The Language of the Third Reich

Victor Klemperer

1947

People are forever quoting Talleyrand’s remark that language is only there in order to hide the thoughts of the diplomat (or for that matter of any other shrewd and dubious person). But in fact the very opposite is true. Whatever it is that people are determined to hide, be it only from others, or from themselves, even things they carry around…

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Creator Bio

Victor Klemperer

1881–1960

Victor Klemperer, renowned for his journals covering the years of the Holocaust, was born in Landsberg an der Warthe (today Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland). The son of a rabbi, Klemperer studied philosophy and Romance languages, completing his doctorate in 1913 in Munich. He twice converted to Christianity and taught at the Technical University of Dresden, a position he lost in 1933 when the Nazis came to power. Somewhat protected by his marriage to a Protestant, Klemperer survived the war, leaving Germany only in the final months before May 1945. He subsequently returned to East Germany, joining the Communist Party while remaining critical of its propaganda in his personal notes.

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The Language of the Third Reich

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The Language of the Third Reich

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