Summary of The Spider’s Web
Theodor Lohse is a frustrated young man living in Berlin in the early 1920s. A former lieutenant in the Germany army, he now works as a private tutor for the son of a Jewish jeweller. However, he is consumed by resentment and struggles to adapt to civilian life. He soon becomes involved with the secret organisation “S II” – a militarist, right-wing, and antisemitic group that targets anyone associated with left-wing or democratic politics, especially if they are Communists or Jews. Unencumbered by moral scruples, Lohse steadily climbs the ranks of the organisation.
Reasons to read The Spider’s Web
Although this debut novella by Joseph Roth is not his finest work, it offers a compelling portrait of Germany in the early 1920s, as the country grappled with the aftermath of the First World War and the challenges of democracy under the Weimar Republic. “The Spider’s Web” provides sharp insight into the violent and often criminal right-wing factions that operated in Germany at the time and that paved the way for Hitler and his National Socialists. The fictional organisation “S II” is likely modelled on the real-life “Organisation Consul”, which was responsible for numerous political and antisemitic murders in 1920s Germany. In 1989, the novella was adapted into a German-language film, also titled “Das Spinnennetz”. Other notable works by Joseph Roth include “The Radetsky March” (his masterwork), “The Emperor’s Tomb”, “The Hundred Days“, and “Hotel Savoy“.
Setting: Berlin (Germany)
Book set in Germany: various locations in Germany, primarily in and around Berlin.
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Original title: Das Spinnennetz
Year of publication: 1923
Number of pages: 112
