VI
Zeitblom’s recollection of late-nineteenth-century Kaisersaschern was heavily influenced by descriptions of early modern Nuremberg, the town of Albrecht Dürer. This is an important example of “typological allegory” in DF, a technique whereby people and places are superimposed onto earlier figures from German history to illustrate continuities. Here, Z. explicitly suggests a resemblance between quotidian life under the Nazis and medieval religious fanaticism.
Time of composition: July 13–17, 1943. Time of narration: Summer 1943. Narrated time: 1895–1903.
| | See Hosea 8:7. In this chapter, Z. shows a greater degree of introspection than in the previous one. |
| alliterative magic charms | The “Merseburg Charms,” generally dated to the tenth century CE. |
| | Otto III (980–1002) became Holy Roman Emperor in 996. His actual grave is in Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle). Otto III was famous for his love of Italy, and for moving the capital of the Empire to Rome. By relocating his grave to the fictive Kaisersaschern, TM is possibly trying to establish a link between the protestant German world and the Catholic Latin sphere. |
| | Latin: standing now. In scholastic philosophy, a description of the temporal nature of God, in whom all of eternity is equally present. Kaisersaschern, much like Buchel and Pfeiffering, seems to stand outside the general flow of history. TM knew the concept of nunc stans through the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) and drew extensively on it in The Magic Mountain. |
| | The German original refers specifically to Hans Böhm (ca. 1458–1476), the “Drummer of Niklashausen,” who was put to death because he preached the equality of all men regardless of the estate they were born into. |
| | Z. here draws an explicit connection between medieval times and the Third Reich, thereby alerting us to the fact that his description of Kaisersaschern should be read also as a commentary on Germany under the Nazis. |
| neurotic descent into the depths | The German has Unterteuftheit, an extremely rare term from miner’s jargon that means “undermined,” but phonetically also alludes to Teufel = devil. |
| | The term Volk (adjectival form völkisch), referring to a culturally, ethnically, and linguistically homogenous large group of people, was of central relevance to nineteenth- and twentieth-century conservative thought, including that of the Nazis. |
| compelled to perform […] jerky dance | A possible reference to the maniacal passion with which German crowds performed the Hitler salute, or to the goose-stepping of German soldiers. |
| | Z. (or TM) is incorrect. Fladus is actually a north German dialectal word for a specific kind of headdress. A flute-douce (French) is a type of organ stop. |
| eight years of […] young life | The German original has “nine years.” John. E. Woods is trying to correct for obvious inconsistencies in the chronology. |