Shannon Evans 11/16/2010

COL 203: Trauma and Holocaust Response to “Badenheim 1939”

When I was presented with the choice of a novel “Badenheim 1939” stuck out to me

because the title was simplistic, only representing a place and a time. Since the title was

straightforward, I implied that the book also might use uncomplicated language, and structure

throughout the short novel. Although this was a hasty judgment made off of two words, I can

say after reading the text I feel I was half right. The language was indeed direct, and spelled out

the conversations and actions of the characters. It was however not as easy to try and understand

why Aharon Appelfeld would do certain things in the novel. A few things that made me think

deeper were why are some of the characters named? And why are some vague descriptions (Frau

Zauberblit vs. The schoolgirl). Or why did most of the characters remain so optimistic? Even

though I had to think deeper about some elements, the story was still wrote with clear intentions;

to provide both symbolic and realistic situations and intertwine them to create a sense of

ominous but very real foreshadow.

When we enter Badenheim it is the spring of 1939. Both citizens, and vacationers have

come together to enjoy a memorable summer at the relaxing town. Almost every character in the

story seems to be mildly successful and Jewish (although some characters would choose to say

otherwise and denounce their Jewish heritage). Throughout the novel, Badenheim goes under

many changes, they are subtle at first but then become consuming. These restrictions by “The

Sanitation Department” (what we can assume is The Nazi Regime) become mentally exhausting

for the characters, and wear them to become fragile. Some characters like Dr. Pappenheim and
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Leon Samitzky become more assured as the town worsens. Others like Martin, Karl, and the

pastry shop owner fall victim to their surroundings.

When The Sanitation Department starts to implement their rules over Badenheim many

of their tactics seem pretty obvious. It makes me wonder that maybe they only seem obvious and

ridiculous to us as readers since we know about The Holocaust because it was before our

lifetimes. It is made clear to us that the actions taken to quarantine Badenheim are all leading up

to the ending of the Novel when they are “sucked in” by the cattle cars. It is hard to comprehend

how the characters could be so naïve through everything that is happening (the closing of the

pool, and post office, the town is barricaded). Even at the very end when they are presented with

their transportation (disgusting freight cars) Dr. Pappenheim gives his last attempt at optimism.

“If the coaches are so dirty it must mean that we have not far to go” (148). I question whether

Appelfeld wrote this to make the reader, angry that the characters are ignoring everything, or

sympathetic that they don’t understand. The characters that make any sensible connections about

what is really happening (Dr. Langmann, the schoolgirl, Karl, The Rabbi, and the pastry shop

owner) are not taken seriously in their logics. Are the majority of people in the town really this

oblivious? Or is it a coping mechanism to the mystery of what is to come.

The use of symbolism and foreshadow in “Badenheim 1939” is brought in many

situations. Poland serves as a symbol of hope throughout the Novel. The characters constantly

refer to Poland as if there were no place better. He had no problem repeating the idea that once

everyone reached Poland/ “their home” things would be better, and it would be everything

they’ve ever wanted. In chapter 20 Gertie tells Yanuka (the child prodigy) “Warsaw was the

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capital of Poland and it had everything that anyone could possibly want.” Another symbol that is

used is the fish that Karl tends to. Through the novel as the fish disappear and die they can be

seen as a symbol of Karl himself losing his grip on reality, but also a foreshadowing of what is to

come for the Jewish people of Badenheim.

While reading I came upon two seemingly strong instances of foreshadow in the novel.

The first being when Mandelbaum is torturing his trio of musicians and the schoolgirl leaves.

“Upstairs a sadist was torturing innocent people, and here everybody just went on sitting as if

nothing was happening.”(84). I think Appelfeld wrote this with the intention of showing the

comparison between the ignoring of Mandelbaum, and the world ignoring The Holocaust. The

towns views of Mandelbaum were mixed some of the town praised, and liked him whereas

others thought he was mean and arrogant. This could be parrelled with the views of Hitler at the

beginning of World War 1; therefore Mandelbaum was the perfect character to have torturing his

musicians. The other instance of a bad omen was when the dogs turned depressed and tried to

escape the town. The situation is described as “

Two had been shot, and the two survivors seemed to understand that their own fate would

be no different from that of their fellows. You could see that they wanted to die, but

Death did not seem to want them yet. Ever since the death of their friends they stopped

begging and fawning; they had retreated into the bushes and waited for death, and

because death did not come for them they came out and stood under the light. (127).

My interpretation was that the dogs represent the life of the victims in the concentration camps.

The knowledge that death is the only thing left, and that they are just slowly waiting until it

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comes has seemed like an accurate interpretation of some survivor testimonies of what the many

of the victim’s mindsets turned into.

While reading “Badenheim 1939” I wanted to learn more about Aharon Appelfeld to so I

could try and understand the text more thoroughly. After some research I established that he was

8 when the Nazi’s invaded. His mother was killed, and he was deported to a work camp.

Somehow he managed to escape and for the next few years he hid in the forest, after he was

found by the Soviet Army and he started to work in the kitchens for them. He managed to get to

Palestine in 1946. He fought in the Israeli army, and also went back to school to continue his

education. In Israel, he learned Hebrew and got a college degree, and he now teaches at a

University. Appelfeld is fluent in 7 languages, but he is partial to Hebrew. He has said he could

not bring himself to write any of his texts in German. All of this information has helped me to

understand his approach when writing. In “Badenheim 1939” Appelfeld uses a combination of

his learned knowledge, and his own life experiences to shape his style, and voice.

My opinion of the novel gradually changed as I continued reading it. It was a book that

changed my emotions. At first I was interested in the town, and learning about the characters.

There was nothing too depressing about a resort town in the springtime preparing for its cheerful

seasonal visitors. As the sanitation department began to step in, it made me angry, and I felt sorry

for everyone in the town. As the novel went on my anger began to be less directed at the

sanitation department but more directed at everyone who maintained their foolish optimism.

Perhaps some people would still feel sorry for the characters but I just felt annoyed that they

couldn’t/ didn’t want to see what was happening. After finishing the book, I began to think that

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realistically even if they could see what was happening what could they have done to stop it? It

made me feel less annoyed and I returned to feeling empathetic. Overall, I really liked that the

book had the power to continuously make me reevaluate how I felt. Any great Novel makes you

think, and in that category Appelfeld definitely succeeded my expectations.