''Goldsborough'' is a

proletarian novel Proletarian literature refers here to the literature created by left-wing writers mainly for the class-conscious proletariat. Though the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' states that because it "is essentially an intended device of revolution", it is t ...

by the German-American writer Stefan Heym. It depicts a coal miners' strike during 1949-1950 set in the fictional Goldsborough,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, a company town near

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. The protagonist is Carlisle Kennedy, head of a large family and himself a miner. When the local union chief fails to take action against the company, Kennedy leads a wildcat pit strike. Stefan Heym, a refuge from Hitler's Germany and a naturalized American, began this novel in the United States after doing site visits with coal miners in

Western Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania is a region in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, covering the western third of the state. Pittsburgh is the region's principal city, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic ...

, but

McCarthyism McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. The term origin ...

drove him to

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, where he finished writing it in 1952. The book was written and first published in English, in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

, and released by an American publisher a year later, as well as in a German translation. Heym renounced his American citizenship in response to the beginning of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

and lived in East Germany until his death. A book critical of American capitalism and praising striking miners was completely acceptable to the authorities of the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

; only later did the authorities become displeased with Heym, when he started expressing opinions critical of the East German regime itself.

References

* 1953 American novels 1953 German novels Novels set in Pennsylvania Fiction set in 1949 Fiction set in 1950 Fictional miners Fictional trade unionists Labor disputes in the United States {{1950s-novel-stub