The Passenger by Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz

Online Talk

To mark the publication by the Pushkin Press of the English translation of The Passenger by Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz, writer and journalist David Herman will lead a discussion with writer Eva Hoffman, translator Philip Boehm and publisher Adam Freudenheim about this powerful and prescient novel, its unusual publication history and the tragic story of its author.

Germany, November 1938: Otto Silbermann receives a knock on his door and realises he must flee. A respected German-Jewish businessman, he has managed to evade the escalating brutality of the Nazi regime. But now, as he and his wife plan to leave, all avenues are shut down and he is forced to abandon his home amid the untrammelled violence of Kristallnacht.

With all the money he can gather stuffed into a suitcase, Otto takes train after train across Germany, desperately seeking to cross the border, every moment terrified a fellow passenger will discover his Jewish identity. An unbearably tense rediscovered classic, The Passenger is an unparalleled depiction of the terrifying atmosphere of Nazi Germany.

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This event is held in partnership with the Association of Jewish Refugees.