Strange Bird: The Albatross Press and the Third Reich (New Directions in Narrative History)

The first book about the Albatross Press, a Penguin precursor that entered into an uneasy relationship with the Nazi regime to keep Anglo-American literature alive under fascism The Albatross Press was, from its beginnings in 1932, a “strange bird”: a cultural outsider to the Third Reich but an economic insider. It was funded by British-Jewish interests. Its director was rumored to work for British intelligence. A precursor to Penguin, it distributed both middlebrow fiction and works by edgier modernist authors such as D. H. Lawrence, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, and Ernest Hemingway to eager continental readers. Yet Albatross printed and sold its paperbacks in English from the heart of Hitler’s Reich. In her original and skillfully researched history, Michele K. Troy reveals how the Nazi regime tolerated Albatross—for both economic and propaganda gains—and how Albatross exploited its insider position to keep Anglo-American books alive under fascism. In so doing, Troy exposes the contradictions in Nazi censorship while offering an engaging detective story, a history, a nuanced analysis of men and motives, and a cautionary tale. This book is about the Albatross Press, a Penguin precursor that entered into an uneasy relationship with the Nazi regime to keep Anglo-American literature alive under fascism. Albatross was, from its beginnings in 1932, a “strange bird”: a cultural outsider to the Third Reich but an economic insider. It was funded by British-Jewish interests. Its director was rumored to work for British intelligence. A precursor to Penguin, it distributed both middlebrow fiction and works by edgier modernist authors such as D. H. Lawrence, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, and Ernest Hemingway to eager continental readers. Yet Albatross printed and sold its paperbacks in English from the heart of Adolf Hitler's Reich. The book reveals how the Nazi regime tolerated Albatross—for both economic and propaganda gains—and how Albatross exploited its insider position to keep Anglo-American books alive under fascism. In so doing, the book exposes the contradictions in Nazi censorship while offering an engaging detective story, a history, a nuanced analysis of men and motives, and a cautionary tale. Cover -- Half-title -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- INTRODUCTION: Behind the Door -- ONE: Tauchnitz Has a Rival -- TWO: Spies for England -- THREE: Winning the Continent -- FOUR: Un-German Literature -- FIVE: Made in Britain? -- SIX: The Scissors in Their Heads -- SEVEN: A Tale of Two Publishers -- EIGHT: The Center Will Not Hold -- NINE: The Shell Game -- TEN: Suspicion -- ELEVEN: Dear Reader -- TWELVE: Allegiances -- THIRTEEN: Faces of War -- FOURTEEN: Enemy Books -- FIFTEEN: Return and Departure -- SIXTEEN: Albatross Under the Occupation -- SEVENTEEN: The Deutsche Tauchnitz -- EIGHTEEN: English Books Abroad -- NINETEEN: Rivals -- TWENTY: When the Bombs Fell -- TWENTY-ONE: Making Peace -- TWENTY-TWO: Rising from the Ashes -- TWENTY-THREE: Homecoming -- CONCLUSION: Longing -- Notes -- Selected Bibliography -- Chapter-Opening Illustration Credits -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z Contents 7 Acknowledgments 9 INTRODUCTION. Behind the Door 17 ONE. Tauchnitz Has a Rival 28 TWO. Spies for England 49 THREE. Winning the Continent 68 FOUR. Un-German Literature 79 FIVE. Made in Britain? 95 SIX. The Scissors in Their Heads 106 SEVEN. A Tale of Two Publishers 119 EIGHT. The Center Will Not Hold 129 NINE. The Shell Game 143 TEN. Suspicion 155 ELEVEN. Dear Reader 169 TWELVE. Allegiances 183 THIRTEEN. Faces of War 199 FOURTEEN. Enemy Books 210 FIFTEEN. Return and Departure 223 SIXTEEN. Albatross Under the Occupation 236 SEVENTEEN. The Deutsche Tauchnitz 246 EIGHTEEN. English Books Abroad 253 NINETEEN. Rivals 270 TWENTY. When the Bombs Fell 278 TWENTY– ONE Making Peace 293 TWENTY– TWO Rising from the Ashes 308 TWENTY– THREE Homecoming 325 CONCLUSION Longing 338 Notes 355 Selected Bibliography 413 Chapter-Opening Illustration Credits 425 Index 427