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Chapter 9
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Ethics in Journalism
Truth, Lies, and Narrative
Class, Hierarchy, and Exploitation
Dignity and Compassion
Summary
Analysis
Looking back, it’s critical to thank public prosecutor Hach for supplying the information that both Blum’s and Woltersheim’s phones were tapped as soon as Blum left Woltersheim’s house with Götten the night of the murder. Beizmenne requested the phone taps the way he always did: he called his superior and asked for “plugs.”
One would think that the phone taps on Katharina and her friend Else Woltersheim’s wouldn’t be approved unless the authorities had reason to suspect them of misconduct, but so far nothing suggests that they are involved in any illicit activities. In that case, the novel presents a society that does not prioritize ordinary citizens’ privacy and may exploit their rights without due cause. Meanwhile, water imagery appears once more, with the narration referring to phone taps as “plugs.”
Active
Themes
