Ludwig Breyer
Ernst's intelligent, sensitive friend, whose officer's coat and later diagnosis become new forms of isolation.
To preserve dignity, friendship, and the possibility of intimacy after war.
The book
At a glance
- Veteran and teacher trainee
- Ernst Birkholz
- Syphilis
Who they are in the book
Spoiler-freeLudwig has enough education and insight to recognize the false stories surrounding the veterans.
His humor and intelligence conceal a despair that grows after a medical diagnosis closes off the future he imagined.
How the book draws them
- SensitiveHe registers humiliation and loss acutely.
- IntelligentHe can explain contradictions without escaping them.
- Misread uniformRevolutionary sailors treat a coat as his whole identity.
- Loyal companionHe belongs at the center of Ernst's group.
- Illness as aftermathSyphilis makes wartime consequence continue in the body.
- Private despairHe organizes his death without letting friends intervene.
Ludwig arranges his belongings and kills himself by opening an artery in a warm bath. His death exposes suffering his friends could not reach.
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