The Seventh Cross is set in Nazi Germany and focuses on seven political prisoners who decide to escape from the fictional -- but nevertheless intimidating -- Westhofen concentration camp.
The title of the novel is significant. It is no doubt biblically inspired; it also refers to the seven crosses that the commandant of the camp creates so that he can nail them to the cross like Jesus after he catches them as a warning to any other prisoners who want to escape. Like Jesus, the characters in the novel were martyrs for their own causes. For example, in Jesus' case, he had the freedom to live and practice his religion in any way he saw fit; in the seven prisoners' case, the freedom to live and practice Judaism in any way they saw fit and without interference from outside forces. Parallels with Jesus' story don't stop there. Many people that George and the other prisoners encounter show them tremendous compassion. Despite the enormous risk to themselves from the Gestapo, people bring George and the other prisoners into the safety of their homes. People did the same for Jesus, further reinforcing the horrors many Jewish people who experienced the Holocaust went through.
The narrative revolves primarily around George Heisler, one of the seven escapees. He spends his time trying to elude capture by the Nazi Germans and their evil Gestapo. He moves across Germany in an effort to reach his hometown, Mainz, where he hopes he will find a safe haven. His journey is long and arduous, however. To survive, he must contend with quite a few unsavory and untrustworthy characters who are bent on seeing his death -- and the deaths of many other people like him.
George's journey is not just a physical one to Mainz; George goes on a psychological journey as well. He starts as a reluctant hero and is indifferent to the idea of fighting Hitler and his evil Nazi regime. Instead, he was solely focused on his survival. As he progresses on his journey, though, George realizes that the help he receives from kindhearted people is not reflective of the regime and its oppressive policies. He also comes to understand from the people who help him how other people were affected by the Nazis. This awakens George politically and causes him to think about the bigger picture.
Ultimately, after realizing that Mainz is not safe either, George manages to escape Germany altogether. Author Anna Seghers reveals that George is the only one of the seven prisoners to avoid being recaptured by the evil camp commandant, leaving the seventh cross empty.
Throughout the novel, Seghers explores how different individuals react to oppressive systems. Some characters are complicit in the abuse and evil perpetrated by the Nazis; some actively resist the Nazis; others try to ignore the reality of what they are living through and endeavor to live their lives as normally as they can. These responses show how difficult it is for some to make moral choices in times of crisis.
Finally, Seghers explores how powerful and transformative collective action can be. Several people who help George are ordinary people and have quite a bit to lose. However, they play a crucial role in George's successful escape from Germany. Without the group of people taking collective action to give George shelter, he would not have survived his ordeal, underscoring the importance of community resistance to tyranny.
