Fatherland and The Fictional World of Archives

Original Novel Title: Fatherland

Author: Robert Harris

Publisher: New York, NY: Random House, 1992 (hardcover)


Erwin Wodarczak provided this summary some uses of archives in this "alternate history" in which Nazi Germany won World War Two:

An important plot development takes place in the Reichsarchiv (Imperial Archives).

Amusing/chilling sub-plot: At the entrance to the Reichsarchiv building is a quote from a certain A. Hitler: "For any nation, the right history is worth 100 divisions". Later, the main character and an archivist pass by a metal door covered with warning signs ("Entry Forbidden!", etc.), behind which they catch a glimpse of a furnace. "That's the place where the wrong history goes", says the archivist.


Feature Film Release Date: 1994

  1. The Internet Movie Database

CONTENTS: The Fictional World of Archives

Submitted by Erwin Wodarczak, 1997.03.28 (novel); Jan Getson, 1997.02.05 (film). Updated 1997.11.27.