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Anna

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With his novel "Anna", Jean-Pierre Erpelding leaves a unique and personal document on those four years of war which, according to the author, marked the beginning of a new era in Luxembourg and in Europe.
Anna
Jean-Pierre Erpelding

In April 1918, Jean-Pierre Erpelding published his most famous novel: Anna. In this book, he approaches the First World War from the point of view of Luxembourg. We discover the consequences of this war on the daily life of the Grand Duchy: the famine, the anguish, the disarray…

The novel begins in August 1914. This is the moment when German soldiers enter Luxembourg and the population is confronted with an unexpected and new situation. The country is in a difficult position, occupied by German troops and surrounded by warring nations.

The story takes place in the small town of Diekirch, within a small circle of intellectuals. Peter Burkel, a lawyer from a peasant family and the author’s alter ego, is the main character.

Because of critical stances towards Germany, the German military authorities confiscated the manuscript in April 1918 and forced the author to change the ending of the novel. Jean-Pierre Erpelding published a second edition in 1920 under the title Luxemburg und der Weltkrieg vormals Anna, which is the Luxembourgish translation of “Luxemburg and the World War vormals Anna”.

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