Schwarzenberg (novel)

Schwarzenberg is a novel by Stefan Heym first published in 1984 .

background

The novel is based on events in the city of Schwarzenberg / Erzgeb. and the Amtshauptmannschaft Schwarzenberg , which was not occupied by American or Soviet troops for six weeks after the end of the Second World War (details see here ). The formation of an anti-fascist action committee (comparable to councils or soviets ), which should provisionally lead the region, is based on facts. However, the characters in Heym's novel are fictitious.

Structure of the novel

The narrative perspective changes several times over the course of the story. Kadletz, a fictional member of the action committee, reports as a first-person narrator . In between, there are passages by an omniscient narrator and "Military Interludes", in which, also from the perspective of the omniscient narrator, the behavior of the Russian and American military governments is reported. While the stories of "Comrade Kadletz", as Heym calls him in the foreword, are heavily influenced by emotions and personal opinions as well as trivialities, the omniscient narrator reports neutrally.

Summary of the plot

In addition to the utopia of the "Schwarzenberg Republic" , personal fates also play a role in the war-torn country. In the foreground, however, is always the efforts of the Action Committee to regulate the supply of everyday items in the region it is now administering and later to conduct successful negotiations with the occupying powers on both sides. The question of how to deal with the previous holders of power also poses some problems for the new incumbents.

The utopia that Heym draws in Schwarzenberg is shaped by socialism . However, the strong emphasis on grassroots democracy and the active political cooperation of people and thus a conscious affront to Stalinism was a thorn in the side of the rulers of the GDR and an indication to the citizens of the GDR to stand up for their rights. The novel can thus be understood as a political commentary. The novel was therefore neither publicly noted in the GDR until the collapse of the SED , nor did it receive permission to print . It was only able to appear in 1990.

First edition

• Stefan Heym: Schwarzenberg , Munich 1984, in the GDR in the book publisher Der Morgen , Berlin 1990.

Movie

The novel was produced in 1988 as a film adaptation for German television. Director: Eberhard Itzenplitz , screenplay: Claus Hubalek and Ann Ladiges , actors including Claus Dieter Clausnitzer , Max Tidof and Ulrich Pleitgen .