Hans Keilson’s First Novel Depicts Life Before Nazis

Before the Storm: Hans Keilson?s first work focuses on mundane matters like surviving the economic downturn of the late 1920s and early ?30s.
Life Goes On
By Hans Keilson
Translated by Damion Searls
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 272 pages, $15
Two years ago, when Farrar, Straus and Giroux released translations of his novels “The Death of the Adversary” and “Comedy in a Minor Key,” centenarian Hans Keilson told Steven Erlanger of The New York Times that he would love to see his first novel, “Das Leben Geht Weiter“ (“Life Goes On”), translated, too. “Then, you would have my whole biography,” the author said.
Originally published in Germany in 1933, the Jewish author’s work was banned by the Nazi government the following year. Keilson left for the Netherlands two years later. He persuaded his parents to join him there, but could not convince them to live in hiding, as he did, once the German occupation began. They died in Auschwitz. Keilson continued writing, but for decades his reputation was grounded in his work as a physician and as a psychoanalyst who specialized in working with traumatized children. He died in 2011.

When “Life Goes On” was reissued in Germany in 1984, Keilson summarized the novel’s historical and autobiographical elements for an afterword. The book is, he wrote, “the story of myself and my parents in the small-town capital of the district of Mark Brandenburg, and later in Berlin — the story of an independent small businessman and his economic downfall, set in the political, social, and economic upheaval of the years after the First World War, the period of the Weimar Republic, the hyper-inflation, and the rise of National Socialism.”
Unlike his other two novels, “Life Goes On” is not grounded in the crises and moral dilemmas posed by the Nazis’ reign. Rather, the tension here stems from the weak economy and worldwide depression of the late 1920s/early ’30s. All the upheaval exacts its toll on Johann Seldersen, a shopkeeper modeled on Keilson’s father. “Past fifty” when the novel opens, Seldersen is portrayed as an aging, desperately honorable man — a war veteran, no less — struggling merely to maintain his business and support his family. (Spoiler alert: It is a struggle he does not win.)
Far less spare or compressed than Keilson’s other novels, “Life Goes On” is populated by a host of characters. It spans several years. One suspects it will not receive acclaim equal to the praise that his other books garnered (“Comedy in a Minor Key” was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist). But if, as Keilson suggested, “Life Goes On” augments our understanding of his personal biography, it similarly expands our historical consciousness, illuminating that period just before the cataclysm that so often dominates our minds and hearts instead.
Erika Dreifus is the author of “Quiet Americans.” (Last Light Studio, 2011).
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
- 2
Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
- 3
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
- 4
Fast Forward Columbia staff receive texts asking if they’re Jewish, as government hunts antisemitic harassment on campus
In Case You Missed It
-
News These are the most influential Jews in Trump’s first 100 days
-
Fast Forward Nike apologizes for marathon ad using the Holocaust phrase ‘Never Again’
-
Opinion I wrote the book on Hitler’s first 100 days. Here’s how Trump’s compare
-
Fast Forward Ohio Applebee’s defaced with antisemitic graffiti reading ‘Jews work here’
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.