Hofmann joins the recent tradition of contemporary German authors in his novel 'Unsere Eroberung' by focusing on the notion of 'Vergangenheitsbewältigung,' a form of literature about the Third Reich which allows the German people to assess the past in order to come to terms with it. Hofmann's novel follows the Imbach children and Edgar as they make their way through their town in Saxony the day after it has been seized by the occupying forces at the end of the Second World War. The children are sent out by their mother on a number of errands and on their journey we meet various townspeople and find out more about the town's dark history. There is a sense of mystery surrounding the town, especially the slaughterhouse and the whip factory where the narrator alludes to sinister crimes taking place there.
The story is told from a child's perspective, a device which Hofmann uses in his other Third Reich works such as 'Veilchenfeld' and 'Der Kinoerzähler.' This perspective is particularly useful for describing life during and after the Third Reich because the child is still innocent and has not yet been fully integrated into adult society and its values. The child unsettles the adult world by constantly questioning past and present events.
This is a refreshing novel in that it deals with events after the war and shows us the consequences it had on life in a small town. Hofmann focuses on how people's everyday lives were forced to change drastically as they live in constant fear and also face desperate poverty. He shows us how the Third Reich cannot be disregarded so easily as their lives have been completely conditioned by the National Socialist regime.
It is a challenging read in that it seems over-written at times with long sections focusing on a single scene and the repetitive style of the child's dialogue does occasionally become tiresome. However Hofmann's allusive style guarantees that we are never sure what the children will discover next on their journey. I would recommend this novel for those who are interested in life after the Third Reich and how the German people had to come to terms with their disturbing past.