Every Man Dies Alone (83 page)
6. The cover sheet of the arrest report for Heinz Klaus—the model for the character Enno Kluge in
Every Man Dies Alone
. Klaus was a gambler who left his home frequently and at odd hours, making the police suspicious. Klaus was suspected of dropping cards that were found in stairwells and hallways outside a doctor’s office, an attorney’s office, and some residences. He was arrested after a card was found outside a dentist’s office. The dentist’s nurse pointed him out to police and said he’d been acting suspiciously in the waiting room, going frequently back and forth to the rest room. He was eventually released when his description did not match that of the two eyewitnesses and police realized gambling was behind his suspicious behavior.
7. The cover sheet for the arrest report of Otto Hampel. He was arrested soon after being spotted by an eyewitness. Note the report includes information not only on Elise, but also on Otto’s parents, in an apparent attempt to determine his heritage.
8. The mug shots of Otto and Elise Hampel.
9. The signed confession of Elise Hampel: Elise made one statement after arrest, probably indicating less interrogation than Otto seems to have undergone. She explained her motivation by saying, “My soul was devastated by the losses of the war, particularly of my brother.” She also said, “My husband wrote all the cards because I cannot write in print well,” and further claimed that he delivered all the cards, although she said they shared culpability. Note the signature that appears below Elise’s of someone named “Püschel.” It is a name that appears on many of the reports, including Otto Hampel’s confession, and belongs to the chief investigating officer, Willy Püschel—the model for the character Gestapo Inspector Escherich in
Every Man Dies Alone
.
10. Otto Hampel’s signature on one of his three confessions, indicating that he seems to have undergone at least three interrogations. The first statement is on his motivation, which he said was inspired by the death of his brother-in-law. The second is a detailed description of how he wrote and disseminated the cards, which he says was mostly improvisational. The third goes back to motive. In it, he says he realizes his actions made him an enemy of the state, and insists he acted alone and that his wife was not involved.
The publisher wishes to thank:
Patrick Bender, Alan Furst, Diane von Furstenberg, Hannah Johnson, Kati Sprung, Riky Stock, Henry A. Turner, Geoff Wilkes, and Jenny Williams for their invaluable assistance to this project.
OTHER BOOKS BY HANS FALLADA
AVAILABLE FROM MELVILLE HOUSE
Little Man, What Now?
“Painfully true to life…. I have read nothing so engaging as
Little Man, What Now
for a long time.”
—THOMAS MANN
“There are chapters which pluck the nerves… there are chapters which raise the spirits like a fine day in the country The truth and variety of the characterization is superb … it recognizes that the world is not to be altered with moral fables …”
—GRAHAM GREENE
“An inspired work of a great writer hitherto neglected in the English-speaking world. Fallada is a genius at bringing his wide range of colorful characters to life. The ‘Little Man’ is Mr. Everybody.”
—BERYL BAINBRIDGE
The Drinker
“Fallada deserves high praise for having reported so realistically, so truthfully, with such closeness to life.”
—HERMAN HESSE
“Profound in its psychological insight and in language sparse yet explosive, this is a novel both shocking and original.”
—BERYL BAINBRIDGE
“…. genuinely tragic and beautiful … Fallada’s perfectly horrifying, horrifyingly perfect novel is the story of himself rejected by society and returning the insult.”
—
THE NEW STATESMAN
“This is an heroic book, brave, fearless and honest. It is necessary reading.”
—
SUNDAY TIMES
(London)
Every Man Dies Alone
First published as
Jeder stirbt für sich allein
in 1947.
© Aufbau-Verlagsgruppe GmbH, Berlin 1994 (Published with Aufbau; “Aufbau” is a trademark of Aufbau Verladsgruppe GmbH)
Negotiated by Aufbau Media GmbH, Berlin
This edition © 2009 Melville House Publishing
Translation © 2009 Michael Hofmann
Melville House Publishing
145 Plymouth Street
Brooklyn, New York 11201
eISBN: 978-1-935554-05-9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fallada, Hans, 1893-1947
[Jeder stirbt für sich allein. English]
Every man dies alone / Hans Fallada ; translated by Michael
Hofmann, with an afterword by Geoff Wilkes.
p. cm.
First published in German as Jeder stirbt für sich allein. Berlin :
Aufbau, 1947.
I. Title.
PT2607.I6J413 2009
833′.912–dc22
v3.0