The nightmare
The nightmare is a novel by Hans Fallada . It is one of his last works, was written in 1945/1946 and published in 1947 (after Fallada's death).
action
Prologue in the country
The protagonist of the novel is the writer Dr. Doll. He is married to Alma Doll, a much younger woman, for the second time and at the beginning of the story he lives on the outskirts of a small town near Prenzlau , not too far from Berlin . The end of the war is imminent, the Red Army has already reached the area and remaining units of the Wehrmacht and SS are leaving the city. The mood Doll finds himself in at the beginning is characterized by gloom, apathy and fatalism. For him, this mood results not only from the situation of the German people, but also from their specific situation as a writer in the Third Reich . Regardless of this, Doll welcomes the advancing Red Army as the longed-for liberator - much too enthusiastically and naively at the beginning, as he soon realizes when the soldiers of the Red Army do not seem to differentiate among the Germans and do not reciprocate his enthusiasm. Doll and his wife then have to go to work together with all the other remaining Germans - he as a cowherd, she as a porter. By chance the commandant's office becomes aware of Doll. He is made to give a speech to the residents for the commandant from the town hall, symbolically heralding the zero hour even in the small town . After this test, Doll is appointed mayor by the commandant. A person who is very unpopular in the small town becomes the city father. How unpopular Doll once was becomes clear from his argument with the veterinarian Dr. Wilhelm, called "Farken-Willem", is portrayed.
Reluctantly, but dutifully, Doll fulfills his mayor's duties. The workload is large, there is a lot to do in the post-war period, even in a small town. Doll's inner crisis continues. In addition, he is now bothered by the fact that as an official he has to deal with former Nazis and war profiteers. Only the amount of work keeps him from collapsing. Doll finally gets sick and can give up his post.
Arrival in Berlin
Nothing can stop him in the small town and the couple set off on an arduous journey to ruined Berlin. They hope to be able to start again there in Alma Doll's apartment. But life in the ruins of the overcrowded city turns out to be infinitely more difficult than life in the country. It starts with the difficulty of finding your way around the ruins on arrival, even though both Dolls are native Berliners.
This novel is very strongly autobiographical. On the one hand, this concerns the external circumstances: the collapse of the Third Reich, the temporary work as mayor of a small town under Russian occupation, the return to Berlin and living there in the residential district of Mayakowskiring ("the town") of the KPD - and SED - Those in power can be found in his résumé. But it probably also applies to his inner situation: at least his marriage to a much younger woman, drug problems and therefore repeated stays in sanatoriums and mental institutions are guaranteed. The vacillation between exuberance and depression and the problems with his fellow human beings, especially with the former Nazi supporters, are at least convincingly portrayed.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Permanent exhibition ( Memento of the original from July 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in the gatehouses of Schönhausen Palace , p. 3 (PDF; 270 kB)
