The doctor of Stalingrad (novel)
The Doctor of Stalingrad is one of the most successful novels by the German bestselling author Heinz G. Konsalik . The work, published in 1956, is about a German camp doctor in a Soviet prisoner-of-war camp after the Second World War and reached a worldwide circulation of over four million copies.
action
In the late 1940s, Dr. Fritz Böhler Prisoner and hospital manager of a Soviet prisoner-of-war camp for German soldiers of the Second World War near the city of Stalingrad (today: Volgograd ). He is the prime example of a conscientious, competent, decisive and the medical ethos represented medical doctor. With the simplest means, he and his colleagues Dr. von Sellnow and Dr. Mayor for the health care of thousands of German prisoners of war. In medically hopeless situations, Böhler often resorts to daring, improvised operations that give him a good reputation inside and outside the camp.
The relationship between the Russian doctors (camp doctor Dr. Kresin and captain doctor Dr. Kasalinsskaja) or the camp commandant Vorotilov and the German doctors, which was initially based on submission, is slowly giving way to a relationship of trust. This is repeatedly put to the test in incidents in the camp or when political commissioners from Moscow visit. Böhler is often secretly brought to the city of Stalingrad and other prisoner-of-war camps to treat Russian patients.
When some of the prisoners of war were released back home in 1950, the Böhler, who was also designated for this and who rates his obligation to his comrades higher than the longing for his family in Cologne waiting for his return, achieved that he was in Cologne until the last prisoners were released in 1953 Stock remains.
Subject
With all the historical and political background that was still very topical at the time of publication, the work is first and foremost an entertainment novel that is geared towards the needs and tastes of the broad (German-speaking) audience.
With regard to the conveyed image of history and man, the novel is ambivalent. On the one hand, after a confrontational opening phase, the Russian characters in the novel, provided they do not represent the communist leadership, are portrayed, as are the Germans, as essentially responsible, compassionate and human errors. The ultimate responsibility for the precarious situation of the German Plennis (prisoners of war) is attributed to the National Socialists and their war of aggression against Russia, whereby National Socialism is unequivocally rejected in the few places where it is discussed. The German crimes in the war are also occasionally mentioned, for example when it is mentioned about the behavior of the Germans-hating camp lieutenant Markow that his entire family perished in the war, his mother and brother were killed by the SS as starving civilians. The question is also repeatedly asked whether Russian soldiers in German prison camps had not fared much worse than the Germans on site. In addition, Böhler also shows himself to be not completely infallible when he believes that Sellnow was poisoned by the Russians, although the poisoning stems from a wolf bait that was not recognized as such and found.
On the other hand, a cultural superiority of the Germans over the Russians is conveyed on various levels. The Germans are mostly honest and comradely, national awareness and the honor of soldiers have a high priority anyway. The problematic figures are more likely to be found on the Russian side, such as the attractive and emotional doctor Kasalinsskaya, who vacillates between cruelty and nymphomania, or the glorious and unscrupulous university doctor Pavlovich. On the German side, there is only the case of the former Nazi Grosse, who is pressed by the Soviet secret police into espionage activities among the Germans and, after being discovered, tried to drown his comrades in the latrine. Although Böhler saves him, the verdict on him is unanimous, also by the moral authority Böhler: a "wretched pig" who deserved his death in the latrine for betraying his comrade. Furthermore, the German doctors mostly appear to be more capable than their Russian colleagues, and the Germans in general as technically, economically and socially more advanced. So the Russians shy away from tough crackdowns when the Germans offer passive resistance out of hurt (national) honor and attend a German theater performance and a German Christmas party. Elsewhere, a German soldier shows the fascinated Russian camp cook the cold-mixable “Eiermanns Schnellpudding”, which was sent in a package from home, with the remark that in Germany, unlike in Russia, this product is easily affordable for every worker. The mention of human experiments by German SS doctors is also ambivalent: A minor character in the novel, who is accused of this, can assert their scientific intention without being contradicted.
The portrayal is clearly racist when Asian representatives of the Soviet state people appear in the plot. They are mostly portrayed as cruel, animal-like, unscrupulous, primitive or fanatical, for example the "Mongolian" political commissioner Kuwakino or the "Tatar" old man Pavlovich, whereby external aspects such as the "slit eyes" are emphasized. The German prisoners are also particularly attractive to the “passionate” female Russian characters in fiction, such as Sellnow on Kasalinsskaya and Schultheiss on the camp commandant's lover, while the kitchen assistant Bascha does it with everyone. In contrast, the German nurses - as well as the wives waiting at home - do not report any sexual assaults.
“According to the Heidelberg history professor Wolfgang Eckart, the book and film are full of clichés that correspond to the German zeitgeist of the 1950s. Konsalik's message is therefore: The Germans are superior to the Russians as doctors and people. The image of the German doctor should be put into perspective. Because the Nuremberg doctor trial in 1946 showed that SS and Wehrmacht doctors were involved in the crimes of the Nazis. In response, 'The Doctor of Stalingrad' paints a 'charitable, heroic, self-sacrificing' picture of the German doctor. "
style
The novel is mainly told from the perspective of an impersonal, omniscient narrator who knows the feelings of the people involved, especially the Germans. At the beginning and at various points within the novel, the introductory heading “From the diary of Dr. Schultheiß “reports short passages from the first-person perspective, but without these passages having the character of a diary entry. The style of the novel is aimed at easy readability and popular, sometimes drastic language (“German pig”, “Russensau”, “They should all be killed!”).
background
The model for the fictional character Fritz Böhler was the doctor Ottmar Kohler , who was actually a camp doctor in Stalingrad. The novel sticks to Kohler's story with regard to the basic dates of life and some spectacular operations. Kohler, who was personally welcomed by Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer on his return for New Year 1954 , involuntarily advanced to become a model example of the "good German" in war and captivity, not least because of Konsalik's romanticization.
Distribution and filming
The novel published by Kindler Verlag achieved a large number of editions, including as licensed editions in other publishers (e.g. Lingen Verlag ) and book clubs (e.g. Bertelsmann Lesering ). In total, the novel was sold about four million times.
The novel was filmed in 1958 under the original title The Doctor of Stalingrad with O. E. Hasse in the title role.
literature
- Sonja Walther: Thoughts on Konsalik: The doctor from Stalingrad . Housework, 2002, GRIN Verlag .
- Basics - On the structure of the novel "The Doctor of Stalingrad" (1956) . In: Matthias Harder: Experience War: To the representation of the Second World War in the novels of Heinz G. Konsalik . Königshausen & Neumann, 1999.
Individual evidence
- ↑ WDR reference date on Ottmar Kohler. accessed on November 18, 2017.
- ↑ Report on the "Doctor of Stalingrad" Ottmar Kohler. In: Deutsches Ärzteblatt ; accessed on November 18, 2017.
- ↑ WDR reference date for Ottmar Kohler , accessed on November 18, 2017.