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Prachtig. En verschrikkelijk. Het gebeurt nog steeds ( )

Náufragos nos ofrece una obra inigualable sobre el patético drama de los refugiados, víctimas de los acontecimientos políticos de la Europa Central y de la Alemania de Hitler.

Deutsche Emigranten, staatenlos, teils ohne irgendwelche Papiere, abgeschoben von einem Staat, der sie nicht duldet, in einen anderen, der sie nicht haben will.

“Flotsam” is a book about stateless people. It is a book about drift, friendship, hope and love. Erich Maria Remarque published this book in 1939, or thereabouts.

It is set in the 1930’s when Hitler’s Nazi Regime was on the rise, and social strife was widespread. Hence, Jews were persecuted and often on the run. Many did not have passports, and had no place to call home.

It tells the tale of Josef Steiner, Ludwig Kern and Ruth Holland. Their stories run in parallel yet are intertwined.

The story starts in Czechoslovakia, from where Josef and Ludwig are expelled. Josef is a political refugee, and is the older one. Ludwig is the younger one, more innocent. His crime is not having a passport. This is how their adventure starts. Along the way, Ludwig Kern meets Ruth Holland and they fall in love. Subsequently, they drift from country to country, seeking a home. I won’t speak of how the book ends, else it will spoil the story for some people.

The book depicts an endless struggle to survive against the odds. You sense the hatred people have for the homeless, struggling people and for the Jews. Along the way, you will meet some interesting characters, who are willing to help each other. You also meet professors who have been rendered stateless. Yet, through the narrative, you sense hope.

The book itself is remarkable. You sense the drift, persecution, friendship, love. Above all, you sense the strength of the human spirit.

There is no bitterness in the book. Erich Maria Remarque was an outstanding storyteller. He has balances hopelessness and drift, with love and hope. There are times you feel as though you are teetering on a knife’s edge. Which way will the book go? Will you fall, one way or another?

The book was a story of the times. Many people were made stateless during the times. Yet, in its prescience, it is a book of our times. We humans should have learned the lessons of the 1930’s. But, we have not. When you think of the persecution of the Rohingyas, for instance, or Muslims in India and China, you realize we don’t change.

We don’t think about the stateless people, except in intellectual terms. Erich Maria Remarque has brought this subject to life.

The end is poignant. It ends with hope, death and a new life.

Flotsam is a beautiful book. ( )