A Prophetic 1933 Book Has Found a Surprising Renewed Relevance – Offering Insights for Our Times

Just the other day, I posed a question to an American colleague – as one does these days – about where he believes "it" going, referring to the political landscape. He paused. "Personally, America finds itself in a very similar position to Germany in that period," he stated. "It's crucial to wonder, could what followed been prevented? That's the juncture we are at. It's possible to claim fascism couldn't happen in the US. However, I believe it remains uncertain."

Rediscovering a Forgotten Novel

These statements seemed especially resonant to me because I'd just concluded exploring a significant work of fiction precisely to do with Weimar Germany's transition. Lost for years, Sally Carson's set in Bavaria Crooked Cross was republished in April by a niche publishing house. After its release, it emerged as an unexpected success, a stunning revelation shared among readers.

The Narrative Develops

Crooked Cross opens in late 1932 concluding during the summer 1933. It takes place in the small, imagined Bavarian town called Kranach, a picture-postcard place nestled in the mountains of the Alpine range. The story centers on the Kluger household – a simple, respectable family with caring parents with three mature offspring.

The atmosphere is warm and delightful and full of promise: the tree with its glass baubles, the tissue-wrapped presents, the holiday music, the festive meal.

All is beautifully adorned, "even" – the reader shudders – "the photograph of the leader which stood upon the piano."

The Novelist with Her Legacy

The author created two follow-up books following Crooked Cross. The complete series came out by 1938. Subsequently, during the war years, not yet 40, she passed away of cancer. The novel was critically acclaimed upon publication, but remained relatively unknown and quickly faded from public consciousness.

One remarkable aspect regarding this work is its contemporary feel. It was written during the events, and printed rapidly. The six-month period it portrays represented a time of dramatic political transformations.

The Times

• The Führer assumed power
• The Nazis gained political dominance
• The concentration camp began operation
• Jews were barred from civil service roles

At the start, the protagonists greet each other with a cheery Grüss Gott; toward the conclusion, the father is heil Hitler-ing fellow townspeople and the local church bells were changed so that they chime using the melody of the Horst Wessel song.

Contemporary Significance

Exploring this book, possessing later understanding unavailable to the author, proves extraordinary, at times painful. In our current era, each element she depicts moves inexorably toward a single unavoidable outcome: the war, the systematic destruction.

What is so impressive regarding the author remains, despite the fact she had no idea where Hitlerism would end, the novel has a firm ethical foundation.

There is no equivocation. What is being done across the nation toward Jewish people, to communists, is obviously awful, according to the novel's worldview.

Enduring Influence

The novel reveals how extremism, when it gains power, offers these individuals with meaning, occupation, a narrative, optimism and distinct functions. Additionally, it offers them specific targets – leftwingers and Jews – to hate, to accuse, to punish and soon enough, to assault and to eliminate.

The resonances with the present cannot be ignored. If only everyone shared her perception and her principled vision.