Every Man Dies Alone is one of the best books I have ever read in life, ever. I had heard a few months after reading that Hollywood will be turning this into a movie and I swear, if they goof it I will be super salty.
This is a nice blend of non-fiction and fiction, back to WWII fiction I should say, that tells us about Otto and Elise Hampel, whose names were changed for the book, whose son had died after being sent to the warfront. Like other persons of the German military in that time, especially for those who were joining up fairly young, the Nazis would hide the deaths from their parents/families. Should the deaths be found, they would push their “honorable hero” propaganda when in actuality they were more likely used as cannon fodder. In response to his death, the Hampels started a two-person resistance involving leaving anti-propaganda papers everywhere, where they are eventually found out and killed.
What had really struck me was the romanticized side of all of this, especially if you are reading this while in a relationship of some kind, marriage or simply dating. I know this is a serious tone, but really, if you and your loved one decided that you were both going to start doing something like this where the consequences would mean death, would you do it? Chances are, if caught, you would be separated during questioning, or even torture; would you both still do it? Would you sell them out in a heartbeat, or remain true?
I would read this again because I loved where it took me in critical thinking and the way it brought me there. There was a pleasant flow during the reading, and I could not put it down when I was. Fallada has written other books that I need to keep in the back of my mind because I want to get some more. If interested, you can get Every Man Dies Alone here.
10/10
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