Swastika Night
Encyclopedia
Swastika Night is a futuristic novel first published in 1937 and republished in 1940 by Katharine Burdekin
, writing under the pseudonym Murray Constantine. Swastika Night was a Left Book Club
selection in 1940.
The novel is based on Hitler's claims that Nazism would create a "Thousand Year Reich". Despite its similarity to an alternate history novel, the text, written prior to World War II
, plays out in a way which is extreme though believable, considering the peculiar character of the Nazi State. At the time of writing, the book was not an alternate history but rather a plausible future history
, which did not come true.
The novel bears striking similarities to Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four
, published more than a decade later: the past has been destroyed and history is rewritten, language is distorted, few books exist apart from propaganda, and a secret book is the only witness to the past.
of women, portraying the Nazis as homosexual misogynists. Christians are marginalized, Jews eliminated, and women disenfranchised — deprived of all rights.
Germany and Japan won the "Twenty Years War" (analogous to World War II), the time it took the Nazis to subdue the Soviet Union
. The protagonist is an Englishman named "Alfred" on a German pilgrimage. In Europe, the English are loathed because they were the last opponents of Nazi Germany
in the "Twenty Years War". The story correctly postulates the air power's importance in war. One of the religious sites Alfred was to visit was the "Sacred Airplane", which, according to long-established dogma, Adolf Hitler piloted on a mission to Moscow, thus achieving victory.
The drastic rewriting of history, after living memory of Hitler, or the time when meaningful resistance to Germany existed, is the logical extension of Burdekin's contemporary view of Nazi Germany. Per official history, Adolf Hitler is a tall, blond god who personally won "The Twenty Years War". Alfred is astounded when shown a secret, historic photograph depicting Hitler and a girl before a crowd. First, he is shocked that Hitler is a small man with dark hair and a paunch. The crowd seem more interested in the girl; this does not fit the world view of Hitler as god. The photograph's most shocking betrayal of myth is the girl's appearance. Alfred believed her to be a boy — the attractive figure has a proud posture and long, blond hair — and is appreciated by the crowd. Women have developed self-loathing, becoming pathetic beings who have difficulty performing their sole, utilitarian function: reproduction.
Elsewhere, the Japanese rule the Americas, Australia, and Asia, to the borders of European Russia
and Persia. Though Japan is the only rival superpower to the Nazi West, their inevitable wars always end in stalemate. The fascist Germans and Japanese suffer much difficulty in maintaining their populations, because of the physical degeneration of their women. In the event, the SS murder Alfred, yet he passes the truth about Nazi history to his surviving son.
The hierarchy: Lord Hitler > Der Fuehrer > Inner Ring of Ten Knights > Knight > Nazi > foreign Hitlerian >>> woman
After mass it is time for the Women’s Worship. Women are driven inside and are told how to behave. They weep all the time. Hermann reminds himself they are like animals and they have no souls. Their tears are a sham and a deceit. Hitler was never in the presence of a woman. They are not fit to raise a boy so men raise a male child. But there is a problem: women produce much more boys than girls. Because of this, the Nazi race is endangered. The rape of women above 15 years old is allowed, for women have no choice or liberty.
The priest later makes a mistake during his speech: “… be submissive and humble and rejoice to do man’s will, for whatever you may think in your empty brains at moments, it is always your will too, and be fruitful and bear strong daughters" when he should have said “sons.” All women and the priest himself are confused by the mistake.
Hermann thinks of the English as funny, informal, queer people. Alfred is rational, quick-witted, etc. while Hermann is slow-brained but physically stronger. Alfred has gotten permission to go on a pilgrimage to visit the Holy Places in Germany. Hermann starts to cry, to which Alfred says: “All you Germans are so emotional”. Hermann thinks of the hate of some Germans against the English, for they were the last enemies of Germany in the war. But Hermann genuinely likes the English: “A queer people, … no one really understands them, and yet plenty of Germans like them.” Hermann realises Alfred is superior to himself, even though Alfred is not a German. Alfred has three sons, Hermann has none yet, but it’s German law for Nazis to have children before the age of 30.
Alfred declares that he is going to destroy the Empire. He says he will be the source of the destruction, though future generations will help. He also doesn’t believe Hitler is God. He was a brave and intelligent man, but just a man, equal to Alfred. Germans are no better than Englishmen, on the contrary, they are just boys. They hide behind the concept of Blood and can’t show compassion or feelings. Boys and women can also get angry and violent; this is not what makes you a man. If people become skeptical of Hitler, they will lose faith and this will mean the end of Germany. The Nazis can use violence and kill people, but they can’t change what people think. If Germans start seeing the truth about their God themselves, their empire will crumble from within. There is no natural reason why Germans should rule half of the world. They are not really that powerful, they can’t destroy the Japanese, who control the other half of the world. Alfred also thinks the English once had a mighty empire, but he is not sure. Hermann becomes frustrated by Alfred’s thoughts and kicks him. Alfred tells Hermann of Alfred, a mighty English king that once lived, and shows England is home to many myths and ancient mysteries.
Then Hermann hears a girl screaming. He finds her, a young Christian girl, and a German boy. She is under 16 years old so she has the right to defend herself. Hermann is appalled by the boy, who wants to rape a Christian, so Hermann attacks him fiercely. Alfred stops Hermann, but the boy is almost dead. Hermann recognises the boy, he is the chorister from the church. Knight Von Hess comes to inspect the situation. Alfred thinks the Knight is intelligent; he seems to know more than an ordinary Nazi. Von Hess is also impressed by Alfred; the two men seem equals. Von Hess tells he once was a Knight in England. The Knight wants Alfred to fly his aeroplane; the Englishman eagerly accepts the offer. Unfortunately, Alfred lands too late and the plane crashes into the hangar. No one is hurt but the plane is totally ruined. Alfred says he wants to discuss something with Hermann and the Knight the next day.
The Knight explains how he is the last Von Hess on earth and how his family has existed since Hitler. Hermann is shocked when the Knight tells them that Hitler died. Von Hess shows them a picture of the real Hitler, who is not “colossal height, long think golden hair, a great manly golden beard spreading over his chest, deep sea-blue eyes, the noble rugged brow – and all the rest”. Hermann sees Hitler, but cannot believe his eyes: Hitler is a small, ugly man, almost woman-like. He appears softer and gentler than the God he is supposed to be. Von Hess tells them that the beautiful boy next to Hitler is a girl. But she has long hair and she wears nice clothes. Hitler was also “married” to a woman, a word Alfred and Hermann don’t know. They learn that women had rights and could live among men. Christians still live like this, they live in “families”. But Germans planned the Reduction of Women, so that women are what men what they want them to be: no soul, no original thought, merely a reflection of men. If men were perfect, the system of submissiveness would work, but men are imperfect. This is why women are forced to be bald and ugly: if they were beautiful, they would have power to refuse men.
Von Hess goes on: Christians are not a race; they are the remnants of the pre-Hitlerian era. Hitler was a Christian in his youth himself. Hermann is devastated; Alfred already knew that Christians were not animals but actually intelligent beings. The Christians are not dying out because their women are not reduced (even though they are not equal to men). They learn that the Christians originally persecuted the Jews for killing their lord Jesus but that the Nazis made a racial issue of it.
Von Hess shows Alfred an old book which contains the history of the world, collected by the Von Hess men and kept within the family secretly. If other knights knew about it, he would be killed and the book burned. Because the Knight has no sons, he wants to give it to Alfred.
The ancient Von Hess watched the destruction of the truth but did not agree. He had himself kicked out of the Order and secretly wrote the true history. In order to do this he moved to England. He wrote for five years what he could remember of the past and then he gave the book to his son. Alfred is now asked to write his own name in the book. Instead of “und Ich, Alfred Alfredson”, he writes: “And I, Alfred, Englishman”. Von Hess gives Alfred a revolver to protect himself and Alfred hides the book in his bag.
Back outside, Alfred wants to help Hermann with hoeing. The Nazis work quickly and without getting tired. Alfred is slow and gets tired after a short time. But he is happy that he will finally know the whole truth instead of all the lies spread by the Nazis. He is proud to be English, for German only means “man-who-is-afraid-of-the-truth”. The Germans are only good at making beautiful music (Bach, Beethoven, etc.).
Alfred and Von Hess talk about women again. Sex biology was not encouraged when the old Von Hess lived, because it could prove that men decided the sex of the child and no one could blame women. More boys are born in periods of war, siege, etc.
Alfred suggests that all men are equal but that some have special abilities, for example the Germans are good at music and fighting. But everyone is also unique is his own way. The Germans consciously want the English to accept their inferiority; unconsciously they hate the English for it, because it is a crime against life itself. The Germans like Alfred because he acts like a German but he is also independent. Women too should be proud of what they are and be proud of their daughters. Now they are not themselves. Women cannot believe God is male. There are no feminine values in the world but there should be.
The Japanese are like the Germans, but more boring. “They think of nothing, no nothing, except war-machines, their honour and the Emperor”. They copied the ideas of Von Wied about women. The English are according to the Book of Von Hess good because of one thing: “a toughness of moral fibre, an immovable attachment to what they believe, often in the face of large majorities, to be right.” This is something the Germans do not possess. Many English have resisted the Germanisation of their character. This explains why they still have ancient myths from another era. The Germans have none because the past was destroyed. This is why there are no Christian churches anymore, this reminds them of the past. This is also why Germans have no new culture or literature: they are dead from the inside, they don’t know how to produce culture. Germans can only try to copy what is already made.
Alfred sings an English song for the Knight. It’s about the end of Germany and the birth of a new England with power. Von Hess is shocked when he learns that it is many centuries old and known by many Englishmen. It is an original English tune, not destroyed by the Nazis.
They speak about the four arch-enemies. Roehm was like a Judas for Hitler; Von Hess knows nothing about Karl Barth. Alfred also learns that Hitler did not fly the Sacred Aeroplane to Russia to win the war. He was not allowed to do anything, for he was too precious to be killed. But he was not a coward, because Germans would not follow a coward.
Alfred promises that he will hide the book in a hole near Stonehenge and that he will pass it on to his son. Eleven skeletons (that have been there forever) guard the hole. The Nazis and Christians are afraid of Stonehenge so the book will not be discovered. The Nazis claim that they have built the hole and that the skeletons are Germans but on the wall Alfred has read “No Smoking”, so they must be English.
and represents everything the unaware masses would turn into if the world were to be conquered by fascism. He is physically very strong, loyal to his superiors and he excels at warfare and battle. He is subordinate and is happy to work on a state farm all day. He believes in the mystical importance of Blood, even though he does not really know what it means: “Blood is a Mystery, and a thing no non-German can understand. It’s ours.” He blindly believes what his Knight and the radio tell him and accepts the (fake) history told by them.
Alfred, who is linked implicitly to the mythical rebel Alfred the Great
, is the opposite of Hermann and the embodiment of Burdekin’s battle against the evils of Nazism. Alfred lives in England
, which is ruled by Nazis, so he too was brought up with fascism, but all his life he secretly knew that they were telling lies and that history was actually different, which is why he does not believe in the god Hitler. He hates the Germans and wants to destroy their empire, like many other Englishmen: “Because”, Alfred went on, “the Germans are the greatest exponents of violence the world has ever seen (…)” He is nonchalant, intelligent (he has been taught to read, unlike most Germans) and is able to think critically; he and other Englishmen have remained different from the Germans for centuries.
Hermann, like most Germans, genuinely likes the English, and reveals the German Knights want to work in England: “There were plenty of Knights who having served once in England would pull all possible wires to get sent there again.” Hermann begins to cry when he meets Alfred after many years but becomes furious when he realises that Alfred is “a higher type of man.” At the end of the story Alfred has learnt about the lies of the Nazis and their destruction of every trace of the past. He wants to start a new civilization based on democratic principles, an England where woman can live equally with their husbands in their own homes.
Burdekin’s criticism of the German character is as strong as her admiration for the English qualities: they are the defenders of democracy and a source of hope in the battle against fascism. They would not follow a dictator blindly and even when conquered (because of the German supremacy when it comes to warfare), the English will forever remain rebellious and true to their country in their heart.
The author’s criticism of fascism is pretty straightforward: although fascism tells its followers that it wants to change the country radically, dynamically and energetically through a revolution, choosing for fascism actually means a return to feudalism and the destruction of modern times, something Burdekin cleverly points out to her readers through the construction of her fictional world. The acceptance of a dictator would mean the end of literature - most people, like Hermann, would be illiterate - and the destruction of freedom of speech
because fascism tolerates no form of opposition or criticism of its own leaders; such accusations of any malfunctioning of the system would result in capital punishment. Other ideologies like socialism and even the history of the world would over time be forgotten:
No one has to think for himself, because original thoughts are no longer necessary: every person has become an ignorant follower of the leader and does exactly as he says. The rebirth of the nation would not bring the promised enlightenment and the end of decadence, but installs a ruthless regime lead by a select group of oligarchic tyrants.
Katharine Burdekin
Katharine Burdekin was a British novelist who wrote speculative fiction dealing with political, social, and spiritual issues. She was the sister of Rowena Cade, creator of the Minack Theatre in Cornwall. Many of her novels could be categorized as feminist utopian/dystopian fiction...
, writing under the pseudonym Murray Constantine. Swastika Night was a Left Book Club
Left Book Club
The Left Book Club, founded in 1936, was a key left-wing institution of the late 1930s and 1940s in the United Kingdom set up by Stafford Cripps, Victor Gollancz and John Strachey to revitalise and educate the British Left. The Club's aim was to "help in the struggle For world peace and against...
selection in 1940.
The novel is based on Hitler's claims that Nazism would create a "Thousand Year Reich". Despite its similarity to an alternate history novel, the text, written prior to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, plays out in a way which is extreme though believable, considering the peculiar character of the Nazi State. At the time of writing, the book was not an alternate history but rather a plausible future history
Future history
A future history is a postulated history of the future and is used by authors in the subgenre of speculative fiction to construct a common background for fiction...
, which did not come true.
The novel bears striking similarities to Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical dictatorship of the Party...
, published more than a decade later: the past has been destroyed and history is rewritten, language is distorted, few books exist apart from propaganda, and a secret book is the only witness to the past.
Plot summary
Swastika Night occurs seven hundred years after Nazism achieved power, by which time Adolf Hitler is worshipped as a god. Though no major character is a woman, the story concentrates on the oppressionOppression
Oppression is the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner. It can also be defined as an act or instance of oppressing, the state of being oppressed, and the feeling of being heavily burdened, mentally or physically, by troubles, adverse conditions, and...
of women, portraying the Nazis as homosexual misogynists. Christians are marginalized, Jews eliminated, and women disenfranchised — deprived of all rights.
Germany and Japan won the "Twenty Years War" (analogous to World War II), the time it took the Nazis to subdue the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. The protagonist is an Englishman named "Alfred" on a German pilgrimage. In Europe, the English are loathed because they were the last opponents of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
in the "Twenty Years War". The story correctly postulates the air power's importance in war. One of the religious sites Alfred was to visit was the "Sacred Airplane", which, according to long-established dogma, Adolf Hitler piloted on a mission to Moscow, thus achieving victory.
The drastic rewriting of history, after living memory of Hitler, or the time when meaningful resistance to Germany existed, is the logical extension of Burdekin's contemporary view of Nazi Germany. Per official history, Adolf Hitler is a tall, blond god who personally won "The Twenty Years War". Alfred is astounded when shown a secret, historic photograph depicting Hitler and a girl before a crowd. First, he is shocked that Hitler is a small man with dark hair and a paunch. The crowd seem more interested in the girl; this does not fit the world view of Hitler as god. The photograph's most shocking betrayal of myth is the girl's appearance. Alfred believed her to be a boy — the attractive figure has a proud posture and long, blond hair — and is appreciated by the crowd. Women have developed self-loathing, becoming pathetic beings who have difficulty performing their sole, utilitarian function: reproduction.
Elsewhere, the Japanese rule the Americas, Australia, and Asia, to the borders of European Russia
European Russia
European Russia refers to the western areas of Russia that lie within Europe, comprising roughly 3,960,000 square kilometres , larger in area than India, and spanning across 40% of Europe. Its eastern border is defined by the Ural Mountains and in the south it is defined by the border with...
and Persia. Though Japan is the only rival superpower to the Nazi West, their inevitable wars always end in stalemate. The fascist Germans and Japanese suffer much difficulty in maintaining their populations, because of the physical degeneration of their women. In the event, the SS murder Alfred, yet he passes the truth about Nazi history to his surviving son.
Chapter 1
Hermann is attending a mass in the Goebbels church (in the form of a swastika). The men sing a song about how Hitler became a god, about the four arch-enemies (Lenin, Stalin, Roehm and Karl Barth). Hermann looks at a golden-haired chorister (still a boy, around 15 years old) and wants to meet him. The priest tells the men that they are superior to women and Christians. They should avoid contact with Christians, and certainly sex with a Christian woman (“race defilement”).The hierarchy: Lord Hitler > Der Fuehrer > Inner Ring of Ten Knights > Knight > Nazi > foreign Hitlerian >>> woman
After mass it is time for the Women’s Worship. Women are driven inside and are told how to behave. They weep all the time. Hermann reminds himself they are like animals and they have no souls. Their tears are a sham and a deceit. Hitler was never in the presence of a woman. They are not fit to raise a boy so men raise a male child. But there is a problem: women produce much more boys than girls. Because of this, the Nazi race is endangered. The rape of women above 15 years old is allowed, for women have no choice or liberty.
The priest later makes a mistake during his speech: “… be submissive and humble and rejoice to do man’s will, for whatever you may think in your empty brains at moments, it is always your will too, and be fruitful and bear strong daughters" when he should have said “sons.” All women and the priest himself are confused by the mistake.
Chapter 2
Hermann meets Alfred, an old friend from England and an airfield technician. Because of his training, he is one of the few Englishmen who can read. Reading is not necessary in daily life: only the Hitler Bible and some technical books exist, and news is broadcast daily on the radio.Hermann thinks of the English as funny, informal, queer people. Alfred is rational, quick-witted, etc. while Hermann is slow-brained but physically stronger. Alfred has gotten permission to go on a pilgrimage to visit the Holy Places in Germany. Hermann starts to cry, to which Alfred says: “All you Germans are so emotional”. Hermann thinks of the hate of some Germans against the English, for they were the last enemies of Germany in the war. But Hermann genuinely likes the English: “A queer people, … no one really understands them, and yet plenty of Germans like them.” Hermann realises Alfred is superior to himself, even though Alfred is not a German. Alfred has three sons, Hermann has none yet, but it’s German law for Nazis to have children before the age of 30.
Alfred declares that he is going to destroy the Empire. He says he will be the source of the destruction, though future generations will help. He also doesn’t believe Hitler is God. He was a brave and intelligent man, but just a man, equal to Alfred. Germans are no better than Englishmen, on the contrary, they are just boys. They hide behind the concept of Blood and can’t show compassion or feelings. Boys and women can also get angry and violent; this is not what makes you a man. If people become skeptical of Hitler, they will lose faith and this will mean the end of Germany. The Nazis can use violence and kill people, but they can’t change what people think. If Germans start seeing the truth about their God themselves, their empire will crumble from within. There is no natural reason why Germans should rule half of the world. They are not really that powerful, they can’t destroy the Japanese, who control the other half of the world. Alfred also thinks the English once had a mighty empire, but he is not sure. Hermann becomes frustrated by Alfred’s thoughts and kicks him. Alfred tells Hermann of Alfred, a mighty English king that once lived, and shows England is home to many myths and ancient mysteries.
Chapter 3
When Alfred is awake, Hermann can think like an individual. When Alfred sleeps, Hermann starts to think like an impersonal Nazi again: he realises that Alfred is dangerous and a threat to Germany and there are more like him. Hermann sinfully wishes that Alfred were his knight, his master. Hermann knows he should kill Alfred: “Nothing is dishonourable, nothing is forbidden, nothing is evil, if it is done for Germany and for Hitler’s sake”.Then Hermann hears a girl screaming. He finds her, a young Christian girl, and a German boy. She is under 16 years old so she has the right to defend herself. Hermann is appalled by the boy, who wants to rape a Christian, so Hermann attacks him fiercely. Alfred stops Hermann, but the boy is almost dead. Hermann recognises the boy, he is the chorister from the church. Knight Von Hess comes to inspect the situation. Alfred thinks the Knight is intelligent; he seems to know more than an ordinary Nazi. Von Hess is also impressed by Alfred; the two men seem equals. Von Hess tells he once was a Knight in England. The Knight wants Alfred to fly his aeroplane; the Englishman eagerly accepts the offer. Unfortunately, Alfred lands too late and the plane crashes into the hangar. No one is hurt but the plane is totally ruined. Alfred says he wants to discuss something with Hermann and the Knight the next day.
Chapter 4
Alfred informs Hermann that he flew a plane with the Knight. Hermann is shocked, because Alfred is only an Englishman. Alfred also wants Hermann to join him for the conversation with the Knight. Hermann refuses at first, Alfred remarks that the Nazi is scared to learn new information and asks if Hermann wants to be treated like a child who is sent out of the room when the adults want to discuss something. Hermann agrees to visit the Knight.The Knight explains how he is the last Von Hess on earth and how his family has existed since Hitler. Hermann is shocked when the Knight tells them that Hitler died. Von Hess shows them a picture of the real Hitler, who is not “colossal height, long think golden hair, a great manly golden beard spreading over his chest, deep sea-blue eyes, the noble rugged brow – and all the rest”. Hermann sees Hitler, but cannot believe his eyes: Hitler is a small, ugly man, almost woman-like. He appears softer and gentler than the God he is supposed to be. Von Hess tells them that the beautiful boy next to Hitler is a girl. But she has long hair and she wears nice clothes. Hitler was also “married” to a woman, a word Alfred and Hermann don’t know. They learn that women had rights and could live among men. Christians still live like this, they live in “families”. But Germans planned the Reduction of Women, so that women are what men what they want them to be: no soul, no original thought, merely a reflection of men. If men were perfect, the system of submissiveness would work, but men are imperfect. This is why women are forced to be bald and ugly: if they were beautiful, they would have power to refuse men.
Von Hess goes on: Christians are not a race; they are the remnants of the pre-Hitlerian era. Hitler was a Christian in his youth himself. Hermann is devastated; Alfred already knew that Christians were not animals but actually intelligent beings. The Christians are not dying out because their women are not reduced (even though they are not equal to men). They learn that the Christians originally persecuted the Jews for killing their lord Jesus but that the Nazis made a racial issue of it.
Von Hess shows Alfred an old book which contains the history of the world, collected by the Von Hess men and kept within the family secretly. If other knights knew about it, he would be killed and the book burned. Because the Knight has no sons, he wants to give it to Alfred.
Chapter 5
Alfred learns that the “British” once had a mighty empire and that they connected the English-speaking nations. The Germans also wanted an empire and were jealous of the English. The British invented pride in an empire, not the Germans. There was also something called “Socialism”, started by the Russians. A Nazi called Von Wied (“the arch-liar”) wrote a book in which he proved that Hitler is a God, that the Germans are superior to other races and that women are like animals. The Nazis were afraid of the Memory: every reminder of the old times had to be destroyed, so they burned every trace of the past. Only music was allowed to stay. Manhood was the most important principle of all. But he did not invent the Reduction of Women, the Nazis were already raping and repressing women. According to Von Hess, there is no Blood. Men are Men and nothing more.The ancient Von Hess watched the destruction of the truth but did not agree. He had himself kicked out of the Order and secretly wrote the true history. In order to do this he moved to England. He wrote for five years what he could remember of the past and then he gave the book to his son. Alfred is now asked to write his own name in the book. Instead of “und Ich, Alfred Alfredson”, he writes: “And I, Alfred, Englishman”. Von Hess gives Alfred a revolver to protect himself and Alfred hides the book in his bag.
Back outside, Alfred wants to help Hermann with hoeing. The Nazis work quickly and without getting tired. Alfred is slow and gets tired after a short time. But he is happy that he will finally know the whole truth instead of all the lies spread by the Nazis. He is proud to be English, for German only means “man-who-is-afraid-of-the-truth”. The Germans are only good at making beautiful music (Bach, Beethoven, etc.).
Chapter 6
Hermann is psychologically under a lot of pressure by all this new information and does not want to hear any more. He is excused and the Knight and Alfred alone continue the next day. Hermann wishes to go with Alfred to England and live there. For this, he would have to ask Permanent Exile. This is a terrible punishment: Hermann would no longer be a Nazi but someone of the lower races. He would have to wear a sign and red uniform to inform others, and other Germans are allowed to beat him. The only private crime that could result in Exile was blaming another German of having sex with a Christian woman, for this is the worst crime possible. The chorister died the previous day because of internal injuries but Hermann could still keep the accusation standing, which could result in Exile. As there is no evidence against the boy, this is almost certain.Alfred and Von Hess talk about women again. Sex biology was not encouraged when the old Von Hess lived, because it could prove that men decided the sex of the child and no one could blame women. More boys are born in periods of war, siege, etc.
Alfred suggests that all men are equal but that some have special abilities, for example the Germans are good at music and fighting. But everyone is also unique is his own way. The Germans consciously want the English to accept their inferiority; unconsciously they hate the English for it, because it is a crime against life itself. The Germans like Alfred because he acts like a German but he is also independent. Women too should be proud of what they are and be proud of their daughters. Now they are not themselves. Women cannot believe God is male. There are no feminine values in the world but there should be.
The Japanese are like the Germans, but more boring. “They think of nothing, no nothing, except war-machines, their honour and the Emperor”. They copied the ideas of Von Wied about women. The English are according to the Book of Von Hess good because of one thing: “a toughness of moral fibre, an immovable attachment to what they believe, often in the face of large majorities, to be right.” This is something the Germans do not possess. Many English have resisted the Germanisation of their character. This explains why they still have ancient myths from another era. The Germans have none because the past was destroyed. This is why there are no Christian churches anymore, this reminds them of the past. This is also why Germans have no new culture or literature: they are dead from the inside, they don’t know how to produce culture. Germans can only try to copy what is already made.
Alfred sings an English song for the Knight. It’s about the end of Germany and the birth of a new England with power. Von Hess is shocked when he learns that it is many centuries old and known by many Englishmen. It is an original English tune, not destroyed by the Nazis.
Chapter 7
Hermann still wants Permanent Exile or else he will commit suicide. He promises to protect the book with his life. Von Hess thinks Hermann should have never been told the truth. The whole world and even the Germans will once see the truth, and the English will deliver this message. The Germans are just adolescents who still need to become men. Von Hess explains to Alfred how the Church of the Nazis is a warlike religion, not a supernatural one. The Knights act like priests. In the past, the noblemen (politicians) were not priests; religion and politics were different spheres that influenced each other. This has changed, politics and religion have become one. Alfred asks what the political form was before the one they know and learns that there used to be something called democracy. It failed because some felt superior to others and there was always the menace of war. That’s why authority figures and soldiers got power, which led to war. Von Hess thinks this is wrong because soldiers are just boys, not real men. Alfred wants a democracy in England but for this all men have to feel equal to each other.They speak about the four arch-enemies. Roehm was like a Judas for Hitler; Von Hess knows nothing about Karl Barth. Alfred also learns that Hitler did not fly the Sacred Aeroplane to Russia to win the war. He was not allowed to do anything, for he was too precious to be killed. But he was not a coward, because Germans would not follow a coward.
Alfred promises that he will hide the book in a hole near Stonehenge and that he will pass it on to his son. Eleven skeletons (that have been there forever) guard the hole. The Nazis and Christians are afraid of Stonehenge so the book will not be discovered. The Nazis claim that they have built the hole and that the skeletons are Germans but on the wall Alfred has read “No Smoking”, so they must be English.
Chapter 8
Alfred returns to England in order to teach his son Fred proper German so they can read the book together. He visits his woman (Ethel) because he wants to see his daughter (Edith). Ethel is scared and shocked, she is afraid that Alfred will kill the girl when he sees how ugly she is. Alfred asks himself if he should take the girl away and raise her like a human being. Edith can still be raised like girl from the past; she can be beautiful when she has long hair. He wonders if he could start a normal family with Ethel, but knows that she is too conditioned to accept this new life, however crazy it sounds. When he returns home, Hermann has arrived.Chapter 9
Alfred and his son Fred (who will receive the book) visit an old Christian friend named Joseph. They discuss Joseph’s faith and Alfred learns that Jews and Christians were the two most important groups before the Nazis. They did not hate someone because he had a different skin (Alfred’s hair is different from his son’s and this is also no problem). God will not forgive the Nazis and Hitler for what they did to others. Alfred asks why God would allow sinful actions and misery to exist, but this is a question Joseph can’t answer. It’s part of the mystery of God and He will answer it on Judgement Day. There used to be a language called Latin, used in Christian churches but the Nazis destroyed it. Alfred thinks it's year 721 after Hitler, but he is told that there also was a man called Jesus. He did not tell his people to feel superior but to feel as equals; Alfred recognises Von Hess in the Christian message (and Jesus). Alfred is shocked when Joseph tells him that a mother and a father are needed for a child. Alfred on the other hand says that a girl is simply a boy who was given no soul in conception by the father. It is because of breast milk that a man something looks like his mother. Christian women are not equal to men but they live a decent life and they are not beaten for every mistake they make.Chapter 10
Fred and Alfred keep reading the book in the secret hole near Stonehenge while Hermann sleeps when they read. They are found by accident by some Nazis, who kill Hermann instantly. Fred is able to escape with the book but Alfred is attacked. He wakes up in a hospital. Fred is at his side and has secured the book. Alfred asks him to be less violent and less stupid than himself and to take care of Edith. Fred doesn’t know how but Alfred begs him to change society, after which he closes his eyes and dies.The differences between Hermann (German) and Alfred (English)
According to the book, Hermann is a common German man under fascismFascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
and represents everything the unaware masses would turn into if the world were to be conquered by fascism. He is physically very strong, loyal to his superiors and he excels at warfare and battle. He is subordinate and is happy to work on a state farm all day. He believes in the mystical importance of Blood, even though he does not really know what it means: “Blood is a Mystery, and a thing no non-German can understand. It’s ours.” He blindly believes what his Knight and the radio tell him and accepts the (fake) history told by them.
Alfred, who is linked implicitly to the mythical rebel Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
, is the opposite of Hermann and the embodiment of Burdekin’s battle against the evils of Nazism. Alfred lives in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, which is ruled by Nazis, so he too was brought up with fascism, but all his life he secretly knew that they were telling lies and that history was actually different, which is why he does not believe in the god Hitler. He hates the Germans and wants to destroy their empire, like many other Englishmen: “Because”, Alfred went on, “the Germans are the greatest exponents of violence the world has ever seen (…)” He is nonchalant, intelligent (he has been taught to read, unlike most Germans) and is able to think critically; he and other Englishmen have remained different from the Germans for centuries.
Hermann, like most Germans, genuinely likes the English, and reveals the German Knights want to work in England: “There were plenty of Knights who having served once in England would pull all possible wires to get sent there again.” Hermann begins to cry when he meets Alfred after many years but becomes furious when he realises that Alfred is “a higher type of man.” At the end of the story Alfred has learnt about the lies of the Nazis and their destruction of every trace of the past. He wants to start a new civilization based on democratic principles, an England where woman can live equally with their husbands in their own homes.
Burdekin’s criticism of the German character is as strong as her admiration for the English qualities: they are the defenders of democracy and a source of hope in the battle against fascism. They would not follow a dictator blindly and even when conquered (because of the German supremacy when it comes to warfare), the English will forever remain rebellious and true to their country in their heart.
The dystopian society of Swastika Night
Burdekin presents the fascist rebirth of Europe as something extremely negative: although this dystopia takes place in the future, the world has returned to some kind of neo-feudal society. The old society has been completely destroyed; except for the old Von Hess, no one knows a lot about the history of Germany, Europe and mankind in general. Everyone believes that the hero-god Hitler conquered Europe with the support of his followers, after which they violently removed any traces of the old civilisations: books were burned, political ideas like democracy and socialism were forgotten, cities seem to have disappeared, etc. The only remnants of modern technology are some cars, airplanes and guns -- things that can be used in the war against Japan. All peasants have to work on the countryside under the rule of the Nazi Knights. Any form of politics or political opposition no longer exists, because Nazism controls Europe as the single form of rule. Regular Germans have no political voice and are to obey the Knights.The author’s criticism of fascism is pretty straightforward: although fascism tells its followers that it wants to change the country radically, dynamically and energetically through a revolution, choosing for fascism actually means a return to feudalism and the destruction of modern times, something Burdekin cleverly points out to her readers through the construction of her fictional world. The acceptance of a dictator would mean the end of literature - most people, like Hermann, would be illiterate - and the destruction of freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
because fascism tolerates no form of opposition or criticism of its own leaders; such accusations of any malfunctioning of the system would result in capital punishment. Other ideologies like socialism and even the history of the world would over time be forgotten:
"The fear of Memory reached its height with him Hitler, and he gave us the logical and Teutonic remedy, destruction. All history, all psychology, all philosophy (…) every book and picture and statue that could remind Germans of old times must be destroyed."
No one has to think for himself, because original thoughts are no longer necessary: every person has become an ignorant follower of the leader and does exactly as he says. The rebirth of the nation would not bring the promised enlightenment and the end of decadence, but installs a ruthless regime lead by a select group of oligarchic tyrants.
See also
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- Axis victory in World War IIAxis victory in World War IIAn Axis victory in World War II is a common concept in alternate history. World War II alternate histories are one of the two most popular points of divergence in the English language...
- FatherlandFatherland (novel)Fatherland is a bestselling 1992 thriller by the English writer and journalist Robert Harris. It takes the form of a high concept alternative history set in a world in which Nazi Germany won World War II.The novel was an immediate bestseller in Britain...
- It Happened HereIt Happened HereIt Happened Here is a 1966 British film, directed by Kevin Brownlow and Andrew Mollo. It is set in an alternate history in which Nazi Germany successfully invades and occupies the United Kingdom during World War II.-Setting:...
- The Man in the High CastleThe Man in the High CastleThe Man in the High Castle is a science fiction alternate history novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. It won a Hugo Award in 1963 and has since been translated into many languages....
- The Ultimate SolutionThe Ultimate SolutionThe Ultimate Solution is an 1973 alternate history by journalist and former Playboy interviewer Eric Norden, set in a world where the Axis forces won World War II and partitioned the world between them, and is noted for its particularly grim tone....
- 19451945 (novel)1945 is an alternate history co-authored by Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen in 1995, describing the period immediately after World War II wherein the United States had fought only against Japan, allowing Nazi Germany to force a truce with the Soviet Union, after which the two victors...
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- CollaboratorCollaborator (novel)Collaborator is an alternate history novel by Murray Davies, published as a hardcover on 19 September 2003 and released in paperback in the United Kingdom and the United States in September 2004. The novel is set in a Nazi-occupied Great Britain in 1940 and 1941...
- The Sound of His HornThe Sound of His HornThe Sound of His Horn is a 1952 dystopian time travel/alternate history novel by the senior British diplomat John William Wall, written with the pseudonym Sarban. It relates the story of a British naval lieutenant, Alan Querdillon who, after becoming a POW during the Battle of Crete awakens in a...
- Making History
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- The Iron DreamThe Iron DreamThe Iron Dream is a metafictional 1972 alternate history novel by Norman Spinrad.The book has a nested narrative that tells a story within a story. On the surface, the novel presents an unexceptional pulp, post-apocalypse science fiction action tale entitled Lord of the Swastika...
- The Children's WarThe Children's WarThe Children's War is a 2001 alternate history novel by J.N. Stroyar. It is was followed by the sequel A Change of Regime. The book was the long form winner of the Sidewise Award for Alternate History in 2001.-Background:...
- The Handmaid's TaleThe Handmaid's TaleThe Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel, a work of science fiction or speculative fiction, written by Canadian author Margaret Atwood and first published by McClelland and Stewart in 1985...
- An Englishman's CastleAn Englishman's CastleAn Englishman's Castle is a BBC television serial first broadcast in 1978 which was written by Philip Mackie. The story was set in an alternate history 1970s, in which Nazi Germany has won World War II and occupied England...
- The Afrika ReichThe Afrika ReichThe Afrika Reich is a 2011 alternate history action thriller novel by Guy Saville. In this world, the point of divergence occurs when Great Britain is defeated by Nazi Germany during the Dunkirk campaign in 1940, forcing Britain to conclude a non-aggression pact with Germany...