What's to Become of the Boy

by Heinrich Böll

The Nobel Prize-winning writer recounts events of four crucial years of his adolescence, 1933 to 1937, years during which he, his family, his school, and his Cologne neighborhood experienced the intensifying impact of Nazism

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Germany, Biography, History, German Literature, World War II

82 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Der deutsche Schriftsteller und Übersetzer gilt als einer der bedeutendsten deutschen Autoren der Nachkriegszeit. Er schrieb Gedichte, Kurzgeschichten und Romane, von denen auch einige verfilmt wurden. Dabei setzte er sich kritisch mit der jungen Bundesrepublik auseinander. Zu seinen erfolgreichsten Werken zählen "Billard um halbzehn", "Ansichten eines Clowns" und "Gruppenbild mit Dame". Den Nobelpreis für Literatur bekam Heinrich Böll 1972; er war nach 43 Jahren der erste deutsche Schriftsteller, dem diese Auszeichnung zuteil wurde. 1974 erschien sein wohl populärstes Werk, "Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum". Durch sein politisches Engagement wirkte er, gemeinsam mit seinem Freund Lew Kopelew, auf die europäische Literatur der Nachkriegszeit. Darüber hinaus arbeitete Böll gemeinsam mit seiner Frau Annemarie als Herausgeber und Übersetzer englischsprachiger Werke ins Deutsche...

Heinrich Böll became a full-time writer at the age of 30. His first novel, Der Zug war pünktlich (The Train Was on Time), was published in 1949. Many other novels, short stories, radio plays, and essay collections followed. In 1972 he received the Nobel Prize for Literature "for his writing which through its combination of a broad perspective on his time and a sensitive skill in characterization has contributed to a renewal of German literature." He was the first German-born author to receive the Nobel Prize since Hermann Hesse in 1946. His work has been translated into more than 30 languages, and he is one of Germany's most widely read authors.

Reviews

[Steven Godin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Böll's fiction, with two novels in particular showcasing his brilliance as a writer, so it pains me to say it, but this memoir was somewhat disappointing, with one big reason being that it's just too short. Looking back mostly on his school days and Catholicism Böll was a youngster living something of a carefree lifestyle in Cologne as he watched the Nazis march to power, and extend their fearful control over every aspect of society. As an anti-fascist, he found refuge through his Roman Catholic school, as these schools still enjoyed a measure of independence during the late 1930’s, which worked fully to Böll’s advantage, and he didn't come across any real persecution because of his quiet protests. He could even get away with the occasional disrespectful remark about Hitler and other Nazi dignitaries, and no one ever reported him, so the school’s authorities made it easy for him to avoid openly supporting the Nazis. He developed a love-hate relationship with the Catholic church during these years though (something that clearly shows up as a big influence in his novels after the war). He didn't formally leave the Catholic church until 1976; even then his action was more a rejection of institutionalized middle-class Catholicism than a rejection of Christianity, and most critics agreed that Böll remained a moral Christian throughout his whole life. I hoped the book would have gone in deeper regards other aspects of his early life, but like I said, it's too short, which was a pity. But still, it was an interesting read.

[Lee Klein · Rating 3 out of 5]

I probably haven't found the right book/translation yet but from what I've read (13 Stories, Billiards at Half-Past Nine, and this) I'm not the biggest Böll fan. This reads like the first draft of distant personal history recollected in tranquility. It's worth an hour's reading to get a sense of an apparently parallel time, but it doesn't really offer a guide or insight into navigating daily life as storm clouds gather. If you're not oppressed as an oppressive totalitarian government gains power, you ride your bike, maybe meet a girl, translate for fun, excel at rounders, find your calling (something to do with books), and (although not covered here) eventually go to war for six years. This one's heft pertains to when it's set, almost accidentally -- it's pressed down by the author, not romanticized or demonized or even really very much emphasized (he respects the WWI vets who downplay their wounds) -- and that restraint, that de-emphasis of the obvious, merits the third star for me.

[Nastiia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Книга невелика, але густо насичена історичними фактами. Автор рефлексує над своїм юнацтвом в період становлення нацизму в Німеччині. Як він сам влучно пише ʼпотоп був не позаду нас, а перед намиʼ. Але чогось не вистачає - чи більшого переплетення історії та особистого досвіду, чи іншої точки закінчення історії.

[Olga Zilberbourg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short memoir by Heinrich Böll, born in Cologne in 1927, whose proletarian, Catholic, and staunch anti-Nazi family went through all the trials of Nazism and WWII. The memoir covers his four years in high school after Hitler came to power in 1933, through the burning of Reichstag, and Prussian occupation of Rheinland, events leading up to the war. Böll himself, coming of age at that time, in severely limited circumstances, faced with the choice of career and a future in the environment where, it was clear, he had no future. His choices closely tied up with that of his parents and siblings; a tight-knit family whose experiences Böll frequently describes in the first-person plural -- "we" and "our." A moving, important book.

[Autumn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, thankfully sometimes humorous, writer giving us a glimpse at his life in 1936-37 during Hitler's reign. Interesting time he chose to focus on. I liked what he did share about the people and few events covered in his life at this time, though I never felt I got a full sense of this author. I wanted more. I also didn't get a real sense of his family—his explanations didn't always fit my impressions from previous pages, so it was confusing to get a hold on them. Other characters, like his brother, I wanted to know more of. Maybe it was the translation, but I just didn't get as much out of this book as I felt I could have, and as much as the book deserved.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so short that you don't even have time to mark it as 'Currently Reading'. In fact, this is probably the only bad thing about the book: it's just too darn short. Almost wonder why Böll bothered to write it at all.

A candid memoir, a look at the author's high school years, a glimpse of his family life (parents, brothers & sisters), a peek into his ways of 'escaping' the Nazi madness around him, and... sadly not much more.

Interesting? Yes. Recommended? Of course, but bring something else to read; this one just won't last.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heinrich Böll ganó un Nobel de literatura por ser uno de los representantes literarios más importantes de la Alemania de la posguerra. Yo no sabía quién era. Compré Pero ¿qué será de este muchacho? porque el título me llamó la atención. Tiene solo cien páginas. Böll recuerda sus días de instituto, en Colonia, justo cuando Hitler ascendió al poder (podría haber ascendido a los cielos -o a los infiernos- directamente y nos habría ahorrado a todos mucho sufrimiento). También las hogueras de libros, las premoniciones de su madre sobre la guerra en el 36, los paseos en bicicleta por Colonia y sus tonteos con las mujeres.

Es un relato corto que tira de la memoria y que deja con ganas de más. De más anáforas, si he de ser más concreta. Es un recurso estilístico más poético que narrativo, pero me ha entusiasmado cómo lo utiliza Böll. Empieza a partir del cuarto “capítulo” (son tan cortos que no sé si denominarlos así). Finge que su única intención es hablar de sus días de colegio, después se deja llevar por el recuerdo y, cuando quiere retomar la remembranza escolar, utiliza frases del tipo “Sí, y la escuela, en efecto, ahora vuelvo al tema” o “Ah, sí, la escuela”. Me gusta el ritmo y la estructura. Quiero leer más cosas de Böll. Por esto leo.

[Kirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my colleagues let me raid his collection earlier this year, and this one struck me as short and manageable this weekend.

It started strong, steeped in one of the most pivotal points in history. But soon the historical backdrop became a bit of an afterthought, and it became a story about the author just trying to get through school and make a little extra money. At that point it became pretty anti-climactic.

I did like the insight that the nazi takeover of Germany was characterized not by anything too loud, but by silence. One day the violence became real, and dissenters grew quiet. That was when the nazi party had won.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent little mini-memoir is sad and frightening.


One of the two major parties in the country of my birth and citizenship recently nominated a fascist for president.

This book recounts the author's high school years as the Nazis rise to power.

His family were anti-Nazi but not resistance fighters. They didn't imagine leaving Germany- they imagined putting their children through school, finding a trade for each child, getting contracts for the family business in order to keep food on the table.

The author didn't join the Hitler youth, so he had to go to school an extra day to do community service. He describes a mix of curiosity and revulsion at what he missed, but he still felt guilty decades later about his family's decision to nominate his older brother to join the storm troopers. The brother hated it, but did it so the family business could get contracts and could eat.

The family laughed at Hitler when he rose to national prominence. "He'll never be elected!" Then he was elected. "He'll be thrown out in elections next year!" Then the Nazis consolidated power after the burning of the parliament.

The Nazis beat citizens in the street, tortured and disappeared citizens based on their political beliefs or affiliations, and pushed the state toward the war that would bring them down twelve years later.

This book is told in a disconcertingly lighthearted way but is very sad: the family lost their country to fascists; lost family, friends, and neighbors to the Nazis as members or victims; and lost their city, first its spirit as a Catholic and forward-thinking place, later literally and physically they lost their city: the family's various homes were destroyed in the war, and bombs turned entire neighborhoods into dust and ash.

The book is frightening when considering the Republican Party's nomination of Trump. Trump is certainly an authoritarian; cares not for the Constitution or the rule of law; promotes, accepts, and celebrates violence by his supporters; and threatens violence against political opponents. He has announced plans for a purge after he is elected, promises to arrest and jail political opponents, and promises to torture innocents. He has expressed that he does not understand why the USA should not use nuclear weapons and has endorsed invading countries irrespective of their allegiance to take their natural resources. He retweets Mussolini quotes, kept a collection of Hitler's speeches at his bedside, and praises Putin.

Trump is without a doubt a fascist.

Worse than that, he is a real threat to the republic.

If you thought his primary campaign was comedic, the author's mother thought Hitler was hilariously pathetic. If you think there is no way he can win, the author's family couldn't imagine the Nazis winning, then couldn't imagine that they wouldn't get voted out.

If your family, friends, or coworkers are Trump supporters you might lose them forever.

If you're a citizen of the USA you could lose your republic forever.

[Daniel Gaddy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't care for this book at all. To me, it was just this collection of random memories from a guy who came of age during the rise of the Nazis. No real engine to the story.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book I bought for myself on Mother's Day, from a little shop in Ann Arbor specializing in well-preserved first editions. I picked this up hoping for hints on how to live in a time when all around you seem consumed by power and hate and scapegoating. What I got was a somewhat disjointed memoir of a man looking back at his teen years from many years distant. It was as much of a memoir of the ways memory deceives and disorders and lumps impossible things together as it was a memoir of coming of age during the rise of the Nazi party.

It's very stream-of-consciousness and rambly. And while that did often leave me wishing for more context or thoroughness, it did pretty effectively convey that for the most part, life just goes on. It's hard to see the context when you're living that context every day. How much time can you spend wondering what's to become of the country, or the world, when the question of "What's to become of you?" is so uncertain.

But this book isn't going to connect the dots for you. If you want to derive any meaning from it, you're going to have to do the work.

[CaitlynK · Rating 3 out of 5]

"It is only now that I can appreciate, comprehend, how utterly horrified my family must have been when, between quitting my bookseller's apprenticeship and starting my stint in the Labor Service, between February and November 1938, when I was not yet twenty-one - and in the very midst of firmly entrenched Nazi terror - I actually set out to be a free-lance writer."

A third star almost solely because of the historical facts and atmosphere (the biking holidays, abundant parenthetical asides, and inclination toward alternative learning were also pluses).

Apparently, Böll went on to have a prolific post-war writing career, one that included being awarded the Nobel Prize, so it's likely I'll be looking out for his fiction in the future. However, I didn't feel close to him in this retrospective look at his "school" days, nor did the narrative appear to have a consistent, underlying theme or goal. If it'd had more of a grounding thread - Böll's family life, what he learned outside of school, his personal life, or his burgeoning writing endeavors - I think it could have been much stronger; but, as it stands, I wasn't fully or lastingly engaged.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vzpomínky Henricha Bölla na školní léta (1933-37), která strávil často za školou, kvůli: a) náckům, b) učiteli katechismu, c) byla to nuda. Easy read, nic převratnýho. Zajímavý momenty: přiznaná neschopnost vybavit si nějaké podrobnosti; závislost na pervitinu; učitel literatury, který na příkladu Mein Kampfu vysvětloval svým studentům, že by měli psát stručně (tzn. každých 5 stran textu zkrátil na 2); "Following the insistent 'advice' of our block warden, we too acquired a swastika flag after 1936, albeit a small one: on days when displaying flag was compulsory, sentiments could also be deduced from the size of the flags"; draftování bratra do SA pro dobro rodiny a následné uplácení velitele SA cigaretama, aby omluvil bratra z nepřítomnosti na přehlídkách.

[Karla Huebner]

A brief account, in the author's inimitable dry style, of his school years under the Nazis. Not perhaps one of his great works, but a small treasure all the same, despite the inclusion of details about people the reader may know nothing about and the lack of details about those the reader may want more about. As always Böll presents a view of civic, family, political, and religious life in which the combination of head and heart is quite unlike anyone else's.

[Cooper Renner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read Boll's fiction--partly I'm sure because of my innate suspicion of writers who get much acclaim and big awards--so I thought this short memoir would be a painless way to get a taste. And it is! It's a very fine work, sly, funny, honest, pulling no punches about the Nazis. So maybe now I'll be able to make myself read one of his novels.

[Nils Lid Hjort · Rating 3 out of 5]

HVA SKAL DET BLI AV GUTTEN? Gripende god tittel, ja. Jeg liker Böll, har lest en del av ham, og til og meg orket å lese et knippe av novellene hans på tysk, i det siste. Uforlignelige & underfundige & dype, på sitt böllske vis. Nå har jeg lest denne (og merket meg at den tydeligvis har vært eiet av Iver Tore Svenning, som jeg husker, fra en generasjon tilbake, med noen kronikker og litterære meninger og sikkert noen bøker). Den er ... god, men ikke på sitt aller böllske, og uten de store litterære pretensjoner, tror jeg det er riktig å si. Men han skuer altså tilbake, på barndom og ungdom, med et utall vinkler på *skoletiden og skolegangen*, i de harde tredveåra, men den dypskremmende nazismen på fremmarsj. Så jeg synes den var historisk interessant, om en tid vi alle har et slags forhold til, Tyskland 1933-1939. Men skal folk lese Böll kan de ta seg noen romaner eller noveller.

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short memoir of the novelist’s years at school. There’s not a lot to grab on to here, but I appreciated the author’s boyhood perspective on Hitler’s rise to power.

[Tracy WB · Rating 5 out of 5]

A curious little book. A keeper and a re-reader.

[biblio-empire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Known for his more famous titles Billiards at Half-Past Nine, The Clown, and Group Portrait with Lady, among others, Heinrich Böll details his high school years set against the impending backdrop of Nazism in this short memoir. Böll came from a family that though not Jewish, was a feverishly anti-Nazi one living on the cusp of the party’s full power. Living in poverty as a consequence of rejecting the political enthusiasm sweeping Germany, Böll’s family lived dangerously on the edge, splurging on books and other luxuries while struggling to make ends meet. “We were crazy enough to buy books and to read them”, he humorously writes, reminiscing the teenage years when he quite literally ducked Hitler’s campaigns with his education (86).

What’s to Become of the Boy? is a most peculiar memoir — extremely short and witty, it articulates the necessity of “ordinary writing” as a form of literature amongst history books and war memoirs. Böll’s attitude against Nazism is unapologetic; a fact that remains even when his memory fails him, for he admits to writing from pure memory, having “no notes or jottings to resort to”, forty years after the fact (13). Weaving crisp humor — “was [the sinus condition] really Nazi-induced? It may well have been, for I was also allergic to the Nazis” — with self-reflection, Böll offers a modest and surprisingly unruffled memoir of a teenager living his days in a Germany that had Nazism at its heels (65).

[Andres Eguiguren · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the introduction to this memoir of life in Cologne, Germany, during 1933-1937, Anne Applebaum writes that the book "makes an ideal short introduction to Boll, the writer, as well as to Boll, the person." Having not yet read any of the fiction from this Nobel Prize winner, I cannot attest to the veracity of this claim. I do agree with her that it offers an unusual perspective on Hitler's rise to power, though she says that is "as seen through the eyes of a teenage boy" when in fact he wrote this in the early 1980s when he was in his 60s, so this as seen through the eyes of someone in their sixties trying to recollect what had happened more than 45 years earlier. The "Or, Something to Do with Books" is rather misleading as well. Although he does discuss a few German authors, it would have been far more accurate to describe this memoir as something to do with Cologne or with Catholicism, as they play a far greater role. This can be read in an hour or so, and although his writing is "occasionally sanctimonious" (Applebaum's words), there is enough here to interest pre-WWII Germany history buffs and/or those wanting to get an introduction to Bolls themes and writing style in a non-fiction format.

[Max Tkach · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offered a unique perspective into Nazi Germany but from a perspective I haven't read from before- a German boy whose family is against Hitler. There are some humorous bits of this book such as when the narrator's mother described Hitler as a Rovekopp which is German for turnip head. Heinrich Boll is able to provide rare insight from the perspective of a little boy into practices the Nazis did such as burning books, calling it an "embarrassing" and "pathetic" exercise. I enjoyed particularly the way the narrator explains the conditions he and his people endured under Nazi rule and how he backed it up with statistics. He reveals how despite popular belief that Hitler's original rule brought economic growth and prosperity to Germany and its people, his family could not benefit from these changes, saying "We were worse off than before 1933 (the year Hitler assumed power)". All in all, What's to Become of the Boy was an electrifying insight into the world of the Nazis from the unusual perspective of a young German boy that "simply could not join the Hitler Youth".

[Max Tkach · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offered a unique perspective into Nazi Germany but from a perspective I haven't read from before- a German boy whose family is against Hitler. There are some humorous bits of this book such as when the narrator's mother described Hitler as a Rovekopp which is German for turnip head. Heinrich Boll is able to provide rare insight from the perspective of a little boy into practices the Nazis did such as burning books, calling it an "embarrassing" and "pathetic" exercise. I enjoyed particularly the way the narrator explains the conditions he and his people endured under Nazi rule and how he backed it up with statistics. He reveals how despite popular belief that Hitler's original rule brought economic growth and prosperity to Germany and its people, his family could not benefit from these changes, saying "We were worse off than before 1933 (the year Hitler assumed power)". All in all, What's to Become of the Boy was an electrifying insight into the world of the Nazis from the unusual perspective of a young German boy that "simply could not join the Hitler Youth".

[Glglgl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heinrich Böll beschreibt in diesen Erinnerungen skizzenhaft seine letzten Schuljahre in der Zeit zwischen 1933 und 1937 unter den Nationalsozialisten. Weder wird dabei eine umfassende Darstellung der Verhältnisse gegeben noch Objektivität oder Repräsentativität vorgegaukelt. Stattdessen steht bewusst Subjektives im Vordergrund. Da geht es nicht nur um Nazis, sondern auch um Dostojewski. Die Klarheit über den kommenden Krieg mischt sich mit der Unklarheit über die eigene Zukunft. Vieles wird nur angedeutet, manches künstlerisch zugespitzt. Hier hat nicht irgendjemand seine Erinnerungen an Nazideutschland zu Papier gebracht hat, sondern ein Literat. Seiner Ablehnung der nationalsozialistischen Ideologie fügt Böll den sprachlichen Widerwillen gegen Hitlers Mein Kampf hinzu. Der Autor hat den Humor nicht gescheut bei der Beschreibung einer Zeit, die üblicherweise mit betroffener Miene kommentiert wird. Das Ergebnis wirkt sehr aufrichtig.

[Chad Felix · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short, heavily punctuated autobiography of the schoolboy Heinrich Böll within which the author describes the rise of Nazism and its impact on his daily life, family, friends, and mentors. Despite the Böll's brevity here (the book is just 80 pages), he manages a handful of moments of pure bliss. For example, of his family's demeanor in the face of poverty, he writes:

"I can't say it was a good time. We were both depressed and reckless, not the slightest bit sensible. At the very moment when we could least afford it, we would go out to a restaurant for a meal. We would invite "furnished gentlemen," as long as we had any, for a game of cards, slyly intending to win twenty pfennigs for a back of Alvas of Ecksteins, until we found to our amusement that they had similar plans, so we would pool our resources and enjoy a smoke together."

A wonderful little book, and from what I can tell an excellent introduction to the writer.

[Carmen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Siendo una gran seguidora de Heinrich Boll este libro ha sido una verdadera decepción. Cubre sus cuatro últimos años de formación escolar a la vez que el régimen nazi se va construyendo. Escrito en los años ochenta el autor rememora cómo la escuela fue una tabla de salvación para evitar las Juventudes hitlerianas o las SS a la vez que le mantenía en una situación bastante ambigüa: el figurar como estudiante en la definición de oficio le volvía intocable a la vez que entendía como una pérdida de tiempo el molestarse en estudiar para acabar sacrificado en la guerra que sabía que se avecinaba. Aunque es una crónica bastante interesante de cómo la violencia y espionaje modeló la sociedad alemana para allanar la docilidad ente las políticas de Hitler sin duda ha sido escrita para el público alemán, a la edición de Galaxia Gutenberg le faltan notas al pie (no tiene ninguna de la editorial) para guiar al lector no tan familiarizado.

[Amy Brack · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for the 2016 Reading Challenge "A Book Under 150 Pages" category.

I was interested in reading this because I've heard good things about the author, but also that because it was a different perspective during WWII than I've ever read. You have a glimpse into the life of a Catholic family that was very Anti-Nazi, but in low key way. They had to fly the flag, but made sure to have the smallest possible. I got a kick out of the fact that the school children studied Mien Kampf for the sole purpose of illustrating that was poorly written and could be easily condensed.

I can tell Böll has a way with words, and I'd be interested in reading some of his other books.

[Johann Guenther · Rating 3 out of 5]

BÖLL, Heinrich: „Was soll aus dem Jungen bloß werden? Oder: Irgendwas mit Büchern“, München 1985
Älter werdende Menschen blicken gerne auf ihr Leben zurück. So auch der über 60-jährige Böll. Im vorliegenden Buch beschränkt er seine biografische Erzählung auf die Jahre 1933 bis 1937, wo er sich primär mit dem Auftreten des Nationalsozialismus beschäftigt. Seine Familie war gegen diese politische Richtung und Heinrich war weiter in katholischen Kreisen aktiv. Der Besuch der Mittelschule bewahrte ihn vor der Teilnahme an NS-Jugendorganisationen.
Da er keine Unterlagen aus dieser Zeit mehr hatte, wurden alle Erzählungen aus dem Gedächtnis geschrieben. Ob das dann wirklich so war?

[Maurizio Manco · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Non ogni ragazzo i cui parenti e amici pongono con ragione, a sé e a lui, questa domanda eternamente allarmata, diventa, dopo alcuni intoppi e giri viziosi e deviazioni, scrittore, e vorrei sottolineare che la domanda, quando fu posta, era tanto seria quanto giustificata, e non so se mia madre, se fosse ancora viva, non chiederebbe anche oggi, allo stesso modo: CHE COSA FAREMO DI QUESTO RAGAZZO? Forse ogni tanto bisognerebbe porre questa domanda persino ad anziani politici di successo, ai principi della Chiesa, agli scrittori, eccetera." (p. 5)

[Kohei Otsuka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed Heinrich Boll's memoir style writing on his perspective of the Nazi rise during his teen years of the 1930s and I found everything very interesting. The author, however, tends to list lots of street name and names of people without much explanation, so I would have liked a little more depth. It was a good quick read but I would not necessarily recommend people to read this book, because I did not get much valuable lessons out of it.

[Jacob Inosencio · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated the normalcy of this book. I did not understand it as much until a friend and I discussed it. I think it offers a unique glimpse into how life happened, and just kept happening. Another aspect I appreciated was that it was not full of horrors or heroics, which we often get or get from this time period, and understandably so. This offered a different perspective from a lesser-known voice from the time.