February 1933: The Winter of German Literature

On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, and that changed the cultural climate in the country. In February it became clear who among well-known writers, artists, and intellectuals would be in danger and forced to flee, who would advance in their careers with Nazi support, and who would go into internal exile to watch what was happening. Uwe Wittstock, drawing on diaries, letters, and archival documents, tells about a turning point in German history. The process of democracy turning into the kingdom of Nazi terror took only one month. He describes the fates of 33 German intellectuals, including Thomas Mann, Else Lasker-Schüler, and Bertolt Brecht, as well as clashes in the streets, where the right attacks the left and vice versa.