PLIEVIER, THEODOR

born Feb. 12, 1892, Berlin, Ger. died March 12, 1955, Avegno, near Locarno, Switz. pseudonym (until 1933) Theodor Plivier German war novelist who was one of the first native writers to begin examining Germany's role in World War II and assessing the national guilt. Plievier was the son of a labourer, and he left home at the age of 17. He led a vagrant life until serving in the German Navy in World War I, during which time he participated in the 1918 naval mutiny. An ardent communist, Plievier worked as a left-wing publicist during the 1920s. He described his war experiences in Des Kaisers Kulis (1930; The Kaiser's Coolies), Zwlf Mann und ein Kapitn (1930; Twelve Men and a Captain), Der Kaiser ging, die Generle blieben (1932; The Kaiser Goes, the Generals Remain), Der 10. November 1918 (1935; The 10th of November 1918), and Das grosse Abenteuer (1936; The Great Adventure). These novels received relatively little recognition, as did a 1935 play. The only notice that Plievier's war novels attracted came from the Nazi Party, which banned his books in 1933 and revoked his citizenship in 1934. Plievier fled to Moscow in 1933, to the Soviet Zone in 1945, and returned to the West in 1947. His famous and most important work is a World War II trilogy that deals with the war on the eastern front. The first volume, Stalingrad (1945), which describes the crushing defeat of the German Sixth Army, became an international best-seller. The trilogy was completed by Moskau (1952; Moscow) and Berlin (1954). The novels are shocking in their graphic naturalistic detail, yet hold out some hope for a reborn humanity.