Levi's shock about Germany: sausage eating and traumatized souls!

In 1958, the Italian writer Carlo Levi traveled through Germany and recorded his impressions in a remarkable travel report. Levi, who is known as an anti-fascist journalist and wrote the classic “Christ only came as far as Eboli,” had traveled from Rome to Munich to take part in a lecture and to meet his publisher in Stuttgart. His journey took him through several cities, including Augsburg, Ulm, Stuttgart, Schwäbisch Hall, Tübingen and Berlin.

In his work, Levi describes German society as one that is hiding from its own traumas. His descriptions of the Germans, whom he described as the “tamest animals in the world,” are particularly succinct. He was shocked by the German businessmen, whom he perceived as fat and indifferent, and by the women who ate sausages uninhibitedly, which he criticized as excessive and gluttonous. The aftermath of the Second World War was also omnipresent for Levi, which is reflected in his ethnographic analysis.

New release of “The Double Night”

Carlo Levi's notes from 1958 are now being published in German for the first time by the publisher C.H. Beck published. The book has the titleThe double night. A trip to Germany in 1958and has been available since 2024. It consists of 176 pages in bound format and costs EUR 20.00. The translation was carried out by Martin Hallmannsecker, supported by Bernd Roeck. In the report, Levi not only addresses the reconstruction of cities, but also the displacement and devastation of the past.

Levi, who was arrested and forced into exile by Mussolini's government in the 1930s because of his political views, reflected in his observations on the return of works of art in the Pergamon Museum and had conversations with Silesian expellees in concentration camp barracks. Reviews of the book highlight Levi's sharp observations, describing him as a "desperate" observer who has difficulty connecting German culture to reality. Some reviewers characterize the Germans as “guilt and hateful.” The successful translation and the importance of the book for understanding German post-war society also attract attention.

The passages about divided Berlin and Levi's ethnographic impressions provide a deep insight into a society that tries to cover up the trauma of the past with external prosperity. Details about Levi's journey and his experiences can be found in the new publication and offer valuable documents about the post-war period that can also serve as an eye-opener for the present.

For further information about the background of Levi's journey and the content of his book, please refer to the reports from World and Pearl diver be resorted to.