother... This cautionary novel should become an essential student read.
Thank you Ecco and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
May 24, 2023
4,5 / 5
✉✉✉✉✉
Esta es una de esas obras desconocidas para mí que, tal vez, no me hubiera tropezado de no ser por mis amigos de GR, que me la recomendaron efusivamente, así como por la booktuber Dina, que tiene canal en YouTube, y la recomienda con frecuencia. Debo admitir que me alegro mucho de haber atendido las recomendaciones y haberme encontrado esta pequeña joya, pequeña por extensión pero grande en cuanto a contenido.
"Todos estamos atados a la misma noria. somos vanos y deshonestos porque es necesario pasar por encima de quienes también son vanos y deshonestos".
Publicada en la revista Story en 1938 por Kressmann Taylor, seudónimo de la norteamericana Katherine Kressmann, y editada en forma del libro al año siguiente, fue todo un éxito, vendiendo más de 50000 copias, todo un hito en aquella época. Fue prohibida en la Alemania nazi. Posteriormente, cayó en el olvido, hasta su reedición en 1995.
"Llegas a una Alemania democrática, a una tierra profundamente culta, donde la preciosa libertad política está en sus comienzos".
La novela se basa en el intercambio epistolar entre el alemán Martin Schulse y el judío norteamericano Max Eisenstein, socios que han abierto una galería de arte en California. Martin decide volver con su familia a Munich en 1932, que es cuando se inicia el intercambio de cartas que tiene lugar hasta 1934, periodo de grandes cambios en Alemania que llevan a Adolf Hitler al poder. De hecho, la cita anterior forma parte de la primera carta que Max dirige a Martin en septiembre de 1932.
"No puedes imaginarte hasta qué extremos llega la pobreza en esta triste tierra m��a".
Y es que a través de las cartas vamos asistiendo de manera dramática a los intensos cambios sociales que están ocurriendo en Alemania. Precisamente, el intercambio epistolar dota a la trama de mayor dramatismo ante la falta de información más prolija.
"El hombre es una suerte de elestroshock, como sólo puede serlo un gran orador y un fanático".
Porque es en este ambiente de pobreza y postración motivada por las duras imposiciones contenidas en el Tratado de Versalles, que puso fin a la Primera Guerra Mundial, donde se genera el caldo de cultivo que permitirá a Hitler ascender al poder en 1933, insuflando nuevas ilusiones al derrotado pueblo alemán.
"Quiera Dios que a quien siguen con tanto regocijo sea un verdadero líder y no el ángel de la muerte".
Y es que a través de las cartas empieza a dejarse ver el profundo cambio que el ascenso de Hitler está provocando en la sociedad alemana, con censura y prohibiciones sociales de toda índole, mucho menos visibles que el antisemitismo y el militarismo que comienzan a imperar.
"Y no volveré a tener ningún trato con judíos, excepto para recibir el dinero. No me ha hecho ningún favor que una judía haya venido a buscar refugio en mi casa. Ninguna futura relación con judíos será tolerada".
Este párrafo forma parte de la carta enviada por Martin a Max, en diciembre de 1933, es decir, poco más de un año desde que se inició la correspondencia epistolar. Sé que es un poco oscura, pero me aceptaréis que no sea más explícito para no desvelar nada y motivaros a que la leáis, porque evidentemente tal judía no es precisamente una persona indeterminada.
En mi opinión, tal vez hubiera sido necesario un poco más de desarrollo que aclarara si las razones que mueven a Martin son el miedo a ser descubierta su relación con un judío o su conversión radical a las tesis antisemitas del Reich. Aquí es donde la valoración pierde ese medio punto, aunque en la nota final de la edición que yo he leído, el hijo de la autora aclare un poco este punto, al explicar la motivación de su madre para escribir la novela.
La propia autora escribió el guion de su adaptación cinematográfica en 1944, con una película titulada "Domicilio desconocido", protagonizada por Paul Lukas y Carl Esmond, bastante fiel a la novela, aunque muy inferior en mi opinión, poniendo más énfasis en los sentimientos de los protagonistas que en el contenido de las cartas.
Por todo ello, mi valoración no puede ser otra que 5 estrellas, advirtiendo que, por su originalidad, no estamos ante otra novela sobre el III Reich, sino que pone el énfasis en los cambios que este provocó sobre las personas. Esto junto a la brevedad del relato, me hacen recomendarla sin ninguna duda.
✉✉✉✉✉
Esta es una de esas obras desconocidas para mí que, tal vez, no me hubiera tropezado de no ser por mis amigos de GR, que me la recomendaron efusivamente, así como por la booktuber Dina, que tiene canal en YouTube, y la recomienda con frecuencia. Debo admitir que me alegro mucho de haber atendido las recomendaciones y haberme encontrado esta pequeña joya, pequeña por extensión pero grande en cuanto a contenido.
"Todos estamos atados a la misma noria. somos vanos y deshonestos porque es necesario pasar por encima de quienes también son vanos y deshonestos".
Publicada en la revista Story en 1938 por Kressmann Taylor, seudónimo de la norteamericana Katherine Kressmann, y editada en forma del libro al año siguiente, fue todo un éxito, vendiendo más de 50000 copias, todo un hito en aquella época. Fue prohibida en la Alemania nazi. Posteriormente, cayó en el olvido, hasta su reedición en 1995.
"Llegas a una Alemania democrática, a una tierra profundamente culta, donde la preciosa libertad política está en sus comienzos".
La novela se basa en el intercambio epistolar entre el alemán Martin Schulse y el judío norteamericano Max Eisenstein, socios que han abierto una galería de arte en California. Martin decide volver con su familia a Munich en 1932, que es cuando se inicia el intercambio de cartas que tiene lugar hasta 1934, periodo de grandes cambios en Alemania que llevan a Adolf Hitler al poder. De hecho, la cita anterior forma parte de la primera carta que Max dirige a Martin en septiembre de 1932.
"No puedes imaginarte hasta qué extremos llega la pobreza en esta triste tierra m��a".
Y es que a través de las cartas vamos asistiendo de manera dramática a los intensos cambios sociales que están ocurriendo en Alemania. Precisamente, el intercambio epistolar dota a la trama de mayor dramatismo ante la falta de información más prolija.
"El hombre es una suerte de elestroshock, como sólo puede serlo un gran orador y un fanático".
Porque es en este ambiente de pobreza y postración motivada por las duras imposiciones contenidas en el Tratado de Versalles, que puso fin a la Primera Guerra Mundial, donde se genera el caldo de cultivo que permitirá a Hitler ascender al poder en 1933, insuflando nuevas ilusiones al derrotado pueblo alemán.
"Quiera Dios que a quien siguen con tanto regocijo sea un verdadero líder y no el ángel de la muerte".
Y es que a través de las cartas empieza a dejarse ver el profundo cambio que el ascenso de Hitler está provocando en la sociedad alemana, con censura y prohibiciones sociales de toda índole, mucho menos visibles que el antisemitismo y el militarismo que comienzan a imperar.
"Y no volveré a tener ningún trato con judíos, excepto para recibir el dinero. No me ha hecho ningún favor que una judía haya venido a buscar refugio en mi casa. Ninguna futura relación con judíos será tolerada".
Este párrafo forma parte de la carta enviada por Martin a Max, en diciembre de 1933, es decir, poco más de un año desde que se inició la correspondencia epistolar. Sé que es un poco oscura, pero me aceptaréis que no sea más explícito para no desvelar nada y motivaros a que la leáis, porque evidentemente tal judía no es precisamente una persona indeterminada.
En mi opinión, tal vez hubiera sido necesario un poco más de desarrollo que aclarara si las razones que mueven a Martin son el miedo a ser descubierta su relación con un judío o su conversión radical a las tesis antisemitas del Reich. Aquí es donde la valoración pierde ese medio punto, aunque en la nota final de la edición que yo he leído, el hijo de la autora aclare un poco este punto, al explicar la motivación de su madre para escribir la novela.
La propia autora escribió el guion de su adaptación cinematográfica en 1944, con una película titulada "Domicilio desconocido", protagonizada por Paul Lukas y Carl Esmond, bastante fiel a la novela, aunque muy inferior en mi opinión, poniendo más énfasis en los sentimientos de los protagonistas que en el contenido de las cartas.
Por todo ello, mi valoración no puede ser otra que 5 estrellas, advirtiendo que, por su originalidad, no estamos ante otra novela sobre el III Reich, sino que pone el énfasis en los cambios que este provocó sobre las personas. Esto junto a la brevedad del relato, me hacen recomendarla sin ninguna duda.
January 18, 2023
A very short novella.
The Nazi regime and how it brought a friendship/ business partnership to an end when one of the two German American friends moves his familv hack to Germany. The one who stayed in America was of German/Jewish heritage.
Totally written in a correspondence of letters.
Powerful with a brilliant ending!
This was written right when things were beginning to escalate under Hitler
The Nazi regime and how it brought a friendship/ business partnership to an end when one of the two German American friends moves his familv hack to Germany. The one who stayed in America was of German/Jewish heritage.
Totally written in a correspondence of letters.
Powerful with a brilliant ending!
This was written right when things were beginning to escalate under Hitler
August 9, 2019
Brutal. Simplemente brutal. Defenderé siempre que hay que tener mucho talento para contar tanto y con tanta profundidad en relatos tan cortos. Paradero desconocido es un relatito epistolar que no llega ni a 70 páginas que no va a dejar indiferente a nadie. Y no voy a deciros nada de la trama porque hay que cogerlo sin saber absolutamente nada de él. Así lo cogí yo y me ha encantado.
Dato interesante es que "Paradero desconocido" fue un libro prohibido en Europa durante mucho tiempo y que la autora como tantas mujeres escritoras, tuvo que ponerse un nombre aparentemente masculino por considerarse lo que escribía más propio de un escritor.
Dato interesante es que "Paradero desconocido" fue un libro prohibido en Europa durante mucho tiempo y que la autora como tantas mujeres escritoras, tuvo que ponerse un nombre aparentemente masculino por considerarse lo que escribía más propio de un escritor.
June 5, 2022
Follow the banality of evil through this exchange of letters...read between the lines and find one of the best horror stories ever; the most horrific aspect being that it probably happened to some people in a slightly different way. A stark reminder of how dictatorships utilize conformity as a means to an end.
July 30, 2022
مرگ تدریجی یک رویا؟ رویای آلمان قدرتمند یا رویای دوستی؟ یا هر دو؟
کتاب در کمترین صفحات ممکن بیشترین تاثیر رو داره. حرفش رو میزنه یه طوری هم میزنه که اما و اگ��ی توش نباشه. چند نامه از دو دوست صمیمی آلمانی که در آمریکا با هم شراکت داشتن و در آغاز ماجرای به قدرت رسیدن هیتلر یکی از اونها به آلمان بر میگرده و دیگری که از قضا یهودی هم هست در آمریکا میمونه. نامه ها ابتدا با مهر و دوستی و عشق شروع میشه ولی کم کم تحت تاثیر تغییرات دوست به آلمان بر گشته بین این دو دوست شکراب میشه و نامه ها رنگ و بوی دیگری میگیره و اتفاقات جالبی هم میفته. پایان کتاب عالی بود.ه
کتاب در کمترین صفحات ممکن بیشترین تاثیر رو داره. حرفش رو میزنه یه طوری هم میزنه که اما و اگ��ی توش نباشه. چند نامه از دو دوست صمیمی آلمانی که در آمریکا با هم شراکت داشتن و در آغاز ماجرای به قدرت رسیدن هیتلر یکی از اونها به آلمان بر میگرده و دیگری که از قضا یهودی هم هست در آمریکا میمونه. نامه ها ابتدا با مهر و دوستی و عشق شروع میشه ولی کم کم تحت تاثیر تغییرات دوست به آلمان بر گشته بین این دو دوست شکراب میشه و نامه ها رنگ و بوی دیگری میگیره و اتفاقات جالبی هم میفته. پایان کتاب عالی بود.ه
December 6, 2020
Cuanta mala leche concentrada en tan pocas páginas. Cuanto presagio en una novela de 1938. Porque eso es lo que más me ha alucinado: que en 1938 ya había gente que sabía lo que estaba pasando, que lo denunció. Y nadie les hizo caso. Si esto ya lo suponía una estadounidense antes de la guerra, imagínate lo vacías que suenan las excusas de los alemanes que decían que no sabían nada.
Es una novela epistolar muy corta, muy concisa, que expresa de maravilla la idea, y es tan cruel en su ejecución que hasta sonreí y todo al final.
Una obra maestra.
Es una novela epistolar muy corta, muy concisa, que expresa de maravilla la idea, y es tan cruel en su ejecución que hasta sonreí y todo al final.
Una obra maestra.
April 24, 2019
گاهی یک کتاب شصت صفحه ای اثری رو در خاطر حک می کنه که شاید یک کتاب ششصد صفحه ای قادر به چنان آفرینشی نباشد
داشتم به این فکر می کردم که در مورد این کتاب و حسی که نسبت بهش پیدا کردم چه چیزی بنویسم
در یک واژه؟ بسیار خوب: لِه کننده، آن هم در زیر آوار ِ تنها پنجاه و اندی صفحه
آیا این هنر نیست که در چنین حجم اندک و در قالب چند نامه کوتاه و با ادبیات و زبانی بسیار ساده بین دو دوست، چنین هجوم هولناکی از یک عریانگی را بتوان نمایان کرد؟
و هم چنان که نامه ها ادامه می یابند، بسیار نرم و آهسته، خطوط چهره ی یک انحطاط و استحاله ی غریب و البته آشنا و بسیار نزدیک ، یخ زده و بی رحم، از لا به لای سایه روشن نوشته های مارتین و مکس، شکل می گیرد و با همان سردی، سخت زل می زند در چشم های تو تاااااا به آخر ... تا آن پایان هولناک و غافلگیر کننده ...آخرین ضربه رو محکم تر بززززن!... یک انتهای ِ به نظرم معماگونه... پایان باز؟ از نظر سرانجام ماجرا هرگز...چون در صفحات انتهایی، تکلیف داستان مشخص می شود اما یک ابهام باقی می ماند... پرسش هایی که از عصر که کتاب را تمام کردم در ذهنم رفت و آمد دارد:
یک: حق (حتی به اندازه یک اپسیلون) با کدام شخصیت بود؟
دو: اگر خودم جای هر کدام از شخصیت ها بودم چه می کردم؟ چه "باید" می کردم؟ اصلا بایدی وجود دارد؟
واقعا چرا؟
شاید هنوز داغم که اینطور کتاب رو ستایش کردم ...ولی گمون نکنم ربطی به داغی داشته باشه ...نمی دونم ... به هرحال حتی اگر چنین هم باشد گاهی بد نیست آدم اون تازگی حس و حالش رو ثبت کنه
کوتاه اینکه زبان ساده و بی ژست و ادا، حقیقت بی تعارف، ترجمه بسیار به قاعده و سرانجامی عجیب، کتاب رو خلاف انتظارم، برام تبدیل به یک لذت گزنده کرد که نمی تونم دوستش نداشته باشم
فقط یک ایراد نسبت به طراحی داخل کتاب دارم و اونم این هست که متن داستان با زمینه تیره تر ارائه شده تا فضای نامه رو بیشتر تداعی کنه (در نسخه ای که من خوندم) که شاید اگر به جای رنگ، روی کادر بندی صفحات کار می شد بهتر می بود و بیشتر حس نامه خوانی را منتقل می کرد ضمن اینکه رنگ تیره در بعضی قسمت ها خوانش رو با کمی اشکال مواجه می کرد البته این نظر منه
فقط
مطلبی رو در مقدمه کتاب خوندم که تا اندازه ای برایم هم شگفت انگیز و هم تحسربرانگیز بود...
صفحات ۶ و ۷:
یک. مجله ریدرز دایجست، آن زمان [حوالی ۳۹-۱۹۳۸] "سه میلیون" نسخه [!!!] تیراژ داشت ....
دو. در سال ۱۹۳۹ انتشارات سایمون اند شوستر، گیرنده...را در قالب کتاب، چاپ کرد در فاصله کوتاهی "پنجاه هزار نسخه" از آن به فروش رفت و به سرعت به زبان های هلندی و آلمانی ترجمه شد
سه. گرچه "شروع جنگ جهانی دوم" مانع انتشار این ترجمه ها شد...
در سال ۱۹۹۵ ...مجددا انتشار یافت ...به بیست زبان ترجمه شد و فقط ترجمه فرانسوی آن "ششصدهزار نسخه" فروخت.... (گیومه ها رو خودم برای تاکید گذاشتم)
دو نکته از این قسمت مقدمه برام جالب بود: اینکه کتاب پیش از شروع جنگ دوم به نگارش درآمده بوده اما چه ظریف به تبعات و اثرات نظام فکری نازیسم می پردازد
و دیگر، شمارگانی که شاید برای ما دست کم در این زمانه عجیب به نظر بیاد
مثلا مجله ای حدود هشتاد سال قبل، تیراژ میلیونی داشته یا فروش چندصدهزار نسخه ای یک کتاب...
و این در حالی ست که کتابی که من خواندم (چاپ اول) تیراژ ۲۰۰۰ نسخه ای داشته (گرچه دیدم به چاپ هفتم رسیده اما تیراژ مربوطه رو پیدا نکردم) ن
خب، با این اوصاف حق ندارم حداقل یک مقدار متعجب و متحسر بشم؟
داشتم به این فکر می کردم که در مورد این کتاب و حسی که نسبت بهش پیدا کردم چه چیزی بنویسم
در یک واژه؟ بسیار خوب: لِه کننده، آن هم در زیر آوار ِ تنها پنجاه و اندی صفحه
آیا این هنر نیست که در چنین حجم اندک و در قالب چند نامه کوتاه و با ادبیات و زبانی بسیار ساده بین دو دوست، چنین هجوم هولناکی از یک عریانگی را بتوان نمایان کرد؟
و هم چنان که نامه ها ادامه می یابند، بسیار نرم و آهسته، خطوط چهره ی یک انحطاط و استحاله ی غریب و البته آشنا و بسیار نزدیک ، یخ زده و بی رحم، از لا به لای سایه روشن نوشته های مارتین و مکس، شکل می گیرد و با همان سردی، سخت زل می زند در چشم های تو تاااااا به آخر ... تا آن پایان هولناک و غافلگیر کننده ...آخرین ضربه رو محکم تر بززززن!... یک انتهای ِ به نظرم معماگونه... پایان باز؟ از نظر سرانجام ماجرا هرگز...چون در صفحات انتهایی، تکلیف داستان مشخص می شود اما یک ابهام باقی می ماند... پرسش هایی که از عصر که کتاب را تمام کردم در ذهنم رفت و آمد دارد:
یک: حق (حتی به اندازه یک اپسیلون) با کدام شخصیت بود؟
دو: اگر خودم جای هر کدام از شخصیت ها بودم چه می کردم؟ چه "باید" می کردم؟ اصلا بایدی وجود دارد؟
واقعا چرا؟
شاید هنوز داغم که اینطور کتاب رو ستایش کردم ...ولی گمون نکنم ربطی به داغی داشته باشه ...نمی دونم ... به هرحال حتی اگر چنین هم باشد گاهی بد نیست آدم اون تازگی حس و حالش رو ثبت کنه
کوتاه اینکه زبان ساده و بی ژست و ادا، حقیقت بی تعارف، ترجمه بسیار به قاعده و سرانجامی عجیب، کتاب رو خلاف انتظارم، برام تبدیل به یک لذت گزنده کرد که نمی تونم دوستش نداشته باشم
فقط یک ایراد نسبت به طراحی داخل کتاب دارم و اونم این هست که متن داستان با زمینه تیره تر ارائه شده تا فضای نامه رو بیشتر تداعی کنه (در نسخه ای که من خوندم) که شاید اگر به جای رنگ، روی کادر بندی صفحات کار می شد بهتر می بود و بیشتر حس نامه خوانی را منتقل می کرد ضمن اینکه رنگ تیره در بعضی قسمت ها خوانش رو با کمی اشکال مواجه می کرد البته این نظر منه
فقط
مطلبی رو در مقدمه کتاب خوندم که تا اندازه ای برایم هم شگفت انگیز و هم تحسربرانگیز بود...
صفحات ۶ و ۷:
یک. مجله ریدرز دایجست، آن زمان [حوالی ۳۹-۱۹۳۸] "سه میلیون" نسخه [!!!] تیراژ داشت ....
دو. در سال ۱۹۳۹ انتشارات سایمون اند شوستر، گیرنده...را در قالب کتاب، چاپ کرد در فاصله کوتاهی "پنجاه هزار نسخه" از آن به فروش رفت و به سرعت به زبان های هلندی و آلمانی ترجمه شد
سه. گرچه "شروع جنگ جهانی دوم" مانع انتشار این ترجمه ها شد...
در سال ۱۹۹۵ ...مجددا انتشار یافت ...به بیست زبان ترجمه شد و فقط ترجمه فرانسوی آن "ششصدهزار نسخه" فروخت.... (گیومه ها رو خودم برای تاکید گذاشتم)
دو نکته از این قسمت مقدمه برام جالب بود: اینکه کتاب پیش از شروع جنگ دوم به نگارش درآمده بوده اما چه ظریف به تبعات و اثرات نظام فکری نازیسم می پردازد
و دیگر، شمارگانی که شاید برای ما دست کم در این زمانه عجیب به نظر بیاد
مثلا مجله ای حدود هشتاد سال قبل، تیراژ میلیونی داشته یا فروش چندصدهزار نسخه ای یک کتاب...
و این در حالی ست که کتابی که من خواندم (چاپ اول) تیراژ ۲۰۰۰ نسخه ای داشته (گرچه دیدم به چاپ هفتم رسیده اما تیراژ مربوطه رو پیدا نکردم) ن
خب، با این اوصاف حق ندارم حداقل یک مقدار متعجب و متحسر بشم؟
January 18, 2021
Cortísima novela epistolar en la que dos amigos y socios, uno judío estadounidense y otro alemán, se separan, porque viviendo en EEUU, el Alemán vuelve a su país en 1933 justo cuando Hitler llega al poder.
En esta correspondencia que mantienen se ve como llegan las noticias diferentes dependiendo de que lado estés, como afecta esa nueva situación a los amigos, y el sobrecogedor final.
Muy, muy recomendable.
En esta correspondencia que mantienen se ve como llegan las noticias diferentes dependiendo de que lado estés, como afecta esa nueva situación a los amigos, y el sobrecogedor final.
Muy, muy recomendable.
June 19, 2021
Second re-read: A GR buddy just read this book and it moved me to read it again since it overwhelmed me the first time. I stand by my original review from 2012
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Third re-read: I read this almost exactly one year ago and originally in 2012. It is the kind of book that draws you in again and again.
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This is an amazing and disturbing little book....only 64 pages long, it packs a punch in every page. First published in 1938 and banned in Nazi Germany when released, it is comprised of letters between two friends. One is a Jewish man living in the US and the other is his Gentile partner in their art gallery who has, with his family, returned home to Germany just as Hitler is coming to power. As the book progresses, the change in the tone and content of the letters will chill your soul and the ending will leave you stunned. I highly recommend it.
______________________
Third re-read: I read this almost exactly one year ago and originally in 2012. It is the kind of book that draws you in again and again.
____________________________
This is an amazing and disturbing little book....only 64 pages long, it packs a punch in every page. First published in 1938 and banned in Nazi Germany when released, it is comprised of letters between two friends. One is a Jewish man living in the US and the other is his Gentile partner in their art gallery who has, with his family, returned home to Germany just as Hitler is coming to power. As the book progresses, the change in the tone and content of the letters will chill your soul and the ending will leave you stunned. I highly recommend it.
May 2, 2019
Read for March Reading Sprint-2019 in Buddy Reads.
Believe me, you do not want to miss this book. It’s just 40 pages long and just read it.
“This modern story is perfection itself. It is the most effective indictment of Nazism to appear in fiction.”
──The New York Times Book Review
This is written in the form of letters (which are easy to get into) between a Jew (Max) living in America and his best friend and partner (Martin) who has returned to Germany. You see how Nazi poison got hold of Martin and how it affected their friendship and his own idea of a Nation. I recommend reading the Afterword at the end.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
RTC
A powerful review from Jaline:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
My Thoughts as I Read:
November 12, 1932
December 10, 1932
January 21, 1933
March 25, 1933
May 18, 1933
July 9, 1933
August 1, 1933
August 18, 1933
September 5, 1933
November 5, 1933
November 23, 1933
December 8, 1933
MUNICH JANUARY 2 1934
January 3, 1934 and January 17, 1934
January 29, 1934
February 12, 1934
Afterword:
Believe me, you do not want to miss this book. It’s just 40 pages long and just read it.
“This modern story is perfection itself. It is the most effective indictment of Nazism to appear in fiction.”
──The New York Times Book Review
This is written in the form of letters (which are easy to get into) between a Jew (Max) living in America and his best friend and partner (Martin) who has returned to Germany. You see how Nazi poison got hold of Martin and how it affected their friendship and his own idea of a Nation. I recommend reading the Afterword at the end.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
RTC
A powerful review from Jaline:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
My Thoughts as I Read:
November 12, 1932
December 10, 1932
January 21, 1933
March 25, 1933
May 18, 1933
July 9, 1933
August 1, 1933
August 18, 1933
September 5, 1933
November 5, 1933
November 23, 1933
December 8, 1933
MUNICH JANUARY 2 1934
January 3, 1934 and January 17, 1934
January 29, 1934
February 12, 1934
Afterword:
October 31, 2021
5★
“In 1939, Simon & Schuster brought out ‘Address Unknown’ as a book and sold fifty thousand copies — a huge number in those years. A quote from The New York Times Book Review stated:
At the end of 1938, this was first published in “Story”, a literary magazine, and the issue sold out in ten days. Today, we’d say it went viral. It’s easy to see why, and also why they took the opportunity to turn it into a small book.
It’s November, 1932. Two men, Martin and Max, have been close friends and business partners for years, but Martin thinks it’s time to take his young sons back to Germany to grow up. They write to each other regularly, glad that The War (WWI) is behind them. Max is still running their art gallery in San Francisco and keeps Martin updated on the business and customers when he forwards him his share of the income.
Martin writes that he and Elsa are treated like millionaires in war-ravaged Germany, and they’ve been able to buy a magnificent home on a large estate, so they are living it up, with servants, ponies for the children, and another baby on the way.
This takes place as Hitler is coming to power, capturing the imagination of the Germans who were left so devastated after the Great War.
“Elsa's family do not find things so easy now. The brothers are in the professions and, while much respected, must live together in one house. To the family we seem American millionaires and while we are far from that yet our American income places us among the wealthy here. The better foods are high in price and there is much political unrest. . . ”
Their correspondence continues until March 1934. Another writer might have needed a novel, but this is why I love a good short story. It’s all here. The men, the personalities, the changing mood of the times.
But I guess it was too good to pass up. It has been made into a radio play, a stage play, and a film, which I’m sure are equally moving, but this will do me just fine.
Here’s a link to where you can download this and other stories.
http://www.acobas.net/teaching/textbo...
“In 1939, Simon & Schuster brought out ‘Address Unknown’ as a book and sold fifty thousand copies — a huge number in those years. A quote from The New York Times Book Review stated:
This modern story is perfection itself. It is the most effective indictment of Nazism to appear in fiction.”(From the foreword)
At the end of 1938, this was first published in “Story”, a literary magazine, and the issue sold out in ten days. Today, we’d say it went viral. It’s easy to see why, and also why they took the opportunity to turn it into a small book.
It’s November, 1932. Two men, Martin and Max, have been close friends and business partners for years, but Martin thinks it’s time to take his young sons back to Germany to grow up. They write to each other regularly, glad that The War (WWI) is behind them. Max is still running their art gallery in San Francisco and keeps Martin updated on the business and customers when he forwards him his share of the income.
Martin writes that he and Elsa are treated like millionaires in war-ravaged Germany, and they’ve been able to buy a magnificent home on a large estate, so they are living it up, with servants, ponies for the children, and another baby on the way.
This takes place as Hitler is coming to power, capturing the imagination of the Germans who were left so devastated after the Great War.
“Elsa's family do not find things so easy now. The brothers are in the professions and, while much respected, must live together in one house. To the family we seem American millionaires and while we are far from that yet our American income places us among the wealthy here. The better foods are high in price and there is much political unrest. . . ”
Their correspondence continues until March 1934. Another writer might have needed a novel, but this is why I love a good short story. It’s all here. The men, the personalities, the changing mood of the times.
But I guess it was too good to pass up. It has been made into a radio play, a stage play, and a film, which I’m sure are equally moving, but this will do me just fine.
Here’s a link to where you can download this and other stories.
http://www.acobas.net/teaching/textbo...
February 3, 2023
No tengo palabras. ¡Cómo se puede contar tanto en tan pocas páginas! Excelente e imprescindible lectura 👍
July 28, 2022
عجب کتابی بود.
اصلا نمیدونم چطوری راجع بهش صحبت کنم
داستان دو دوست آلمانی که یکی در آمریکاست و دیگری در آلمانی که هیتلر تازه به قدرت رسیده.
داستان دو شریک، دو نفر که همدیگر را مثل برادر دوست داشتند، اما از قضای روزگار آن دوست که در آمریکا بود یهودی بود و دوست ساکن آلمان به جاه و مقامی در دستگاه هیتلر رسیده بود.
کتاب کوتاهه، شامل چندین نامه که بین این دو دوست رد و بدل میشه و دوستی برادرگونهای که به خاطر عقاید متفاوت از هم میپاشه.
خیلی دوستش داشتم.
اصلا نمیدونم چطوری راجع بهش صحبت کنم
داستان دو دوست آلمانی که یکی در آمریکاست و دیگری در آلمانی که هیتلر تازه به قدرت رسیده.
داستان دو شریک، دو نفر که همدیگر را مثل برادر دوست داشتند، اما از قضای روزگار آن دوست که در آمریکا بود یهودی بود و دوست ساکن آلمان به جاه و مقامی در دستگاه هیتلر رسیده بود.
کتاب کوتاهه، شامل چندین نامه که بین این دو دوست رد و بدل میشه و دوستی برادرگونهای که به خاطر عقاید متفاوت از هم میپاشه.
خیلی دوستش داشتم.
June 11, 2020
Address Unknown by Kressman Taylor is an amazing little book. Shot and west but boy does it pack a punch.
The narrative consists of a series of letters exchanged between Max, a Jewish man living in California, and Martin, his German business partner and close family friend, recently returned to Germany; and this correspondence takes place shortly before Hitler takes power.
This tiny book (54 pages) really made a big impression on me and it only took about 40 minutes to read it. A book where not a word is wasted and each sentence is carefully thought out. It's the sort of book that makes you think and stays with you long after you have finished reading it.
In my opinion- THIS IS THE PERFECT SHORT STORY!
The narrative consists of a series of letters exchanged between Max, a Jewish man living in California, and Martin, his German business partner and close family friend, recently returned to Germany; and this correspondence takes place shortly before Hitler takes power.
This tiny book (54 pages) really made a big impression on me and it only took about 40 minutes to read it. A book where not a word is wasted and each sentence is carefully thought out. It's the sort of book that makes you think and stays with you long after you have finished reading it.
In my opinion- THIS IS THE PERFECT SHORT STORY!
November 29, 2017
I am updating this because it referenced a review that is no longer available on GR. (the reader removed her profile a few years back) Anyway, I was browsing Goodreads back in 2012 and saw a review for this book from someone with amazing taste in books. I'd never heard of the book before but she rarely gave books five stars so I was intrigued. I immediately put it on hold at my library and read it as soon as I got home. I was skeptical about the claims made about the book, including the front cover quote from the New York Times:
"This modern story is perfection itself. It is the most effective indictment of Nazism to appear in fiction."
Address Unknown was first published in 1938 by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor. She wrote as Kressmann Taylor at the suggestion of her publisher, who thought the topic too intense to publish under a female name. Story magazine's entire printing that contained the 54-page short story sold out quickly. Several accounts I've read online argue that the book came back into the public light in 1999 when a French publisher put out a French translation which sold 600,000 copies (BBC), but it's still pretty unknown overall. I honestly cannot believe that this book isn't used in US schools and that I somehow made it 28 years without ever hearing one word about it. When asked why she wrote this book, Kressmann Taylor tells a firsthand story in the foreword about German friends of hers who'd lived in the US but were only visiting after moving back to Nazi Germany. They encountered a Jewish man, with whom they'd been intimate friends, and turned their back to his offered embrace and would not speak to him. She said that after seeing this she could not help but wonder how seemingly normal people could become so warped and that she "began researching Hitler and reading his speeches and the writings of his advisors. What I discovered was terrifying. What worried me most was that no one in America was aware of what was happening in Germany and they also did not care." (foreword) Look how small this book is:
Barely bigger than a postcard yet it packs more of a punch than most books three, four, even five times its length. The story, about which I will speak very little because this is a book that would absolutely be ruined by spoilers, is that of two friends, one Jewish, one German. Address Unknown is a series of fictional letters between Max Eisenstein, a San Francisco art gallery owner and his German business partner, Martin Schulse, written after Schulse moves with his family back to Germany in the early 1930s. Epistolary format in this particular case created so much unease for me as I kept wondering what was going on for these people during all of the interim periods between letters. It also reminded me how powerful words can be, though it sounds absolutely cliche to say so, and how frustrating it can be when you are trying to get the full story from someone and your pleas are chained to a format which allows for pondering, revisions, and omissions with basically no guarantee of a satisfactory answer.
The ending took me by surprise and that's all I'll say about that--the story went somewhere I had no idea it was going to go and I had to sit back and wonder whether what I was feeling was valid or disgusting. How often does that happen?
If you are looking for a book that is short, shocking and that you will want to get everyone around you to read, here it is. Go get it.
I found out after reading about Kathrine Kressmann Taylor online that there was a movie made in 1944 and the ending is changed up a bit. I can't wait to see this film. There was also a dramatization done by the BBC for their Afternoon Drama series. I recommend that everyone read this. It will take you about half an hour. Come back and tell me what you think of it. I hope you can find a copy. I know I'm buying one.
Read this and other reviews at The Readventurer.
"This modern story is perfection itself. It is the most effective indictment of Nazism to appear in fiction."
Address Unknown was first published in 1938 by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor. She wrote as Kressmann Taylor at the suggestion of her publisher, who thought the topic too intense to publish under a female name. Story magazine's entire printing that contained the 54-page short story sold out quickly. Several accounts I've read online argue that the book came back into the public light in 1999 when a French publisher put out a French translation which sold 600,000 copies (BBC), but it's still pretty unknown overall. I honestly cannot believe that this book isn't used in US schools and that I somehow made it 28 years without ever hearing one word about it. When asked why she wrote this book, Kressmann Taylor tells a firsthand story in the foreword about German friends of hers who'd lived in the US but were only visiting after moving back to Nazi Germany. They encountered a Jewish man, with whom they'd been intimate friends, and turned their back to his offered embrace and would not speak to him. She said that after seeing this she could not help but wonder how seemingly normal people could become so warped and that she "began researching Hitler and reading his speeches and the writings of his advisors. What I discovered was terrifying. What worried me most was that no one in America was aware of what was happening in Germany and they also did not care." (foreword) Look how small this book is:
Barely bigger than a postcard yet it packs more of a punch than most books three, four, even five times its length. The story, about which I will speak very little because this is a book that would absolutely be ruined by spoilers, is that of two friends, one Jewish, one German. Address Unknown is a series of fictional letters between Max Eisenstein, a San Francisco art gallery owner and his German business partner, Martin Schulse, written after Schulse moves with his family back to Germany in the early 1930s. Epistolary format in this particular case created so much unease for me as I kept wondering what was going on for these people during all of the interim periods between letters. It also reminded me how powerful words can be, though it sounds absolutely cliche to say so, and how frustrating it can be when you are trying to get the full story from someone and your pleas are chained to a format which allows for pondering, revisions, and omissions with basically no guarantee of a satisfactory answer.
The ending took me by surprise and that's all I'll say about that--the story went somewhere I had no idea it was going to go and I had to sit back and wonder whether what I was feeling was valid or disgusting. How often does that happen?
If you are looking for a book that is short, shocking and that you will want to get everyone around you to read, here it is. Go get it.
I found out after reading about Kathrine Kressmann Taylor online that there was a movie made in 1944 and the ending is changed up a bit. I can't wait to see this film. There was also a dramatization done by the BBC for their Afternoon Drama series. I recommend that everyone read this. It will take you about half an hour. Come back and tell me what you think of it. I hope you can find a copy. I know I'm buying one.
Read this and other reviews at The Readventurer.
July 7, 2017
افسوس، ما نیز که سر آن داشتیم که زمینهی انسانیت را آماده کنیم، تنوانستیم خود انسان باشیم. اما شما که پس از ما به جهان میآیید، هنگامی که آن زمان فرا رسید که انسان یار انسان شد، از ما با بزرگواری یاد کنید. برشت/ برگردان تورج رهنما
نویسنده در قالب یک داستان کوتاه نامهنگارانه خیلی موجز و خلاصه، به اثر مخرب ایدئولوژیهای حکومتی - در اینجا نازیسم - بر انسان و ارتباط میان انسانها میپردازد: بریده شدن تمام اتصالهای انسانی و چیره شدن بندها و قوانین ایدئولوژی بر آن. چیزی که شاید قابل تعمیم به اکثر ایدئولوژیها، بخصوص ایدئولوژیهای تمامیتخواه در تمام ادوار تاریخی باشد؛ که بدبختانه امروز در ایران هم کم با این موضوع روبرو نمیشویم. ولی آیا میتوان علت تمام این شرارتها را به شرایطی که انسان در آن قرار میگیرد ربط دهیم؟ شک دارم. در آلمان نازی آن زمان هم کم نبودند افسران عالی رتبهای که جان خود را بخاطر وفاداری به انسانیت و مقاومت در برابر تاریکی از دست دادند. دکتر فرانکل دراینباره میگوید:
و در آخر، بیمناسبت نیست این بخش از نامهی آلبر کامو - نامهی چهارم به دوست آلمانی - که در کتاب کامو و بونهافر: مواجهه دو اومانیسم خواندهام
#کتابخوانی_در_مترو
نویسنده در قالب یک داستان کوتاه نامهنگارانه خیلی موجز و خلاصه، به اثر مخرب ایدئولوژیهای حکومتی - در اینجا نازیسم - بر انسان و ارتباط میان انسانها میپردازد: بریده شدن تمام اتصالهای انسانی و چیره شدن بندها و قوانین ایدئولوژی بر آن. چیزی که شاید قابل تعمیم به اکثر ایدئولوژیها، بخصوص ایدئولوژیهای تمامیتخواه در تمام ادوار تاریخی باشد؛ که بدبختانه امروز در ایران هم کم با این موضوع روبرو نمیشویم. ولی آیا میتوان علت تمام این شرارتها را به شرایطی که انسان در آن قرار میگیرد ربط دهیم؟ شک دارم. در آلمان نازی آن زمان هم کم نبودند افسران عالی رتبهای که جان خود را بخاطر وفاداری به انسانیت و مقاومت در برابر تاریکی از دست دادند. دکتر فرانکل دراینباره میگوید:
ما شاهد و ناظر زندگی رفقایی بودیم که بعضی از آنها چون درندگان و پارهای دیگر چون قدیسین رفتار میکردند. انسان هر دو استعداد و توان را در درون خود دارد و این که کدام یک شکوفا شود و تحقق پذیرد بیشتر بستگی به تصمیم فرد دارد، تا شرایط و اوضاع و احوالی که در آن قرار گرفته است
و در آخر، بیمناسبت نیست این بخش از نامهی آلبر کامو - نامهی چهارم به دوست آلمانی - که در کتاب کامو و بونهافر: مواجهه دو اومانیسم خواندهام
اگر بخت با ما یار بود، خود را رودرروی یکدیگر میدیدیم و آن وقت میتوانستیم بجنگیم و در عین حال بدانیم که چرا میجنگیم. من هنوز هم با شما حرفی دارم و این حرف آخر من است. میخواهم به شما بگویم چطور شد ما آنقدر به هم نزدیک بودیم و امروز با هم دشمن هستیم. شما بی هیچ ملاحظهای ناامیدی را قبول کردید و حال آنکه من هرگز به آن تن ندادم. شما بیداد زمانه را تا آنجا پذیرفتهاید که تصمیم گرفتید آن را افزون سازید و حال آنکه من برعکس شما معتقدم که آدمی برای مبارزه بر ضد بیداد، همیشه باید داد را بپذیرد و برای استوار بودن در برابر جهان تیرهبختی، خوشبختی را بیافریند. شما روشنبینی را از دست دادهاید و این را بسیار سهل گرفتهاید که دیگری به جای شما میلیونها آلمانی فکر کند. کار شما این است که ارواح را مثله کنید و کره خاکی را ویران سازید و خلاصه آنکه شما بیعدالتی را برگزدید. من برعکس، عدالت را برگزیدهام، چه میخواهم به زمین وفادار بمانم. من همچنان بر این عقیدهام که این جهان معنایی فوق اینجهانی ندارد، اما میدانم چیزی در این جهان است که دارای معناست و آن (بودن) بشر است. زیرا بشر تنها موجودی است که اقتضای معنی داشتن میکند. ما اگر میخواهیم تصویری که از زندگی ساختهایم برجا ب��اند، باید بشر را نجات دهیم. من از لبخند تحقیرآمیز شما میفهمم که میخواهید بگویید نجات بشر دیگر چیست؟ و من با تمام وجود فریاد میزنم که این نجات، مثله نکردن انسان و ارزانی داشتن امکان برخورداری از عدالبت به اوست. آری، بدین جهت است که با شما در جنگیم. اما در پایان این نبرد، در دل این شهری که به جهنم شباهت دارد، با وجود آنکه کسانمان در غربت و بیخبری کشته شدهاند، میتوانم به شما بگویم که در همان لحظه که بیرحمانه به نابودی شما میپردازیم، کینهای از شما به دل نداریم و من به شما میگویم که با تنها چیزی در جهان که میتوانیم از آن بیزار باشیم به قاعده و منطق رفتار میکنیم.
امروز، صدها هزار انسان در عنفوان جوانی به قتل رسیدهاند، دیوارهای مخوف زندانها در اروپا برپا شده است و از زمین اروپا که بدن میلیونها اروپایی روی آن به خاک افتاده، دود برمیخیزد. ما میبایست تمام اینها را تحمل کنیم که دو، سه امتیاز جزئی بدست آوریم که شاید تنها فایدهاش این باشد که بعضی از ما کمک کند بهتر بمیریم. اما ما دست کم بشر را از تنهایی و انزوایی که شما میخواستید او را به ان دچار کنید، نجات خواهیم داد و این شما هستید که عنقریب بخاطر تحقیر انسانیت، هزار هزار و در تنهایی خواهید مرد. حالا دیگر حرفی ندارم جز آنکه به شما خدانگهدار بگویم - ژوئیه 1944
#کتابخوانی_در_مترو
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