Nacist i frizer
The Nazi and the Hairdresser (1971) by Edgar Hilsenrath is a grotesque novel that provocatively addresses the Holocaust, told from the perspective of the perpetrator, Max Schulz, an SS man and mass murderer.
The novel follows his life from his childhood in a small Silesian town, where he befriends Itzig Finkelstein, a blue-eyed Jew. Despite their friendship, Max joins the Nazis, becomes a brutal murderer in the Laubwalde concentration camp, and participates in the execution of Itzig's family. After the war, to avoid punishment, Max assumes Itzig's identity, including his profession as a hairdresser, and flees to Israel, where he becomes a prominent citizen and Zionist.
Hilsenrath uses dark humor and satire to expose the absurdity and banality of evil, challenging clichés about Nazis and Jews. Max, despite his appearance resembling anti-Semitic stereotypes, becomes "Jewish," while Itzig, a blond Jew, becomes a victim. The novel explores themes of guilt, identity, and morality without offering simple answers. Hilsenrath, a Holocaust survivor, challenges oblivion by using the grotesque to highlight the everyday nature of the crime. The book caused controversy in Germany, where it was only published in 1977, after its success in the US in 1971. Critics praise its linguistic power and poetics, but also challenge its provocative tone.
One copy is available
