Kevin Hoffmann holds a copy of “Trial and Triumph,” a translation of the German language book “Neu Ulm,” set during the U.S. Dakota War.

NEW ULM — Former New Ulm resident Kevin Hoffmann has published an English translation of a century-old German novel set in New Ulm during the U.S.-Dakota War of 1962.

Hoffmann’s translation is titled “Trial and Triumph,” but the original German version was called “Neu Ulm.”

The book tells the fictional story of a young couple, Walter and Elsie, planning to marry and are torn apart by the Dakota-U.S. War. Walter mistakenly believes Elsie is killed in the battle of New Ulm and thinking he has nothing to live for, joins the Union forces which are drawn into the front lines at Gettysburg. Elsie, who was only wounded in the battle of New Ulm, sets out to find her love, but will she find him before it’s too late?

The original German edition of the book was published in 1914 by Frederick Mayer. Hoffmann first came across the German novel as a young man living in New Ulm. Hoffmann said he loved to read and on one trip to the New Ulm library he visited the Brown County Museum that was housed in the basement. In the exhibits on the Dakota-U.S. War he saw an old copy of the book “Neu Ulm” by Dr. P. Mayer behind a display case.

Hoffmann said he wanted to read the book but because it was hidden behind a display case it was the one book he could not check out.

Then in 1970, at age 18 he found another copy of “Neu Ulm.” He was assisting Mrs. Ida Hermerding in cleaning out her basement. He saw a copy of “Neu Ulm” and asked to borrow it. Hermerding let Hoffmann keep the book. Hoffmann was excited by the find and soon learned “Neu Ulm” was actually a historic romance novel.

“It’s similar to ‘Romeo and Juliet’ or ‘A Farewell to Arms,'” Hoffmann said. “The characters are fictitious but set during real events around New Ulm and Fort Ridgely.”

The book is based on history, but takes some liberties by introducing fictional characters and speculating about other events. For example, in this book it is implied the payments owed to Dakota people were late because the agents responsible for distributing the gold were Southern sympathizers intentionally trying to incite hostility between Native Americans and the North.

Hoffmann was able to understand German from taking classes in High School and from his father. Hoffmann’s father served in Germany during the war and was tasked with translating incident reports.

Hoffmann wanted to translate the novel immediately, but life got in the way. After graduating from high school in New Ulm, he went to Mankato State University. After college he began working for UNIVAC, the predecessor for Lockheed Martin. Hoffmann spent years working on Navy ships helping fix computer software.

He finally got around to translating the book in the ’90s. The publishing process took additional time.

There were several challenges with translating the book into English. First, there was the struggle of translating German idioms.

As an example, there is a German phrase in the original text that literally translated to “why did you throw the gun in the grain?” A direct translation of this would make no sense to an English reader, but in Germany this was a popular saying that meant, “why did you give up so easily?”

Another issue was, the book was not written in modern German, but rather the German script popular in 1914.

Hoffmann said the book also features some Sioux words, which added another translating challenge. Some of the Sioux words are left untranslated. Hoffmann said a few of the words are easy to understand in context. The more complex Sioux words include English translations.

Hoffmann attempted to find out as much as possible about the original book, but he was unable to locate additional information about the author, and the original publishing company no longer exists.

“In my opinion, Mayer was probably a German author who traveled the west to write stories,” he said. “These Western stories were popular in Germany at the time.”

Hoffmann has dedicated many years of his life to translating and researching the book, but has only come across two copies of the original, his and the museum’s.

The copy Hoffmann saw in the Brown County Museum remains in the collection to this day. In fact, it has two copies.

Brown County Historical Society Research Librarian Darla Gebhard said one of the copies was donated by the family of Ernest Vogelpohl and the other by the family of Otto Heymann.

Gebhard said the Historical Society had never translated the book, and its contents were something of a mystery until now.

Since at least three families in New Ulm had copies of the original, it’s possible there were attempts to market the book in Brown County, but no documentation has been found at this time.

Since Mayer’s original book turned 100 years old in 2014, it is now officially in the public domain and Hoffmann was able to legally release a translation. His edition of the book features photographs he took from historical sites around New Ulm.

“I’ve always been fascinated by history,” Hoffmann said. “When you grow up in New Ulm, you are surrounded by reminders of the conflict.”

The book is a fascinating insight into a German view of the conflict as of 1914. Hoffmann said he made no attempt to soften the language of the book as he wanted a direct translation. Some of the language would not be considered acceptable today.

Hoffmann officially published “Trial and Triumph” this year. Copies of the book are available for order at his website www.kevinhoffmannbook.com.