by Hans Fallada
"One day in 1940, Mr. and Mrs. Quangel, two insignificant individuals in the north of Berlin, take up the fight against the monstrous machinery of the Nazi state, and the grotesque happens: The elephant feels threatened by the mouse."
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KantTheaterBerlin: Anette Daugardt
KantTheaterBerlin: Uwe Neumann
The model for this novel by Hans Fallada was the working-class couple Otto and Anna Hampel, who were executed in Berlin-Plötzensee on April 8, 1943 for their rebellion against the Nazi regime's contempt for humanity. In an almost thriller-like atmosphere, Fallada tells the story of so-called “little people” who, between 1940 and 1942, distributed appeals for resistance on cards and in letters after the death of their son at the front caused them to completely lose their originally positive attitude towards Hitler and his war machine.
Fallada writes in the foreword to his novel:
"The events largely follow Gestapo files. Some will find that there is a great deal of torture and death in this book. The author takes the liberty of pointing out that this book is almost exclusively about people who fought against the Hitler regime, about them and their persecutors. Quite a lot died in these circles in the years 1940 to 1942 and before and after. The author was often reluctant to paint such a gloomy picture, but more brightness would have been a lie."
Every individual counts - then and now.
By and with Anette Daugardt and Uwe Neumann
(IN GERMAN)
