Laughing at the Holocaust: Edgar Hilsenrath is dead.

Die Presse, January 1, 2019

German original: https://diepresse.com/home/kultur/literatur/5553928/Lachen-ueber-den-Holocaust_Edgar-Hilsenrath-ist-tot

Sixty German publishing houses rejected the manuscript. A satire about the Shoa? Much too delicate! It was not until 1977 when Edgar Hilsenrath’s novel „The Nazi and the Hairdesser“ could finally be published in German. It is a captivating comical and clairvoyant novel about a seemingly harmless guy who turns into a NS criminal and poses as Jewish in 1945 in order to save his skin: he emigrates to Israel and now fights anti-Semitism with complete conviction.

Hilsenrath was born in Leipzig, fled with his mother to Romania in 1938 and was deported to a Ukrainian ghetto three years later. In 1945 he emigrated to Palestine, then immigrated to the United States. In 1975 he returned to Germany. Other important works include „The Adventures of Ruben Jablonski“ and „Bronsky’s Confession.“ Edgar Hilsenrath was 92 years old.