First Harvest (1943)

"Huber Has Disappeared, Herr Leutnant":
First Edition in English of Pozner's First Harvest,
A Contemporary Novel About the WWII German Occupation of France

Pozner, Vladimir. First Harvest. New York: Viking, 1943.

Octavo. Hardcover. 1st Edition.

First edition in English of this contemporary novel about French life under the German occupation, written by prominent Jewish-French intellectual and anti-fascist. Vladimir Pozner was a French writer of Polish/Russian-Jewish descent who made a name for himself as a chronicler of the turbulent times in which he lived. First Harvest was meant to provide a snapshot of French life under the occupation. In the novel, a German soldier stationed in a coastal town in France is found at the foot of a cliff with his neck broken. The Nazis jump at the chance to prove their strength and punish the town for the alleged murder by rounding up ten innocent villagers. Through his narrative, Pozner explores individual people, their roles, and their relationship, attempting to show the experiences of so many similar French towns. Pozner, a militant anti-fascist, a socialist, and, of course, a Jewish man subject to German persecution, escaped to North Africa and then to America. In addition to being a novelist (and writing for the Fighting French during the war), Pozner also became a talented screenwriter who formed friendships with Charlie Chaplin and Bertholt Brecht. The great achievement of his career was winning the Oscar for the screenplay to “The Dark Mirror,” a classic piece of film noir. Owner stamp. Book fine, dust jacket near-fine with only light wear to extremities.