User:Paraskevia8/Sandbox
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The novel February Shadows (also known as Februar Schatten) was written by author and historian Elisabeth Reichart in 1984 as a response to her discovery of the tragedy of Mühlviertler Hasenjagd (The Rabbit Hunt of the Mill District). On February 2, 1945 almost 500 prisoners escaped from special barracks number 20 of the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp in Upper Austria only to be hunted and killed by the inhabitants of the nearby village of Mühlviertler. All the villagers were instructed under Nazi command to find every escaped prisoner and either bring them to authorities or murder them immediately. The result was a bloody massacre involving previously "unpolitical" civilian men, women, and children.
Author | Elisabeth Reichart |
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Cover artist | Georg Eisler |
Country | Austria (Original) United States (Second Edition) |
Language | Austria (Original) English (Second Edition) |
Genre | Psychological novel |
Publisher | Adriadne Press |
Publication date | 1989 |
Media type | PrintPaperback) |
Pages | 162 pages |
ISBN | 0929497-02-3 |
February Shadows is an historically accurate fictional novel that explicitly depicts the event of Mühlviertler Hasenjagd through the eyes of a young girl named Hilde. The story is told in hindsight as Hilde is reaching back through repressed memories at the prompting of her adult daughter Erika who wishes to write about her mother's experiences. The book is essentially Hilde's silent inner monolgue as she struggles with her traumatic past and scarred present.
The story is not written in a traditionally chronological manner, nor does it conform to the rules of traditional grammer or sentence structure. The use of fragmented sentences and stream of consciousness allow the reader to better understand the psyche and experiences of the protagonist while reading the plot.