Victor Klemperer (1881-1960) was Professor of French Literature at Dresden University. As a Jew, he was removed from his university post in 1935, only surviving thanks to his marriage to an Aryan. From 1933 to 1935, Klemperer kept detailed diaries, which contain in note form some of the raw material for the German edition of "LTI: Lingua Tertii Imperii". First published in 1957, "The Language of the Third Reich" arose from Klemperer's conviction that the language of the Third Reich helped to create its culture. As Klemperer writes: 'It isn't only Nazi actions that have to vanish, but also the Nazi cast of mind, the typical Nazi way of thinking, and its breeding ground: the language of Nazism.' This brilliant book is by turns entertaining and profound, saddening and horrifying. It is deservedly one of the great twentieth-century studies of language and its engagement with history.

维克多·克莱普勒（Victor Klemperer，1881—1960），出生于瓦尔特河畔的琅茨贝尔格，在布隆贝尔格和柏林长大，在慕尼黑、日内瓦、巴黎和柏林读了哲学、罗马语文学和日耳曼学专业。1920—1935年任德累斯顿工业大学罗曼语文学教授，1935年因其犹太出身被 解聘。1945年后恢复了德累斯顿教职。此后在格莱弗斯瓦尔德、哈勒以及柏林任教授。

克莱普勒给自己最“艰难”的作品命名为《第三帝国的语言》，它令这位学贯罗曼学、日耳曼学和比较文学的作家声名远播，跨越了欧洲大陆。不仅因其是第一本对“第三帝国语言”的深刻评析，也不仅因作者所表现出的语言天赋，更因为这是一部震撼人心的人道主义的文献。

译者简介：

印芝虹，南京大学德语系教授，德国帕德博恩大学德语文学博士，研究方向为德语现当代文学、跨文化日耳曼学。译著另有《托马斯·曼》（合译）、《学习，别听学校的！》、《周末》等。