EDITH KURZWEIL
369
A sharp and insightful observer of the Jews and the ever accelerating
ordinances against them, and of the Germans around him and their reac–
tions to local, national and international events, Klemperer's 1694 page
oeuvre brings his considerable erudition, his extensive knowledge of his–
tory, literature and culture to this task. Already in April 1933, he notes
that Hitler's movement depends on the Jewish cause, but he "fails [as yet]
to understand why this is so central."
In
his introduction to
Lingua Tertii
Imperii (The Language of the Third Reich),
the book based on entries in this
diary that was published in 1975, he notes:
In the hours of disgust and hopelessness, in the endless boredom of mechanical
factory work, at sickbeds and deathbeds, at grave sites and in my distress, and in
moments of utter humiliation, while my heart was failing - the demand of this
dairy always helped me over the hump: observe, study, impress on your memory
what is happening, tomorrow it seems different, tomorrow you already experi–
ence it differently: hold on to how it appears now, and how it influences. [my
translation]
Klemperer knows that keeping this diary, and wntmg his
"Curriculum" (autobiography), are keeping him sane. Again and again,
he cannot believe that he will survive: when he is deprived of his means
of support; is denied access to the libraries he needs for the research he
desperately clings to; when the car he acquired with endless difficulty is
being confiscated; when his living quarters repeatedly are being searched;
when he has to move to the "Jewish house" from the one he and Eva had
labored so steadfastly first to acquire and then to maintain; and when he is
forced to move to yet more crammed quarters. He writes of having to
put his cat to sleep after Jews no longer were allowed to keep pets; of the
humiliations at having to forego visits to a barber; of having to wear a
large yellow star; and of having to buy food with his Jewish rationcard.
Throughout, he was worried about Eva's health; her exhaustion at having
to run around bargaining for potatoes and other necessities; and endan–
gering her life while carrying his diary across town to hide it. Still,
Klemperer realizes that he is so much better off than other Jews, thanks to
Eva.
Klemperer was slow only in recognizing the Nazis' tenacity. He de–
cided to stay on because Eva did not want to leave. He reports on the
many opinions, among family members and friends, that lead him to as–
sume - with "unflinching certainty" - that the Nazis could not maintain
themselves in power. When he hears that his brother, Georg, moved to
Boston to join his son, he is grateful for his ongoing financial support, but
