• godless
• never again
• civil courage

‘What kind of generation will this be? A hard one or just a raw one?’

In a world characterised by totalitarian ideology and moral coldness, Ödön von Horváth's novel Jugend ohne Gott (1937) tells an oppressive story about guilt, responsibility and the loss of values. A teacher is caught in a conflict between his own moral stance and the social expectations of his time. When he refuses to accept the racist and inhuman views of his pupils, he becomes increasingly isolated. Events come to a head during a camp for the military education of young people: a murder takes place and the teacher inadvertently becomes an accomplice in a web of betrayal, mistrust and guilt. In his search for truth and moral behaviour, he is confronted with the question of how one can assert oneself in a world full of inhumanity - and what it means to take responsibility for one's own involvement in an injustice. 

Jugend ohne Gott is a timeless parable about the manipulability of people and the need for civil courage. Horváth's work remains frighteningly topical and poses the pressing question: what happens when societies abandon their values and moral behaviour becomes a risk?