Seven prisoners have escaped from the Westhofen concentration camp, but only one reaches the saving shore. On his escape route, Georg Heisler meets men and women who have to choose between betrayal and loyalty, selfish renunciation and humanity, denunciation and solidarity.
Despite the oppressive subject matter, the tone of the novel is upbeat.
The seven days of the escape correspond to seven chapters. Simultaneous events are depicted in short, consecutive scenes.
The Christian motif of crucifixion is reversed: redemption lies in the fact that Georg Heisler's cross remains free.
I was partly fascinated by the different human ways of thinking, but sometimes also repelled and even bored after a while. It is certainly an important book that shows a time window of National Socialism, but often a little long-winded. ( )

Netty Reiling, pen name Anna Seghers, was a German Jew and a communist, both of which made her a target when the National Socialists came to power in 1933. She fled with her Marxist husband and two children to Paris, and then had to flee again in 1940 when the Germans occupied France. She stayed in Mexico City until 1947 when she returned to East Germany. Her experiences as a communist and having to continually flee, one step ahead of the Nazis, lend authenticity to the novel, as does the research she did into conditions within prison camps at the time. Her novel was extremely popular in the US and was made into a movie starring Spencer Tracey in 1944 and an abridged edition was given to US soldiers going to the European theatre, although many of the references to communism were deleted. The main character was seen as a symbol of successful resistance, as well as the book as a whole being a window into the German psyche.

Although divided into seven chapters, taking place over seven days, the novel moves between the main character, George Heisler, and thirty other characters in over 100 episodes. The continual movement between characters and scenes might have been choppy in another author's hands, but instead works well here, creating increasing tension. The novel opens in a prison barracks, with the prisoners wondering if the seventh escapee is still at large. We then immediately switch to descriptions of the countryside outside Mainz as a young man, Franz Marnet, pedals his bike through the early morning fog on his way to work. At the factory, he learns of an escape from the nearby concentration camp of seven prisoners, one of whom he might know. It is only then that George Heisler is introduced, hiding in a ditch outside the camp, heart-pounding and desperate. Although George's desperate attempt to reach safety is the main plotline, the back and forth between him and the other escapees, people he knows, his family, and the guards at the camp creates an almost unbearable tension. As one by one the other escapees are captured and George's situation becomes increasing tenuous, I had to put the book down to break the spell, only to find myself drawn back to it, unable to escape as well.

The situation of German communists, labor organizers, and others in the years 1933 to the start of the war was a time period about which I was not well versed. I knew that many were sent to prisons such as Dachau, but the conditions and treatment of communists both by the SA and by everyday Germans was complex. Families sometimes contained both SS members and communists. Former party members might still be loyal, but silent, or they may have succumbed to societal pressure and economics. Communities might come together to help a neighbor on the run, or might isolate an entire family. Segher's novel sheds light on these complexities while at the same time being very straightforward and realistic. Although parts of it read like an adrenaline-driven escape novel, on another level it's a testament to the ties that bind people even when faced with unbearable consequences. And although some people will break under pressure, others find the strength to resist, even unto death. ( )

Between the history of how and when this book was written and the execution of the novel, this ended up being a fascinating and enjoyable read. [[Anna Seghers]] was a German Jewish woman with communist beliefs born in 1900. She fled Germany in in the 1930s to France and, when France no longer felt safe, left for Mexico. It was in Mexico in 1942 that this book was published.

In [The Seventh Cross], seven prisoners escape from one of Hitler's concentration camps. They split up immediately and most are quickly captured, but the action follows George Heisler. He somehow manages to avoid the Gestapo, even though he has no real plan and makes several mistakes. George is not particularly a hero. He is just a man who wants to be free. During the week following his escape, while he is trying to get to a safe space, we see an enormous cross section of German life. There are people unaffected by and uninterested in the political change. There are people benefitting from the new system and turning a blind eye. There are people who are scared of Hitler's policies but go with the flow because they don't know what else to do. There are people working against the new system but in extreme hiding with their beliefs. And because this is all believed in extreme secrecy, George doesn't know who to trust and those he turns to don't know who to trust either.

I thought it was brilliant that the novel isn't about what you think it would be about. From the description, I was expecting more about the escape from the concentration camp. I was expecting to hear a lot about the beliefs of the men who escaped and why they were in the camp in the first place. By not addressing this, Seghers makes clear that there wasn't much rhyme or reason to who ended up targeted by the Gestapo. George was politically against Hitler, but he was young and it's doubtful to me that he was doing anything particularly effective. And once George escapes, it wasn't a high-octane thriller.

I really enjoyed this. [[Anna Seghers]] is a great writer. This book was published at a time when it made a great impact on readers around the world and began to clue people in to what had happened in Germany. This book was a great mix of a novel that was enjoyable to read and opens up some insight into a troubling era. ( )

Sieben Kreuzen ähnelnde Platanen werden für sieben flüchtige KZ-Häftlinge vorbereitet. Eines der Kreuze jedoch bliebt leer, da einem die Flucht gelingt
Das Buch ist weltberühmt. Gerade habe ich gelesen, dass Marcel Reich-Ranicki diesen Roman als einziges Buch dabei hatte, als er 1948 in Warschau inhaftiert wurde. In der DDR war er Pflichtlektüre Da hätte ich nicht gedacht, dass ich es gar so schleppend zu lesen finden würde. Aber so war es, ich bin nicht gut in das Buch hineingekommen und fand es sehr anstrengend.
Es ist erstaunlich, dass Anna Seghers diesen Roman schon vor dem zweiten Weltkrieg schrieb. Das Schreckensregime, das alle unbarmherzig belangte, die die entflohenen Häftlinge kannten, vom Umgang mit den Häftlingen ganz zu schweigen, war also schon längst in voller Ausprägung sichtbar. Diese Beschreibungen sind schrecklich und schonungslos, die Willkür und der unbedingte Vernichtungswille. Dem entgegen stehen die Menschen, die es wagen zu helfen.
Das ist ein packender Stoff, packend, traurig, frustrierend, wenn die Entflohenen einer nach dem anderen gefangen werden. Aber leider finde ich die Schreibweise nicht so gelungen. ( )

Sou grande apreciadora das obras de Anna Seghers que me chegaram às mãos através de traduções em francês. Não leio alemão. Quanto a esta Sétima Cruz (Das Siebte Kreuz), encontrada num alfarrabista em Lisboa: é-me difícil avaliar uma obra através desta tradução catastrófica : a tradutora devia « arranhar » um pouco de alemão e o seu português…