“Molussia” prima e dopo l’Apocalisse: l’utopia negativa di Günther Anders in “Die molussische Katakombe”

Abstract

One of the most underrated thinkers of the last century, Günther Anders (1902-1992) was also a prolific Sci-Fi writer. In fact, his novel Die molussische Katakombe, written in exile during the war, can be considered an archetype of the “dystopian” novel à la Orwell or Zamjátin. Narrating the last days of imaginary regime of Molussia through the eyes of two political prisoners, Anders moves a fierce criticism of the concept of “totalitarianism” and inspiring the subsequent (most famous) reflections of his first wife Hannah Arendt. The novel, published almost posthumously, outlines a sort of “negative utopia” and anticipates important themes of the author’s subsequent reflection, especially about the question of atomic age and the possible self-destruction of human being. Anders investigates this also in his other tales – for example, Learsi – elaborating an “eschatological-political” theory about the “end of times” (Endzeit).