''Schlump. The Story of an Unknown Soldier'' is a 1928
semi-autobiographical novel
An autobiographical novel is a form of novel using autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The literary technique is distinguished from an autobiography or memoir by the stipulation of being fiction. Bec ...
by the
German
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 ...
author . Published anonymously by
Kurt Wolff, the book relates the experiences of its protagonist, Emil Schulz, known as "Schlump", as a military policeman in
German-occupied France
The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...
during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The work was
burnt by the Nazis in 1933 because of its satirical and anti-war tone.
History and legacy
Although briefly acclaimed after its initial publication, the book was almost immediately eclipsed by the success of
Erich Maria Remarque
Erich Maria Remarque (, ; born Erich Paul Remark; 22 June 1898 – 25 September 1970) was a German-born novelist. His landmark novel '' All Quiet on the Western Front'' (1928), based on his experience in the Imperial German Army during Worl ...
's ''
All Quiet on the Western Front
''All Quiet on the Western Front'' (german: Im Westen nichts Neues, lit=Nothing New in the West) is a novel by Erich Maria Remarque, a German veteran of World War I. The book describes the German soldiers' extreme physical and mental trauma du ...
'', published in 1929. However, it regained momentary popularity in 2013 when Grimm was identified as the author, after his granddaughter reached out to German writer and literary critic
Volker Weidermann
Volker Weidermann (born 1969) is a German writer and literary critic. He currently works for ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' as the literary director and editor of the newspaper's Sunday edition. In 2015, he changed to Der Spiegel.
Life
...
following his inclusion of the novel in his ''Book of Burned Books''. To that end, in 2015, an English edition was published by the ''
New York Review of Books
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
'' translated by
Jamie Bulloch
Jamie Bulloch (born 6 September 1969) is a British historian and translator of German literature.
Life and work
Jamie was born at East Dulwich Hospital in 1969. He grew up in Tooting, south-west London, attending first Rosemead School, then Whi ...
with an editorial commentary by Weidermann.
However, remarking on the novel's waning popularity in 2021, Michael Shindler in the ''
University Bookman'' notes, "Probably ''Schlump''
..will soon join that once-celebrated epic poem of the third-century
Neoplatonist
Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some ide ...
Zoticus, which told of the death of
Atlantis
Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...
, of which every verse has sunk below the horizon of human memory."
See also
*''
The Case of Sergeant Grischa
''The Case of Sergeant Grischa'' (1927) is a war novel by the German writer Arnold Zweig. Its original German title is ''Der Streit um den Sergeanten Grischa''. It is part of Zweig's hexalogy ''Der große Krieg der weißen Männer'' (The great wa ...
'' (1927)
References
Citations
External links
Have You Read Schlump Yet?in ''
The Paris Review
''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Philip ...
''
1928 German-language novels
Anti-war novels
Novels set during World War I
Novels set in Europe
{{1920s-WWI-novel-stub