This listing is for The False Nero by Lion Feuchtwanger (German Edition). Hardcover, Published by Aufbau-Verlag Berlin, 1951. Some browning on pages & cover, and slight split of binding on cover, but otherwise, in very good condition.

The false Nero is a novel by Lion Feuchtwanger. The novel first appeared in 1936 in the Querido Verlag, Amsterdam. In Germany he was able to appear until 1947 in the Aufbau-Verlag. The novel has been translated into many languages and still enjoys great popularity.

The action takes place in Syria at the time of the Roman Emperor Titus, eleven years after the death of the Emperor Nero. Former Senator Varro has retired to Syria, he has lost his former powers under the new emperor. To make matters worse is ordered by Governor Cejon an old enemy, Varro's youth in the Syrian province. To prove that his is still a major influence, he lets slip the work-shy pottery Terence in the role of the dead Emperor Nero, to achieve his political goals. With its striking resemblance and a great talent for acting too soon the people believe in the resurrection of Nero. Intoxicated by the cheers around him, and egged on by his accountant Knops and the Roman general Trebon, Varro the puppet gets out of control. 

Looking at the historical background of the time of origin of this novel, the book is widely regarded as a satire of the Nazi regime. Without that the processing of some historical substance to Feuchtwanger's "false Nero" as a stencil on the historical reality of the Nazi dictatorship can be placed, some figures wear distinctive characteristics of the then leading Nazi figures. Sun can be found in the representation of Terence traits Adolf Hitler again, contributes Terence 'advisor Knops Properties Joseph Goebbels and the representation of the Roman general Trebon can find Hermann Goering. 

The great flood of the city of Apamea, which instigated by Terence 'people and what then the Christians were accused in keeping with the Reichstag fire of 1933, behind the Feuchtwanger suspected the Nazis themselves. The "Week of knives and daggers," in which Knops Trebon and play the role of avenger of Nero "and to eliminate alleged enemies of the state, has a parallel in the Roehm purge, which is referred to as Night of the Long Knives. 

The differences between the Nazi reality and the plot of the book is above all that the government initially no idea of the potter is Terence and his desire for representation and fame - unlike Hitler - has no direct political dimension. Varro also object - the actual perpetrators - with his "experiment" Nero "no rule of a supposedly superior race, but moved him romantic and humanistic reasons, namely the merging of East and West. 

Also a metaphorical comparison is possible, a critique of the blindness of the masses. For example, the people responded to the proscriptions and the night of the murder rebellious and troublesome citizens not only with horror and indignation, but also with awe and admiration: "The masses, after the initial shock, loved and revered their Nero because only the more his energy and dark splendor, and they forgot their hunger through increasing the size of their emperor. " (Page 310) also shows sharp Feuchtwanger, how quickly can lose all control their luster: "Nero was Nero, as long as one believed in him" (page 335)

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