| Summary: | Hermann Ungar (1893-1929), a native of Boskovice in Moravia, whose work is part of the Prague - or rather Moravian - German literary tradition, studied law in Prague and was an employee of the Czechoslovak embassy in Berlin. Ungar's literary career began with the publication of a collection oftwo stories, "Boys and Murderers" (1920), which aroused substantial interest in literary circ1es. Thomas Mann saw in Ungar great promise for post-war German prose. With his first novel, "The Maimed" (1922), Ungar confirmed the analytical character ofhis prose, which did not shy away from uncovering even the most concealed pI aces and the greatest taboos of the human psyche. Ungar's heroes are often intemally tom, victims of a traumatic childhood and a society that degrades them to the point that they are only "machines" incapable of deeper interpersonal relationships. It is thus very difficult for them to find the way to themselves and to others. While still working as an official of the Czechoslovak embassy, Ungar published short stories and sketches in magazines in Czechoslovakia and Germany. These short works showed readers his peculiar sense ofhumour. Ungar's second novel, "The Class" (1927), which is set in pre-war Bmo, was the author's apotheosis oflove and respect for others. By an irony of fate Hermann Ungar...
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