The Order of the Day

 I like short books like this one but sometimes they make me wonder about what makes something important to me. I come on them a few years later and have no memory of having read them. Is it because they were bad? No. [a:Éric Vuillard|877253|Éric Vuillard|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1505921377p2/877253.jpg]'s 132-page [b:The Order of the Day|41966091|The Order of the Day|Éric Vuillard|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1537623987l/41966091.SY75.jpg|86077745] is no worse than another book I read not long ago, [a:Herman Wouk|9020|Herman Wouk|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1266847920p2/9020.jpg]'s 783-page [b:Youngblood Hawke|42990|Youngblood Hawke|Herman Wouk|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1440384487l/42990.SY75.jpg|769149], but the characters and story of Youngblood seeped into my brain over time so much that I remember it well.
 If you don't know much about the events leading up to World War II, it would be good to know that The Order of the Day is about the Anschluss, which was Hitler's Austria into the German Reich on March 13 of 1938. The novella is a fictional construction of that, and is interesting and the writing is terrific, even in its translated state. Vuillard is a poet, and the translator, [a:Mark Polizzotti (translator) Eric Vuillard|18455781|Mark Polizzotti (translator) Eric Vuillard|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] probably kept the poetry intact.
 By the end of if, you realize that more than anything, Order is a reminder of two things. One is that we all still patronize the corporations that made the rise of the Nazi party possible, and that many of those companies have offered little more than mild apologies for their deeds. Another is that history repeats itself.

 They listened. The basic idea was this: they had to put an end to a weak regime, ward off the Communist menace, eliminate trade unions and allow every entrepreneur to be the führer of his own shop. The speech lasted half an hour. When Hitler had finished, Gustave stood up, took a step forward, and, on behalf of all those present, thanked him for having finally clarified the political situation. The chancellor made a quick lap around the table on his way out. They congratulated him courteously. The old industrialists seemed relieved. Once he had departed, Goering took the floor, energetically reformulating several ideas, then returned to the March 5 elections. This was a unique opportunity to break out of the impasse they were in. But to mount a successful campaign, they needed money; the Nazi Party didn't have a blessed cent and Election Day was fast approaching. At that moment, Hjalmar Schacht rose to his feet, smiled a the assembly, and called out, "And now, gentlemen, time to pony up!"