Every Man Dies Alone
Hans Fallada
 The story takes place in Berlin during World War II, with Germany firmly under Nazi terror. The book conveys the level of fear and suspicion engulfing Germany at the time because of the constant Nazi threat of arrest, imprisonment, torture and death. Even if one were not subjected to any of these, one could find oneself ostracized and unable to find work. Escherich, a Gestapo inspector, must find the source of hundreds of postcards encouraging Germans to resist Adolf Hitler and the Nazis with personal messages such as “Mother! The Führer has murdered my son. Mother! The Führer will murder your sons too, he will not stop till he has brought sorrow to every home in the world.” Escherich is under pressure from Obergruppenführer Prall to arrest the source or find himself in dire straits. Nearly all those who find the cards turn them in to the Gestapo immediately, terrified they themselves will be discovered having them. Eventually, someone denounces the postcard writer, who turns out to be a quiet, working class couple, Otto and Anna Quangel. The Quangel's acts of civil disobedience are prompted by the loss of their only son, who has been killed in action. They are arrested and brought to trial at the Volksgerichtshof, the Nazi "People's Court", where the infamous Roland Freisler presides. The Quangels are sentenced to death and later executed.