Mephisto in the Third Reich : : Literary Representations of Evil in Nazi Germany / / Emanuela Barasch Rubinstein.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter DG Plus eBook-Package 2015
• VerfasserIn: Barasch Rubinstein, Emanuela,
• Place / Publishing House: München ;, Wien : : De Gruyter Oldenbourg, , [2014]; ©2015
• Year of Publication: 2014
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (171 p.)
• Other title: Frontmatter --; Contents --; Introduction Introduction --; Chapter One. The Image of the Devil in Western Culture The Image of the Devil --; Chapter Two. Mephisto by Klaus Mann --; Chapter Three. I and I by Else Lasker-Schüler --; Chapter Four. Germany and the Germans by Thomas Mann --; Chapter Five The Deputy by Rolf Hochhuth --; Chapter Six. The Holocaust and the Future --; Bibliography --; Index
• Format: Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
• ISBN: 9783110379433; 9783110700985; 9783110369526; 9783110370225
• DOI: 10.1515/9783110379433
• Access: restricted access
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: Emanuela Barasch Rubinstein.

The association of Nazism with the symbol of ultimate evil – the devil – can be found in the works of Klaus and Thomas Mann, Else Lasker-Schüler, and Rolf Hochhuth. He appears either as Satan of the Judeo-Christian tradition, or as Goethe’s Mephisto. The devil is not only a metaphor, but a central part of the historical analysis. Barasch-Rubinstein looks into this phenomenon and analyzes the premise that the image of the devil had a substantial impact on Germans’ acceptance of Nazi ideas. His diabolic characteristics, the pact between himself and humans, and his prominent place in German culture are part of the intriguing historical observations these four German writers embedded in their work. Whether writing before the outbreak of WWII, during the war, or after it, when the calamities of the Holocaust were already well-known, they all examine Nazism in the light of the ultimate manifestation of evil.