In the Corona crisis, the Germans prove to be particularly obedient to the authorities and pious to the state.
Heinrich Mann's classic novel “Der Untertan” provides the valid description of the national character, which should be read urgently as a current warning.
In the icy lockdown of 2021, the German government appeals to the heroism of staying at home.
It is precisely for this that national literature provides us with a hero on time: Diederich Heßling.
"He was reluctant to leave the warm room in winter", this is how Heinrich Mann describes the title character of his novel "The Subject" in the first paragraph.
That's how it should be! As a fearful child full of a guilty conscience, this German Diederich is terrified of the police and nonetheless cringing asks the policeman about the time; it could be curfew.