Der Gang Fun di Hint by Thomas Kastner - Yiddish Edition | Classic Yiddish Literature for Book Lovers & Language Learners | Perfect for Home Reading, Book Clubs & Cultural Studies

Yiddish Language

"Der gang fun di hint" (English title: "Going to the Dogs", original title "Der gang vor die hunde") is set in Berlin after the crash of 1929 and before the Nazi takeover. Jakob Fabian, a doctor of literature, currently working as an ad-man for a cigarette company is trying to navigate a world of rising unemployment and financial hardships as well as the moral decline and decadence that follows.

Though filled with irony and cinematic storytelling, this is a naked portrait of interwar Germany which provides an important insight into the society that ultimately lead to the rise of Nazi Germany.

On the night of May 10, 1933, the book, was burned by the Nazis at Opernplatz deemed a work of “decadence and moral decay.” What the nazis who burned the book didn't know was that Kästner's manuscript had actually been censored and watered down by his publisher. The original version was restored and published after Kästner's death and is now available in a Yiddish translation by Emil Kalin.