Both authors wroteas, and for,communists,apoint confirmed by theauto-
biographical references andBildungsromanelements in their novels.At the 1930
Kharkov conference organized by RAPP (Russian Association of ProletarianWrit-
ers), Marchwitza proudlydeclared,“we don’twrite for the bourgeoisie and its en-
tertainment needsbut for therevolutionary proletariat,for the class struggle.”¹²
In the originalversion ofStorm over the Ruhr,this partiality is most evident in a
narrativestructure that conveys an illusion of mastery by juxtaposing collective
action with privatefeeling.Marchwitza introduces stereotypical figures (e.g.,
greedyfactory owner,reactionary officer,opportunistic politician) to establish
clear moral binaries and present the communists as more evolvedhuman speci-
mens. Hisrevolutionaries make decisionsbased onrational arguments, while
their enemies are drivenbyeither selfish motivesorirrational fears.Accordingly,
the (male)reader’sidentificationwith the revolutionary subjectisachieved
through the reduction of womento sexual objects. Confirming the writers’and
the readers’shared emotional investment in the process of masculinization,
this ideological interpellation takes place in the heightenedregisters of melodra-
ma, thatis, aquintessential femalegenre.
Like Marchwitza, Grünbergfirmly believed in the value of stereotypical char-
acters as emotional anchors within the revolutionary narrative.Recallingadis-
cussion with workersduringa1929visit to Moscow,henoted:
Ayoungstudent trainee expressed her displeasurethat theauthor had treatedthe petty-
bourgeois studentSukrow [inTheBurning Ruhr]with much morelovethan the class-con-
scious rolling mill operatorGrothe. [...]Looking at threehundred pairs of eyesIsuddenly
knew the answer.[...]For theauthor,his relationshipto his figures resembles that of pa-
rentsto their children. [...]Without doubt,the indecisiveSukrow requiredmoreattention
than the class-conscious Grothewho was firmlystandingonhis own two feet! The long-
lastingapplause confirmed thatIhad been understood.¹³In the introductionto the novel’ssecond 1948 edition, Grünbergelaboratedon
the need for fictionalizing the historical material and harnessing the emotional
power of character identification. After all, he explains,“purelytheoretical po-
litical booksoften leave the readers cold. [...]Acaptivatinglywritten book that
allows thereader to live,love, and suffer with the fictional characters also allows
Hans Marchwitza, quoted byWerner Ilberg,Hans Marchwitza(Leipzig: VEB Bibliographisch-
es Institut,1971), 27.
Karl Grünberg,Vonder Taigabis zumKaukasus. Erlebnisse aus denzwanzigerJahrenund
später(Halle: MitteldeutscherVerlag,1970), 124–125.
184 Chapter 9