A Memior of Germany in its Descent Into Evil ...
“His book is a beautiful narrative of childhood and
youth, of the horrors of the First World War, of heady early success in the theater;
of the encroaching terror of World War II as it destroyed a world of great
human substance and dignity”
Carl Zuckmayer's A Part of Myself, A Portrait of an Epoch
by Jim Romano
Hey 1000 Bookies!!!
The next book on our quest of reading The 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die, our latest is
a memoir by German author and playwright Carl Zuckmayer. A Part of Myself is the 1000th
and last book on this imperious list. The
book is a fascinating read about a time very long ago. Carl Zuckmayer was a member of the German Intelligentsia
and artistic community during the Weimar Republic (1919-1933) and was a leading
anti-Nazi activist and critic. Zuckmayer is best
remembered for the movie script, The Blue Angel. The 1930 German movie starred Marlena Dietrich
and Emil Jannings. Mr. Zuckmayer wrote several other popular German plays such
as The Merry Vineyard, Katharina Knie and The
Captain from Kopenick. These
plays carried anti-Nazi political themes.
His stance against the Nazi regime led to his works being banned in the
Third Reich, to have his German citizenship revoked, and to appear on Nazi
arrest lists.
A Part of Myself is approximately 400 pages
and at times an intense read. I made several observations about this memoir. The first observation is Carl Zuckmayer’s wonderful description
of the places he lived and traveled through.
His descriptions of his birthplace in Western Germany (Hesse-Darmstadt),
his home in Salzburg, his travels through America as well as his farm life in
Vermont. Zuckmayer describes scenery
quite well, I could see these places through his eyes. Secondly, Zuckmayer traveled in interesting literary
and artistic circles and met with many interesting luminaries and historical
figures which he describes in great detail.
Finally, Carl Zuckmayer witnessed some of the most horrific events of
the 20th Century including fighting in World War 1; the rise of the
Nazis in Germany; and the Anschluss in Austria.
He gives a fascinating firsthard account of these events.
Unlike other memoirs, this one starts at the height of
Zuckmayer’s fame, his career and his very happy family life. He discusses his home in Henndorf,
Austria. When his first successful play becomes
a hit, he buys a vacation home in this village near Salzburg. The reader is treated to his life in Austria
and the beautiful Austrian landscape and culture. I wanted to buy a ticket and roan the
Austrian countryside with my wife. Henndorf
goes from a vacation home to a full-time residence once Hitler and the Nazis
come to power in Germany.
Then Carl Zuckmayer’s firsthand account of the German takeover
of Austria is frightening and reads like a novel. Zuckmayer finds himself in Vienna during these
terrible days. Friends commit suicide
and he escapes to Henndorf, then attempts to flee to Switzerland. Zuckmayer has a record as a Nazi critic and
has a Jewish Grandmother. His account of
the quick 180-degree change in his fellow Austrians is terrifying. There are parallels to the times we live in that
I find shocking. The escape alone is
worth reading this book. You are at the
edge of your seat. Even in the bleakest moments
you see small green shoots of kindness. This
is must read. Once Zuckmayer and his
family are safe in Switzerland, the memoir shifts to his early life.
Zuckmayer was born to a wealthy family in the
Hesse/Frankfurt/Mainz area of the German Empire in 1896. Germany is at the height of her pre-World War
1 power. Zuckmayer tells the tales of a
Tom Sawyer like childhood with a loving family.
As the Guns of August approach, young Carl, at the age of 17, volunteers
for service in the German Army during World War 1. He fights and survives for 4 years. His older brother is severely injured and
Zuckmayer himself suffers a concussion that incapacitated him at the end of the
war. By the end, Zuckmayer despised the
war and is disillusioned toward German nationalism. Zuckmayer was a liberal that had high hopes
for the post war period of the Weimer Republic.
But he quickly realizes the Weimer Republic cannot fight against the rise
of nationalist and conservative elements.
Zuckmayer met many illustrious people throughout his life. Zuckmayer tells the story of meeting Kaiser
William II in the closing years of the Great War. Zuckmayer retells the look of defeat on the
Kaiser’s face. He attends the speeches in
Bavaria of the head of a fringe fascist group and is so close that he witnesses
the spit flailing from the mustache of one Adolf Hitler. Zuckmayer met Albert Einstein at his
successful play The Captain of Kopenick. Zuckmayer worked with the great Marlena
Dietrich and Emil Jannings in The Blue Angle. The movie would launch Marlena Dietrich’s
career for over 50 years in the movies. Jannings was the first actor to win the
Academy Award for Best Actor in 1927. Jannings
became a propaganda spokesperson for the Nazi Regime and his career in
Hollywood was destroyed.
As a young boy, Carl meets performers at the Wallenda Circus—The Wallendas
would go on for over a century in entertaining the masses. (In 2020, Nik Wallenda
will attempt to navigate the tightrope over a volcano). Zuckmayer befriended American journalist, Dorothy
Thompson in Berlin. Thompson’s anti-Nazi
stories back to America led her to be expelled in 1934. The Zuckmayers were friends with Thompson and
her husband, Sinclair Lewis, the American short story writer and playwright. Zuckmayer interacts with Ernest Hemmingway,
who Carl states was drunk most of the time.
Carl meets Captain von Trapp and his family in Salzburg before their
story became famous in The Sound of Music. The story regards tales and anecdotes of
fellow authors, playwrights and other elite liberals in Weimer Germany. Many died when the Nazis eliminated the
liberal intelligentsia.
Eventually Zuckmayer and his family would come to live in
exile in the United States. I am happy
that our country took him in from certain death in Nazi controlled Europe. But as I read this story, I kept asking if my
country, the beacon of hope and the refuge of yesteryear, is still that today
as it was then. In my research Zuckmayer
wrote reports on character portraits of actors, writers and other artists in
Germany for the Office of Strategic Services, evaluating their involvement with
the Nazi regime. He does not share that
in his memoirs and was only released in 2002.
In 1946, at the behest of the US War Department, Zuckmayer traveled
around Germany for 5 months as the US cultural attaché reporting back his observances. The report was released in 2004. Zuckmayer
A Part of Me by Carl Zuckmayer is a fascinating
look into a long-ago time period, however we as a free and thinking people
should read this book to look at the parallels with our age. I urge you to pick up a copy of this book.
Keep Reading My Friends!!!!
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