Hendrik Höfgen is a gifted actor in Hamburg, obsessed with his career. He has communist leanings, but as the Nazis come to power in 1930s Germany, he quickly sheds his idealogies (and wife, and mistress) to pander to the powerful. He enjoys an exploding career in Berlin and has fame, success, money . . . but at what cost?
Written in 1936 (while in exile in Amsterdam), Mephisto is the chilling portait of both the rise of the Nazis and the reaction to that ascendancy in some Germans. Though it appears that Höfgen cares only about his career, in reality he cares more about survival: he is willing to sacrifice ideals and loves for the favor of those in power, even if it means selling his soul. Though he performs occasional good deeds to assuage his dying conscience and take out 'insurance' should the tide ever turn, "Success, that sublime and irrefutable justification of every infamy, had made both of them [Hendrik and a friend] forget their shame."
Mann does a good job of portraying Nazi terror and just how quickly Höfgen caves- it's almost without a thought. And I suspect it was so for thousands of Germans, terrified out of their wits and willing to sacrifice much for themselves or their loved ones. But what was the cost?
I'm impressed that this was penned before WWII. It's horrifying that people could see the coming conflagration, yet be so powerless to stop it.
My wife is glad I'm done this book; even the cover is creepy. (She made me keep it upside-down on the table.)
Rating: A
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