The Nazi and the Barber
Encyclopedia
The Nazi and the Barber (also published as The Nazi Who Lived As a Jew, in the German original Der Nazi & der Friseur) of the German-Jewish writer Edgar Hilsenrath
is a grotesque novel about the Holocaust
during the time of National Socialism in Germany. The work uses the perpetrator's perspective telling the biography of the SS mass murderer Max Schulz, who after World War II
assumes a Jewish identity and finally emigrates to Israel in order to escape prosecution in Germany.
Because of choosing the perpetrator's perspective the author had difficulties in publishing the book in Germany. It was first published in the U.S. in 1971 by Doubleday, one of the largest book publishing companies in the world, and then in Germany in 1977. The original manuscript is written in German.
Edgar Hilsenrath
Edgar Hilsenrath is a German-Jewish writer living in Berlin. His main works are Night, The Nazi and the Barber, and The Story of the Last Thought.-Biography:...
is a grotesque novel about the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
during the time of National Socialism in Germany. The work uses the perpetrator's perspective telling the biography of the SS mass murderer Max Schulz, who after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
assumes a Jewish identity and finally emigrates to Israel in order to escape prosecution in Germany.
Because of choosing the perpetrator's perspective the author had difficulties in publishing the book in Germany. It was first published in the U.S. in 1971 by Doubleday, one of the largest book publishing companies in the world, and then in Germany in 1977. The original manuscript is written in German.
External links
- Bestselling German-Jewish Author Satirizes the Holocaust, Deutsche Welle, April 9, 2006