Alone in Berlin

Alone In Berlin appealed to me when I spotted a book exchange copy because of its having been written by a German author almost immediately after the Second World War (in 1946) and its subject being a true story of resistance within Germany to the Nazi regime. I have read a lot of stories about the French Resistance, but German civilian resistance is far less frequently portrayed. As it turned out, I think 'inspired by a true story' would have been a more truthful tagline than 'based on' because Fallada invents a lot around the central narrative idea, bending the truth to achieve a more interesting novel.

What feels absolutely genuine though is his portrayal of wartime Berlin. The stifling atmosphere of suspicion and intolerance leeches through every page. I could envisage every neighbour constantly spying though peepholes, every work colleague on the lookout for a chance to gain favour by denouncing a former friend. The characters in Alone In Berlin do feel absolutely genuine and it is their interactions which kept my attention, and my sympathies, throughout. We meet gamblers and black marketeers, people trying to do their best under the circumstances and people making the most of every opportunity. No one is all good or all bad and I could easily understand their individual motivations.

As with Good People by Nir Baram, partly set in the same wartime Berlin but written decades later, I felt the author encouraging readers to put themselves into the characters shoes. Alone In Berlin asks us to think about the roles we might take in similar circumstances. In the novel, Otto and Anna Quangel had initially voted for Hitler because they felt he and his policies would improve their lives. It is not until a couple of years later that they realise the full truth of what their votes enabled. This is such a relevant novel for 2019, especially with the political similarities many of us are witnessing right now. It is an engrossing historical story with a powerful cautionary message for today.