Jakob Wassermann’s novel ‘Faber or The Lost Years’ (published in 1924) deals with the difficulties of a returnee in finding his way around what was once home: mother, wife, child, apartment, job – everything seems strange to Wassermann’s protagonist Eugen Faber. However, the author does not want to make the simple thesis that war and captivity in any case lead to alienation. For him alienation is not an inevitable process, which is due to long absence alone. And it is not necessarily to be seen negatively, but may also help to better grasp one’s own identity and position in social life. The prerequisite, however, is that something like identity was developed in childhood. If this is not the case – as with Eugen Faber – then alienation leads to dizziness and ultimately into the neurosis.