This is a collection of stories about the perception, prediction, and escape of danger. On January 30, 1933, Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany, and from that day until the promulgation of the Presidential Decree for the Protection of the People and the State, which abolished all important civil rights, it took only four weeks and two days. People's fate will be decided in less than two months, but it was not yet known at that time. A large number of writers and artists left Germany, and "Literary Winter: Artists under Hitler's Rule in 1933" compiled the first wave of escape that lasted until mid March. The author recorded the stories of many people on the brink of death using a white line drawing technique, excavating and sorting through diaries, letters, and oral history, presenting the choices of many members of the elite class before the arrival of totalitarianism. Some people run away decisively when they see danger, some hesitate to leave their homeland, some see opportunities to rise to fame, and some are immersed in fantasies and stubbornly refuse to realize. A glimpse into these artists, writers, and cultural bureaucrats reveals the insignificance of individuals at historic moments, the complexity of human nature, the difficulty of grasping reality, and how disasters come about.

One

Artists who are free spirited, more modern, and have a stronger sense of individuality have the most sensitive sense of smell and are the first to escape. Vicky Baum is quick witted and has an astonishing sensitivity to character images with contemporary characteristics. Her novel "The Grand Hotel," published in 1929, brings together people of vastly different social classes and backgrounds in a high-end hotel, connecting their destinies in fleeting moments of their lives. She has a keen insight into those struggling in a society without morality and direction. The novel was a great success, with German theaters and Broadway in New York competing to perform it. Hollywood also bought the film rights, and Paramount signed her a high paying screenwriting contract. During her stay in the United States, she saw in German newspapers that the Nazis considered her a typical Jewish "asphalt writer" and that she must be banned from her profession as soon as possible to prevent her shallow and sensational novels from destroying German culture. The so-called "asphalt literature" refers to literature that is not rooted in local reality and decorates the road surface. In 1932, Baum and his family immigrated to the United States.

The creative environment for artists continues to deteriorate, and theaters have become ideological battlefields. Bertolt Brecht's play "Measures" was interrupted by police during its premiere, accused of "portraying the class struggle that sparked global revolution in a communist revolutionary way," and accused of inciting treason by the Imperial Court; Afterwards, the performances of "Thirty Cent Opera" and "St. Johanna of the Slaughterhouse" were also suspended and banned one after another. Brecht had long felt the danger, but he was weak, arrogant, and unresponsive, "not fighting, not surrendering, not leaving".

At the meeting of the German Writers' Protection Association held on January 30, 1933, some proposed a resolute boycott of the Nazis, but most people dismissed it and believed that Hitler's antics would soon come to an end. At a gathering of writers discussing how to deal with Hitler's purge, Brecht believed that a guard should be established, which was considered a fantasy that could not be operated. Leonhard Frank proposed to gather the most famous writers to protest Hitler's appointment as Chancellor, but there were few responses. As a proletarian writer who rose to fame through hardships, he was looked down upon by writers like Brecht who came from the bourgeoisie and received a good education. Frank was surprised by the indecisiveness and dejection of these people, and was subjected to Brecht's sarcastic ridicule. Without the intention or plan to reach a consensus, a sense of helplessness quickly spreads. Four weeks before Hitler came to power, Brecht talked to others about possible exile in the future. At this moment, the situation was even more dangerous, but no one mentioned exile or made specific preparations.

Friends kept warning Brecht to leave quickly, and his wife was arrested and detained for several days while starring in his play "Lullaby of the Proletarian Mother". However, he still struggled to make a decision and dismissed the demonstration martyrdom of journalist and writer Carl von Ositzki, who said he would never leave. He even fantasized about waiting in the countryside until Hitler stepped down. When the economy was in crisis, the publishing house that had previously signed a long-term agency contract with him decided to flee to Vienna with his wife Weigel after his two plays could no longer be performed under the new situation and no longer paid monthly.

Two

Many people are still entangled, some indulge in personal interests and grudges, some are confined to their own reputation, and some are misled by their beliefs. On February 12th, writer Heinrich Mann and printmaker Kaisee Kollwitz signed the "Urgent Appeal!" poster made by the Revolutionary Democratic Socialist Fighting Alliance, criticizing other parties for their inability to transcend ideological opposition and jointly resist the Nazi Party. Henrich has always been a thorn in the side of the right and stubborn nationalists, actively advocating that Germany should firmly follow the example of the West or be guided by socialist ideology, and envision a grand vision for the European Union. Three days later, Prussia's interim Minister of Culture, Ruster, demanded that Max von Schilling, the dean of the Prussian Academy of Arts, dismiss or dismiss Kaiser Kollwitz and Heinrich Mann, otherwise the academy or at least the literary department would be completely dissolved.

Xilin interviewed Kalehuizhi and Henrich, using temptation or threats to make them resign. There were two meetings before and after the college regarding the fate of these two individuals, and the members had two main attitudes. One group, represented by Schilling and Gottfried Bain, believed that their signatures made Minister Rust feel insulted, violated the indispensable dignity, and could not sacrifice the entire college for the two of them. Bain believed that receiving allowances meant serving the minister, and accused the minister of barbaric behavior as a blatant provocation against a legitimate and lawful government. Only then did the government begin to protect itself. He even passionately rebuked some members for considering politics more important than the interests of the academy. The academy, with its great tradition, is the only institution that can showcase writers with artistic representation. Both of them had their own personal reasons. Xilins felt that he couldn't achieve success in music because the Jewish dominated music industry didn't give him an opportunity as an Aryan, and he had a good impression of the new anti Semitic authorities. Bain lived in poverty and greatly needed this job, and receiving official recognition made him ecstatic.

A group such as architect Martin Wagner and writer Alfred Deblin defended Heinrich. But Martin was immediately attacked by another architect, who said he was not selected by the academy, but by a former official of Rust. He couldn't bear the members of an organization being so unjust, so angry that he resigned and slammed the door. Debrin defended the freedom of expression granted to citizens by the Constitution, believing that Xilin's obedience had caused the academy to lose its dignity and independence. But he was also quite surprised by Heinrich Mann's reaction. All along, Deblin thought Henry was a politically alert and steadfast person, but Henry retreated during the war for basic rights. Henrich said he didn't want to be forced by his opponents into a power struggle and soon fled Germany.

Debrin and Henrich's brother Thomas Mann also resigned one after another, but tried his best to avoid public protests against the government. Thomas said he had no intention of opposing the government at all, but was determined to engage in creativity; Deblin initially had no objections to the statement to be released, but later withdrew his compromise and resigned, stating that he did not want to become a burden on the department as a Jewish person. The literature department argued for a long time and drafted a weak protest manifesto, which could not be published without Xilin's approval. At the second meeting, Bain suggested collective loyalty and drafted a corresponding text with Xilins: not to participate in any anti-government public political activities, and promised to faithfully cooperate with the statutory national cultural tasks assigned to the college by the state. No one protests, at the mercy of others. Afterwards, the college lost those highly charismatic writers and was filled with mediocre people.

Some people are disappointed while others are proud. On February 4th, playwright Hans Jost was appointed as the chief screenwriter of the Prussian Ministry of Culture by the Nazi Party. In his new play 'Schlag ? t', Jost portrays his idol Schlag ? t, whom nationalists have mourned in recent years, as a flawless knight who believes in self sacrifice and devoutly serves his country as the 'First Warrior of the Third Reich'.The play premiered in Berlin on Hitler's birthday (April 20th) and was dedicated to him with the slogan "In the reverence of love and unwavering loyalty". The scene became a grand mass of extreme nationalism. Schlag ? tter won the highest political award in the country, and other theaters competed to perform it. After the Nazis came to power, the risk of left-wing or Jewish writer plays being staged in theaters was incalculable, and these plays catering to new forces temporarily formed a monopoly. Jost became a representative writer of the new era, president of the Imperial Academy of Literature, chairman of the German PEN Center, and captain of the SS, and rose to great heights from then on.

If Henrich is weak and overly fond of feathers, then Bain exhibits both obedience and transcendence as contradictory traits. He believed that Hitler's rise to power opened a new stage in history, where stronger ancient values regained power, the willingness to sacrifice oneself for the greater good replaced individualism, and collectives and nations replaced democracy and compromise. Every revolution requires sacrifice, and we are no exception, as long as we can develop a more respectable nation. He regards mythology, intoxication, and irrationality as the more powerful forces in art since ancient times, disdains left-wing writers who regard reason and enlightenment as the highest standards of literature, and believes that the struggle for social justice has reduced literature to vulgar propaganda, and the struggle only proves innocence. Bain's exceptional self-awareness has been praised by critics as a brave pioneer, firmly believing that history fundamentally knows nothing about progress, morality, and hope, shows no mercy towards the fate of millions of people, and the only law is to survive. The Weimar Republic and its democratic system led to social decadence and collapse, and the people's desire to rebuild a more stringent order under Nazi rule was a historical inevitability. The bourgeois values of freedom, diversity, and the rule of law were outdated. Previously, the Mann brothers considered him a skilled language artist and a ruthless intellectual who viewed history and culture with indifference. However, the undisputed great old woman in the German literary world, Rikelda Huh, believed that his pretentious tone was a cheap gesture rather than a sober and bone deep attitude towards life. Now, he has opened the door to authoritarianism with vague words that subvert everything, regardless of moral right or wrong.

Three

Thomas Mann's strong avoidance of confronting the government did not bring him stability. On February 10, 1933, he gave a speech at the University of Munich about the German composer Richard Wagner. He placed Wagner among a series of great writers such as Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and praised him as a master of Romanticism, a great psychologist, and a passionate theatrical artist. He described him as a pioneer of decadent poets who praised drunkenness, decadence, decay, and strangeness at the turn of the century. Wagner's passion for German cultural traditions and Norse mythology made him an inviolable figure in the eyes of national art enthusiasts, and also made Thomas a provocateur and blasphemer in their eyes.Thomas only regards Wagner as a modernist artist who presents extreme and special psychological states in opera, and prefers strange and interesting tastes.

Afterwards, composers Richard Strauss, Hans Pfitzner, and others issued a joint protest statement against Thomas Mann in the Munich News. Based on national pride, they could not tolerate him portraying Wagner as a decadent and globalist. Thomas not only heard about Germany in Wagner's music, but also about "justice of the world, enjoyment of the world", which is already a derogation of the "great German musical genius". At this time, Thomas was still giving speeches abroad, with his son, daughter, and SThe general manager of Fischer Publishing asked him not to come back, but he refused to believe it. He requested the mayor of Munich and a lawyer to assess the situation before deciding to stay in Switzerland temporarily. At the time when immigration was necessary, with his wife and mother-in-law both having Jewish ancestry, Thomas Mann's idea sounded selfish and terrifying: if 'Germans were not so dangerous after getting rid of Jewish spiritual control', and if they were not foolish enough to drive people like him away, then he could understand their rebellion against Jews.

Thomas eventually embarked on the path of exile, constantly criticizing Nazi atrocities overseas and calling on the German people to return to humanitarianism. Compared to others, his thoughts and evolutionary path are more complex. In the early days, he also had interactions with Jost and did not find anything unusual about 'Bar'. Both of them believe that German spiritual culture is completely different from democracy and Western civilization, and they are very compatible. The nationalist violence after World War I led to a shift in his thinking, and he even attributed some of Yost's characteristics to the fanatical Jewish Nafta in "The Magic Mountain", making him wildly praise the pleasure of obedience and self denial. The two became estranged as a result, and Jost sent an open letter accusing him of betraying the German national character.

When World War I broke out, Thomas was still a cheerful nationalist, believing that war was the most serious reality and the outbreak of vitality, and that art was a rebellion against a peaceful life. He and many German intellectuals believed that war could satisfy deep-seated needs, and that the myth of heroes in the new era could give new life to a decadent era, freeing Germany from the constraints of external enemies and internal spiritual exhaustion. In the later Weimar Republic, there was political chaos and economic decline. Therefore, the promise to end the chaos and restore Germany's strength to the Nazis and Hitler won the support of many people, including many cultural elites who held hope for Hitler.At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, German industrial capital rose, causing economic damage to some classes and impacting traditional lifestyles and values. Anti capitalist sentiment permeated all levels of society, including marginalized intellectuals. German intellectuals have long lacked opportunities and habits to participate in political discussions, so since the Romantic movements of the 18th and 19th centuries, they have been constantly pursuing a spiritual path to their inner selves, with a deeply rooted anti capitalist romanticism tradition. The radical cultural changes brought about by modernist art have caused a lot of resentment among people, prompting them to turn to exploring the cultural genes within Germany, and nationalism has erupted through romanticism.

In 1918's "Reflections on a Non Political Person," Thomas viewed the acceptance of any foreign culture as a weakening and denigration of German ideals, and opposed globalist ideas like Heinrich's (viewing culture as a network of external influences interwoven with one's own traditions); Support the German "spirit" and oppose the French style democratic society. He did not agree with Heinrich's recognition that the value of an artist lies in sympathy for others and social responsibility, as well as his literary goal of transforming reality with ideals. He was also dissatisfied with his obsession and indulgence of the senses, and opposed modern art that manipulates people's hearts in the void. Thomas believed himself to be a serious writer who calmly wrote about the German psyche, transcending politics as an 'aesthetic', that is, not criticizing or changing society, accepting various opposing people in life, and considering all positions insignificant in the face of profound reality, that is, a 'non political'. In Thomas' view, 'non politicians' are more suitable for leading the people and preserving freedom and diversity; And authoritarian rule can ensure the "non political" identity of the people, maintaining individual independence and freedom to the greatest extent possible. This is in line with the German Romanticism's praise for medieval monarchy. Heinrich, who strongly opposed totalitarianism, believed that sensory freedom was the foundation of human nature, political freedom, and the Renaissance. He keenly perceived the connection between Thomas' conservative moral concepts and national emotions, and also reminded him that hiding oneself in the group would become a support for authoritarianism.

In his 1922 essay "On the German Republic," Thomas explicitly supported democracy and the German Republic, interpreting the core idea of the democratic republic he discovered as "compromise" as a German quality. He stated that "Germanism" was not aggression, exclusivity, or destruction, but rather "freedom in the most human sense, gentle, dignified, and peaceful culturally. His conservative stance remains unchanged, advocating for German spiritual culture rather than capitalist civilization. Long after the end of the empire, Thomas still liked to use German culture to resist international, especially Western civilization, to uphold the understanding of culture by the nobility and upper middle class, and opposed the replacement of standard setting elite culture with mass entertainment in the United States, Britain, and France.These can partly explain his and a considerable number of people's hesitation and confusion when facing the Nazis.

Four

Grasping reality is already so difficult, and holding onto beliefs requires taking risks. Under tyranny, everyone is at risk. Only two members who did not attend the meeting, Alphonse Pakay and Ricard Huh, expressed objections to the resignation of Henrich and Kollwitz at the request of Rust, as mentioned earlier. Pakai insists on the responsibility of the college to defend literature and the freedom of writers, and is willing to resign for this reason. Rikalda's view is more fundamental, she believes that writers need a complete independence that is incompatible with their membership in state institutions. Rikalda seems to be a stable middle-class person, but in fact, he is stubborn and combative. He had an extramarital affair with his brother-in-law for 25 years before finally getting married and divorcing. He has also written sentimental novels and biographies of anarchists and freedom fighters, appreciating the fearless rebels. She announced that she would immediately withdraw from the college once she found out how these two people were forced to leave. It's not because she thinks' Urgent Appeal! 'is correct, butWe cannot give up the right to freedom of speech.

Only Rikalda directly stated that the college was not qualified to force her to show loyalty and firmly opposed Hitler's various policies. Xilin instead asked her to stay at the academy, but threatened that her behavior could be understood as a show of support for Henrich and Debrin. Rikalda also does not accept Schilling's praise for her "German faith", saying that the national beliefs set by the current government are not her Germanic nature, and that totalitarianism, coercion, and rudeness are all non Germanic and unreasonable. She said that she did not always share the same views as Heinrich and Deblin, but "hoped that all non Jewish Germans could seek mindfulness and righteousness with a clear conscience, as open, sincere, and upright as I have always seen." At the time of writing this article, she was 68 years old but had no fear. She became the center of anti Hitler meetings at Jena's home.

Some people have also engaged in more intense resistance. Writer Joseph Roth pointed out in his letter to Zweig that everything was heading towards a new war, and hell was hopeless. He devoted himself to the written battle with the Nazis with the belief that he would die. Journalist Egon Erwin Kishi disregarded the police's expulsion order under the pretext of "engaging in subversive activities against the German Empire" and wanted these to become material for reporting and accusations against the Nazis. Ositzki once swore in a speech at the Berlin Halle Gate to take responsibility for what he believed in and defended with his personality and life. At that time, there were police officers standing outside the glass door who could shoot at any time. After the speech, he advised his friends to "escape quickly and not die", saying, "Let them come and arrest me

But the cost that brave people have to bear is also astonishing. There are various severe punishments and laws in prison, such as being beaten, having their hair removed, being drugged with castor oil, and being given laxatives. Prisoners are also tortured to repeatedly throw themselves in and out of the ground, and forced fathers and sons to fight each other. The hygiene conditions in the "wild" prisons of the stormtroopers or SS are extremely poor, and prisoners cannot receive medical treatment or even food. The screams of the prisoners repeatedly reached the streets, and some people couldn't bear to jump out of the window and died; Some people have wounds that are covered in pus and bruises, and when discovered, they are like walking corpses. Misam was killed in a concentration camp; Ositzki suffered from abuse in the concentration camp and died despite medical treatment.

So brave people are always in the minority, courage is the rarest and most precious quality, and intelligence is not antagonistic. The obsession of German nationalists ignores the supremacy of the individual and the collective, regardless of moral right or wrong, and overturns all intellectual supremacy. They love feathers more than truth and justice, and are confident in their ability to accommodate and mediate, but neglect methods and strategies. Selfishness, weakness, hesitation, arrogance, coldness, worldly wisdom, indulgence in fantasy, and learned helplessness... The writers and artists recorded in "Winter of Literature" not only suffer, but also present many personality flaws, human weaknesses, and intellectual shortcomings. They are the victims of this disaster and also a part of it. When social and cultural elites present this appearance, it is not surprising to see the behavior of the disorganized masses. Too many people interrupt their careers and lives in a hurry, never returning to their peak. The wheels of history mercilessly roll over, crushing several generations into powder. All talent, passion, ambition, and arrogance are submerged in hysterical passion.