Mephisto by Klaus Mann is a stunning novel that takes its readers on an emotional journey of a man living in Nazi Germany. Mann powerfully captures a tragically familiar story of one life caught up in a political system’s death grip. Mephisto follows the story of Hendrik Höfgen, an aspiring actor and former freedom fighter who, desperate to realize his artistic ambitions, sells out to the Nazis to continue his career. Written in 1936 and first published two years later, Mephisto is one of Klaus Mann’s greatest works and a classic of German literature.
Mephisto begins in Weimar Germany, when Hendrik Höfgen is a young and popular cabaret artist in Berlin, who is contemptuous of the racist National Socialist regime. Hendrik’s art stands for freedom, social justice and equality, which leads him to be politically outspoken during openly opposing the Nazis. His outspokenness leads him to lose his job and be forced to leave Berlin. He ends up in Silesia, and lives an isolated, dreamless life of poverty, while the Nazis come to power in Germany.
Desperate to realize his ambitions, Hendrik is forced to make a deal with the devil and join the Nazi regime and their theatrical wing called the ‘Gau-Theater’. Hendrik uses his powerful performances to become popular amongst the Nazi elite and climb the ranks while selling his soul through his complacency and identification with them. He laments his choice as he sees the ugly realities of the Nazi regime and also struggles with his inner life.
Hendrik’s story reflects the betrayal of many Germans under Nazi rule. Having no other choice, Hendrik struggles to reconcile his identity between the moral and immoral choices he was forced to make by a cruel regime. As he walks a fine line between his inner morality and the Nazi’s doctrine, the Nazis’ own words and actions ultimately become his downfall. The reader is left wondering if Hendrik was justified in his actions or if he was corrupted by the system that he had tried to oppose.
In an almost prophetic way, Mann has also managed to capture the psychological state of a nation by conveying a sense of helplessness as many people are forced to make a choice between their own moral beliefs and the orders of their leaders. In a life that is filled with fear, the reader is made to feel the ambivalence of a society teetering on the edge of acceptance and condemnation. Even those closest to Hendrik are forced to turn away from his desperate attempts to escape from the dehumanizing entrapment of the totalitarian regime.
Mephisto is a truly remarkable work that conveys the terrible effects of depression and resignation due to Nazi rule in Germany. Through Hendrik’s story, readers are offered a glimpse into the desperation and struggles faced by many people living under the rule of Nazi Germany. We can only hope that such a tragic story can be a source of learning and reflection as we continue to move forward today.
