Panorama: A Novel by H. G. Adler; Peter Filkins; Peter Demetz

Author:H. G. Adler; Peter Filkins; Peter Demetz
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Fiction.Historical
ISBN: 9780307794468
Publisher: Random House
Published: 1948-01-18T00:00:00+00:00

THE CULTURAL CENTER

PROFESSOR RUMPLER OF COURSE CAN’T HIRE ANYONE AT THIS TIME, HE HAS enough people, and though it’s clear that anyone would want to work for him, and he of course is happy to support ambitious young talent, one must also consider the times, everyone knows that things are bad in Germany today, it’s a horrible time for intellectual matters everywhere in the world. “We continue to maintain, of course, our high intellectual standards, but what do you want to do here? You’re a newly minted young doctor who studied, what, philosophy, but who knows nothing of life, can’t do stenography, doesn’t know how to write a proper letter on a typewriter, and yet here you stand with a heap of recommendations in your hand! Dash it all, I had to take my knocks in life first, and because of that I had no recommendations, I had to recommend myself. How old are you? I see, twenty-five. Do you know that I gave Schnitzler all the best ideas for his books? He was a talented writer and became famous, that was at the turn of the century. Do you think someone wrote me a recommendation for that? It doesn’t matter, I built a position for myself, but of course everyone begrudges me my position, how few worries I have. You have no idea of the kinds of people who have worked for me; I could plaster the walls with university professors.”

Josef stands quietly in the office of Professor Rumpler, who sits at an elegant desk, though it’s hard to tell if it’s made of wood, as the surface is covered with a heap of papers and books, a telephone, and a bust of Goethe made of waxed plaster, Professor Rumpler constantly reaching out to grab it by the crown, while in between he holds his own head and complains how no one knows the immense pressure the head of a cultural center has upon him. “You’re constantly pulled to and fro, everyone wanting to put his two cents in, because he knows everything about the matter, though of course no one knows anything. What you think doesn’t mean a thing, nor is it a question of taste, but you have to take precautions in order to defend democracy and freedom when they’re threatened. But freedom, what is that? Goethe knew the answer, that’s clear, but he didn’t have to live in our times and take social and political precautions that I have to keep an eye on. You see, you have to make compromises if you want to balance the swastika with the Socialists. You also have to know the government’s plans exactly and what it wants, in order to be careful. If I speak to someone on the left, then they scream that Rumpler is a Red, and then if I briefly talk to someone on the right, then the lefties start screaming that Rumpler is a Nazi. My friend, people begrudge Rumpler, but it’s easy for people to run off at the mouth.

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