The Seventh Cross

INTRODUCED BY RACHEL SEIFFERT

'It was [Seghers] who taught my generation and anyone who had an ear to listen after that not-to-be-forgotten war to distinguish right from wrong. The Seventh Cross shaped me; it sharpened my vision' Gunter Grass

'A fascinating insight into life in pre-war Germany just as the horrors of the Nazi regime were beginning to unfold. An important novel' Simon Mawer


Seven prisoners escape from Westhofen concentration camp. The commandant vows to capture the fugitives within seven days. Six are quickly apprehended and brutally dealt with, but George Heisler slips through his pursuers' fingers. It becomes a matter of pride to track him down, at whatever cost.

Who can George trust? His brother is now an SS officer; his lover turns him away. Hunted, injured and desperate, time is running out, and anyone caught helping him will pay will their life.

First published in 1942, The Seventh Cross is one of the most powerful and influential novels of the twentieth century - a tense thriller that helped to alert the world to the terrifying realities of life in Nazi Germany.

TRANSLATED BY MARGOT BETTAUER BEMBO