Theodor Plievier
Theodor Plievier was a German author born on February 17, 1892, in Berlin, coming from a family marked by poverty. He left school at twelve to support his family and later took on various jobs, including working as a sailor. His experiences during World War I, where he served in the Imperial German Navy, significantly influenced his writing, leading him to produce works that criticized the war and the rise of right-wing politics in Germany. Notably, his best-known novel, *Stalingrad: The Death of an Army*, reflects the disillusionment of a German soldier and blends historical events with fictional narratives. Plievier's works faced censorship under the Nazi regime, prompting his escape to France and subsequent entrapment in the Soviet Union during the war. His trilogy, which includes *Moscow* and *Berlin: A Novel*, explores the themes of war's brutality and the resilience of the human spirit. Plievier passed away on March 12, 1955, in Switzerland, leaving behind a legacy of literature that powerfully portrays the tragedies of war.
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Theodor Plievier
Author
- Born: February 17, 1892
- Birthplace: Berlin, Germany
- Died: March 12, 1955
- Place of death: Avegno, Switzerland
Biography
Theodor Plievier was born February 17, 1892, in Berlin, Germany. His father, Theodor Rudolf Plievier, was a manual laborer, and his mother, Albertine Louise (Thing) Plievier, stayed home to raise the children in a poverty-stricken household. Plievier had to leave school at the age of twelve to help support the family but read incessantly to continue his education. Plievier ran away from home at seventeen to work odd jobs and perform manual labor across Europe.
In his late teens, Plievier worked as a sailor on a ship destined for South America. His maritime experiences were noticed by the German government, and he was conscripted into the Imperial German Navy, where he served in World War I from 1914 to 1918.
Experiencing the horrors of war firsthand, Plievier wrote two books, The Kaiser’s Coolies and The Kaiser Goes, the Generals Remain, which denounce war and the right-wing political movement that was growing in Germany. The Nazi party banned and burned his novels. Plievier, fearing arrest, fled to France. While in France, he was invited to speak at a literary convention in Moscow. Upon his arrival, the Nazis revoked his passport, leaving him trapped in the Soviet Union.
While there, Germany attacked Russia, and Plievier once again witnessed the brutality and senselessness of war. It was from these experiences that Plievier’s trilogy about the German- Russian conflict was created. The first and best-known novel, Stalingrad: The Death of an Army, follows a German soldier, August Gnotkes, through his disillusionment with war and the Nazi party. Gnotkes saves the life of a fellow soldier, and in doing so reinstates his faith in humankind and himself. The book was well received and praised for Plievier’s ability to blend factual events and fiction. Stalingrad was made into a stage play and motion picture.
The second novel in the trilogy, Moscow, was written after Plievier was relocated to East Berlin after the war. It is divided into three sections. The first describes Germany’s plans to invade Russia, the second explores Russia’s disorganization after the surprise attack, and the third reveals not only how the German army was utterly unprepared for the harsh Russian winter but also depicts the resilience and power of the Russian people, who defended their land against foreign invaders.
The final installment in the trilogy was Berlin: A Novel, which takes place after the war as an appointed government is installed in the ruins of the German capitol. The novel’s climax is the 1953 workers’ march in which the German people clashed violently with the Soviet army. The conflict reintroduces Stalingrad’s August Gnotke, who is killed by a stray bullet after surviving the horrors of the battlefield. Plievier again is able to show the senselessness of war through Gnotke’s pointless and ironic death.
After Moscow’s publication, Plievier received multiple death threats. He moved to Switzerland with his second wife and their five-year-old daughter. While walking with his daughter, Plievier died March 12, 1955, in Avegno, Switzerland, following a heart attack.
Plievier’s ability to show the tragedies of war and the power of the human spirit is his greatest literary achievement.