Without Lifting A Finger

Friedrichstrasse Skyscraper Project, Berlin , a photo by glen.h on Flickr. A variation of this photo appears as the frontispiece to Roth's "Skyscrapers."

Karstadt - Berlin Hermannplatz 1930's , a photo by Oldimages on Flickr. An image similar to the one included with Roth's "The Very Large Department Store." OK, there's a bit of a difference: the one in the book is darker, doesn't show the complete store, has a streetcar in the forefront, and has swastikas flying (1939).

From the end of "Affirmation of the Triangular Railway Junction" ( Frankfurter Zeitung, July 16, 1924 ): So vast are the dimensions of the new life. That the new art which is to shape it cannot find a form for it is perfectly understandable. The reality is too overwhelming to be adequately represented. A faithful "depiction" is not enough. One would have to feel the heightened and ideal reality of this world, the Platonic ideal of the triangular railroad junction. One would have to affirm its harshness with enthusiasm, see the operation of "Ananke"* in its deadly effects, and prefer destruction by its laws to happiness by the "humane" laws of the sentimental world.      The world to come will be like this triangular railroad junction, raised to some unknown power. The earth has lived through several evolutionary stages--but following always natural laws. It is presently experiencing a new one, which follows contructive, conscious, and no less...

Joseph Roth , born Moses Joseph Roth (September 2, 1894 – May 27, 1939), was an Austrian - Jewish journalist and novelist, best known for his family saga Radetzky March (1932) about the decline and fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire , and for his novel of Jewish life, Job (1930) as well as the seminal essay 'Juden auf Wanderschaft' (1927; translated into English as The Wandering Jews ), a fragmented account about the Jewish migrations from eastern to western Europe in the aftermath of World War I and the Russian Revolution . [1] In the 21st century, publications in English of Radetzky March and of collections of his journalism from Berlin and Paris created a revival of interest in the author. [2]      [From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Roth ] ***     I'm currently reading Roth's What I Saw: Reports from Berlin (1920 - 1933).  First thing I've ever read by him. Feuilletons that originally appeared in various ...