Doppelgänger. Drndic Dasa

– Thaelmann

      Krematorium

      Kriminalpolizei

      Kristallnacht Chemnitz

      up-and-down

      “L”

      Lager

      Lagersystem

      Lebensraum

      Lebensunwertes Lebens

      Hitler under “H”

      we’re almost there, up n’ down n’ down n’ down n’

      “M”

      Mein Kampf

      Muselmänner

      “O”

      Ordnungspolizei

      Ostministerium – Rosenberg.

      “P”

      Pogrom

      “R”

      Rassismus

      “S”

      Sonderkommando

      “T”

      Thanatologie

      “U”

      Übermenschen

      “V”

      Vernichtung

      down n’ up n’ down n’ up n’ down

      “Z”

      Zyklon B

      Done.

      A one-minute wank, ten years of history, ten years of Isabella’s life. Isabella’s hand is full of Artur’s lukewarm diluted sperm.

      Isabella has small hands. Artur hasn’t got much sperm.

      Artur’s finger, which finger Isabella asks herself, the middle or the index finger, Mr Artur has big fingers, his finger finds its way, enters, and inside it twists and turns it turns and goes a bit in and a bit out, in and out and in and out.

      You’re no longer dry, says the old man, I’ve turned you on, says Artur. Yes, says Isabella, I haven’t been turned on for a long time. Now I have to pee.

      And so, on the stone step they sit and gaze straight ahead with glassy eyes, with dead eyes, like fish, no one passes by, they touch like children.

      Where do you buy your hats?

      I have a rich collection of hats, says Artur. I have a distant cousin through whom I get my hats, Artur adds. He says that quietly.

      ***

      FROM POLICE DOSSIERS

      DOCUMENT: A.B./S-P IVc 31-10-97

      A DEBRIEFING INTERVIEW BETWEEN THE INVESTIGATOR TITO FRANK (HENCEFORTH REFERRED TO AS ‘THE INVESTIGATOR’) AND THE HATTER, THOMAS WOLF (HENCEFORTH ‘WOLF’) ON 31 OCT. 1997

      Investigator: You are a hatter?

      Wolf: I am a creator of hats. There is a difference.

      Investigator: How long have you been working in this profession?

      Wolf: Sixty years. I inherited the store and the workshop from my father.

      Investigator: Where was your father from?

      Wolf: Lombardy.

      Investigator: You also create hats for the president. How did that happen?

      Wolf: Excuse me. I created hats for both presidents.

      Investigator: What kind of hats were those?

      Wolf: Black. The model is called ‘President’. They are always called ‘President’ but they are never the same.

      Investigator: You only made hats for the presidents?

      Wolf: No. Due to market pressures I had to widen my range.

      Investigator: Who are your customers?

      Wolf: We are a successful family firm. We have many customers. Ask if the great author Krleža bought from us?

      Investigator: Forget Krleža. Who buys your hats nowadays?

      Wolf: Krleža was a special customer. He didn’t often order in person. He had the use of a car, I think it was an Opel, and his chauffeur would take the hats. We would make the hats according to the rules of the trade, but Krleža would squash them, distort them a bit, and only then put them on his head. Today lots of different people buy our hats. Politicians and ordinary people.

      Investigator: How do politicians take to your hats?

      Wolf: Obediently. It doesn’t occur to them to knead them into shape.

      Investigator: Who else?

      Wolf: What do you mean who else?

      Investigator: Who else buys them?

      Wolf: The writer Marija Jurić Zagorka bought them. She had a large circumference: 61 cm. After the Second World War women covered their heads with scarves, they didn’t frequent our store.

      Investigator: Is it true that you created the first officers’ hats?

      Wolf: In which period are you referring to? When our business first opened, my father created hats only for women. I am the best hatter in this town. And further.

      Investigator: You also provide a dog-training service? For police dogs?

      Wolf: In my youth, I was also a boxer. Right now I am a member of the local mountaineering club. I climb the lower heights. Mostly on Sundays.

      Investigator: Were you in the war?

      Wolf: Which war are you referring to?

      Investigator: What is your opinion of our politicians?

      Wolf: They are all bigheads. They all have circumferences bigger than 60 cm. My hats have a soul.

      Investigator: Do you create hats from your own imagination or do your customers tell you what they’re looking for?

      Wolf: Some people need advice. Presidents don’t like to change models. They stick to one style. Always the same.

      Investigator: How often does the president change his hat in a year?

      Wolf: The president isn’t a big fan of hats. He has maybe four or five hats, and those are the ones we gave him as presents. He didn’t buy new ones. Sometimes he sends his hats to be brushed. He keeps them well. Those in his entourage who take care of his wardrobe have a problem: his hats would always get destroyed during travel. That’s why we sent him a hat box. Good job the president doesn’t travel often.

      Investigator: Does the president pay by card or with cash?

      Wolf: The president doesn’t pay. We wouldn’t allow that.

      Investigator: Who else wears your hats?

      Wolf: Members of the Senate. Mostly those of the right-wing party. They are the majority.

      Investigator: Do you have a favourite head of state?

      Wolf: I made a Slavonian hat for Genscher.

      Investigator: You once said that big heads were cleverer than small heads.

      Wolf: There are always exceptions.

      Investigator: Does the making of women’s hats differ in any way from the making of men’s hats?

      Wolf: Women’s hats are considerably more pliable. For men’s hats you often need physical strength to work the material. Women’s hats take more time; they are not made in multiple copies.

      Investigator: What opinion do you have of the Croatian people based on their choice of hats?

      Wolf: I don’t have an opinion.

      Investigator: