German-speaking culture has been around since long before Roman times, when Gauls would refer to tribes east of the Elba as ‘Teutons’ and Julius Caesar called the region ‘Germania’. In fact, early settlements were present during the neolithic era. During the Middle Ages, various German-speaking kingdoms emerged from the Holy Roman Empire, evolving into the Hapsburg/ Austro-Hungarian empire, and the Prussian and then German empire. In this era of imperial expansion, a distinctively Germanic literature developed. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries there was a great flowering of culture, with the emergence of writers such as Goethe, Schiller, Lessing and the Brothers Grimm. Later, in the twentieth century, German-speaking literature further matured with the works of Hermann Hesse, Thomas Mann, Gunter Grass, Heinrich Böll and Bertolt Brecht.
Here are just a few favorites from our CAE catalogue concerned with Germanic culture:
All Quiet on the Western Front [B0101] by Erich Maria Remarque
A classroom of German schoolboys in 1914 are goaded by a schoolmaster to troop off to the ‘glorious war’. This is the story of a young soldier facing the horrors of trench warfare.
All That I Am [B2137] by Anna Funder
Based on real people and events of Germany in 1939, this is an exhilarating exploration of bravery and betrayal in time of war, about the risks and sacrifices people make for their beliefs.
The Book Thief [B1995] by Markus Zusak
A love affair with books and words. Liesel, with the help of her accordion-playing foster father, learns to read. A story about the power of words to make worlds, set during Nazi Germany.
Death in Venice [B1157] by Thomas Mann
In 1911, an ageing German writer travels to Venice, where he develops an obsession with a beautiful young boy but ignores rumours about disease spreading through the city.
The Magician [B2373] by Colm Tóibín
Like many fellow countrymen, Thomas Mann is fired with patriotism in 1914, believing in a Germany of great literature and music. But the promising young writer has a secret life…
The Reader [B1562] by Bernhard Schlink
15-year-old Michael has a love affair with a young woman. Later, as a law student at a trial in Germany, he discovers that she is the prisoner in the dock. But she harbours a great secret.
Stasiland [B1680] by Anna Funder
Extraordinary stories from a surveillance state, former East Germany during the 1980s. A portrait of a Kafkaesque world as gripping as any thriller.
The Tin Drum [B0070] by Gunter Grass
Haunted by the deaths of his parents, Oskar recounts the events of his extraordinary life, from the long nightmare of the Nazi era to his anarchic adventures in post-war Germany.
What about other books that feature aspects of German-speaking culture? Here are some of our favorites, including several classics:
Austerlitz by W G Sebald (2001)
Sebald’s final novel, Austerlitz tells the story of one man’s life and its central riddle; who are his real parents? The riddle begins to unravel as he follows the trail back to Germany.
Babylon Berlin by Volker Kutscher (2007)
Set in Berlin in 1929, this story reveals the behind the scenes of the German police force through the eyes of Detective Inspector Rath.
Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann (1901)
Buddenbrooks tell the story of four generations of a bourgeois family in northern Germany as they face the advent of modernity. With the changing times comes an unsettling of the family’s bonds and traditions.
Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann (1947)
First published in 1947, this is a modern retelling of the classic Faustian tale. In this version, it is Germany selling its soul to the devil.
The Fig Eater by Jody Shields (2000)
A young woman’s body is found during the height of the Viennese summer in 1910. The Inspector’s wife is certain the figs found in the woman’s stomach are the key to solving the murder.
The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse (1943)
A futuristic tale set in the 23rd century, following Joseph Knecht and his journey to becoming a Magister Ludi; an expert at the Glass Bead Game.
Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood (1939), later adapted for the stage as Cabaret
This is a series of linked short stories in which Isherwood says goodbye to the people and places that make up his Berlin.
Grimm’s Fairy Tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (1812)
Classical tales which contain all the essential stories well-known to children around the world. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were German linguists that collated these tales from legendary folklore.
The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum by Heinrich Böll (1974)
Katharina Blum falls in love with a young radical on the run from the police. The transformation from bright and hardworking, to murderess, begins there…
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann (1924)
A monumental book in which Mann uses a sanitorium hidden in the Swiss Alps, a community devoted to sickness, as an allegory for Europe which was beginning to exhibit signs of its own irrationality.
The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil (1930)
The Man Without Qualities is set in Vienna on the eve of WW1. It tells the tale of Ulrich as he is dragged into the exuberant plans for the 70th jubilee of Emperor Franz Joseph.
Mephisto by Klaus Mann (1936)
A thinly veiled tale about Klaus Mann’s own brother-in-law, an actor and revolutionary driven by an obsessive need for power and fame.
The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth (1932)
An intergenerational tale of the Trotta family spanning the rise and the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Joseph Trotto’s decision to step in front of a bullet aimed at the Emperor, the riches he is awarded with separates him instantly from the simple and forgotten lives of his ancestors.
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse (1922)
Siddhartha leaves his wealthy life, and family behind in search of a contemplative life.
The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1774)
A semi-autobiographical tale, published in 1774, that tells the tale of a desperate man hopelessly in love with his friends’ wife.
Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche (1883)
Widely considered Neitzsche’s masterpiece, this contains his musings on the death of God and the Superhuman. A monolith of Western literature.
Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse (1927)
A magical story of a man who felt himself half-human and half-wolf. Through this lens Hesse explores philosophy and imbues a powerful sense of humanity.
The Third Man by Graham Greene (1950)
A magical story of a man who felt himself to be half-human and half-wolf. A wonderful exploration of humanity and a plea for self-examination.
The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht (1928)
Brecht’s most successful play, The Threepenny Opera, is a satirisation of the bourgeois Weimer republic told via the love story between Polly Peachum and Macheath.
What other books about Germany, Austria, Switzerland and other German-speaking countries do you know and admire?
Also, if you would like to delve further into German-speaking culture, why not treat yourself and your friends to a course in German language at CAE? You can join as an absolute beginner, or you can reacquaint yourself with the language if you have some prior knowledge.