When will we ever learn

https://www.new-books-in-german.com/recommendations/beneath-drachenwand-mountain/ “When will we ever learn?” It is a story set towards the end of the Second World War as the situation for Germany and its allies is rapidly getting worse. The central character, Veit, a soldier since the beginning of the war is wounded in Russia, and returns to his native Austria to recover. There he realises that the idealism he grew up with has started to fracture and in some cases has become more extreme. The book weaves the personal narrative of Veit around letters to and from other characters, the effect of this is to give a sometimes terrifying picture of how people try to make “normal” lives in the abnormal conditions of deprivation, bombing, death and persecution. It is a work of fiction but it is cleverly written and the reader gets the impression that the author is quoting from real letters from real people. Despite the hope for a post war generated by Veit’s love affair with his married neighbour I found this a very depressing book in the context of the situations in the world today. We are of a generation whose own relatives have witnessed the horrors and effects of the last World War at first hand. Now it seems that their memories are echoed by the events of today. When will we ever learn.