The Anschluss as Film Noir: Reading Leo Perutz's Novel Fragment Mainacht in Wien as Cinematic Text

Leo Perutz's Mainacht in Wien is a novel fragment of three chapters writt en in 1938; it was abandoned when the author and his family managed to secure exile in Palestine. The unfinished novel is perhaps the most intriguing att empt at fictionalizing the immediate atmosphere of Nazi Vienna. Despite the time of its origin, Mainacht in Wien avoids direct political commentary and instead conveys a disaster in its strikingly visual literary style that approximates cinematic language. Tracing Perutz's att empted transformation from author of historical novels into writer of film scenarios allows for a glimpse into the politics and logistics of film production on the eve of Europe's Nazi cataclysm.