Summary of The Seventh Cross
In “The Seventh Cross”, seven men try to escape from a German concentration camp during the Second World War. The novel follows the flight of the main character, Georg, as he tries to reach the Netherlands. Will he and the other escapees manage to get away, or will they be captured by their pursuers?
Reasons to read The Seventh Cross
Anna Seghers’s novel “The Seventh Cross” is considered a classic of German literature and was included in the German Literary Canon in 2002. First published in Mexico in 1942, it became a bestseller in the United States and was adapted into a film in 1944. The novel is both a suspenseful tale of escape and pursuit and a moving portrayal of a nation under the grip of totalitarianism. Other notable works by the German writer Anna Seghers include the novel “Transit”, the short story “The Outing of the Dead Girls”, and the radio play “The Trial of Joan of Arc at Rouen, 1431”.
Setting: Rhineland (Germany)
Book set in Germany: The concentration camp in the novel is set in Westhofen, but Anna Seghers took inspiration from the real camp in Osthofen. The protagonist hides in various places across the Rhineland in western Germany.
Original title: Das siebte Kreuz
Year of publication: 1942
Nr of pages: 416
