GDR Literature
Encyclopedia
GDR literature is the literature produced in East Germany from the time of the Soviet occupation in 1945 until the end of the communist government in 1990. Because the time span actually precedes the establishment of the German Democratic Republic, another term used is "East German" literature. The literature of this period was heavily influenced by the concepts of socialist realism
and controlled by the communist government. Due to this, for decades the literature of the GDR was dismissed as nothing more than "Boy meet Tractor literature," but its study is now considered a legitimate field. Because of its language, the literature is more accessible to western scholars and is considered to be one of the most reliable, if not the most reliable, sources about the GDR.
greatly impacted the literature of the GDR. His theories served as a middle ground between the necessary creative independence of the author and the theory of socialist realism as it was functioning at that time in the Soviet Union
, paving the way for an East German literature that was to be more independent and original than what was to be found in the soviet bloc. Central to Luckacs' theories was the importance of the quest for individual identity, which he felt was not portrayed by socialist realism. He rejected the work of many authors, including Willi Bredel
, James Joyce
, Franz Kafka
, and Ernst Ottwalt for reasons pertaining to the development of characters. He was against the notion that a character can develop fully with only one major change in their lives without relation to the entire experience of the individual, usually the conversion to socialism in the socialist realist novels, which is what he, as a socialist, was most concerned with. Lukács took Goethe's work Wilhelm Meister's Lehrjahre
as the model that authors should attempt to emulate.
, which then had to be naturalized after the war had ended. The typical biography for an exile author of this time included an active interest in the defense of the Weimar Republic
and democratic power against state authority, followed by exile during the time of National Socialism
, and then return to the Soviet Occupation Zone to support through their literature the development of an antifascist-democratic reform.
. Special government divisions were set up, notably the Amts für Literatur und Verlagswesen (Office for Literature and Publishing) and the Staatlichen Kommission für Kunstangelegenheiten (State Arts Commission).
The literature produced during the 1950s is known as Aufbau. It is concerned with the establishment of industry and raises the ordinary worker to the status of hero.
dividing East and West Berlin.
makes a comeback, both its writers and the cultural milieu. "The enthusiastic reception, republishing, and reworking of romantic authors by East German writers during the 1970s is in part motivated by the numerous parallels between the situations of the Germans in the Napoleonic era and in the GDR, both suffering under political and social suppression and the loss of autonomy, in particular the suppression of free speech." The expatriation of protest singer Wolf Biermann
in 1976 profoundly affected many of the writers in this era.
Socialist realism
Socialist realism is a style of realistic art which was developed in the Soviet Union and became a dominant style in other communist countries. Socialist realism is a teleologically-oriented style having its purpose the furtherance of the goals of socialism and communism...
and controlled by the communist government. Due to this, for decades the literature of the GDR was dismissed as nothing more than "Boy meet Tractor literature," but its study is now considered a legitimate field. Because of its language, the literature is more accessible to western scholars and is considered to be one of the most reliable, if not the most reliable, sources about the GDR.
Cultural Heritage: German Socialists in the 1930s
The criticism of Georg LukácsGeorg Lukács
György Lukács was a Hungarian Marxist philosopher and literary critic. He is a founder of the tradition of Western Marxism. He contributed the concept of reification to Marxist philosophy and theory and expanded Karl Marx's theory of class consciousness. Lukács' was also an influential literary...
greatly impacted the literature of the GDR. His theories served as a middle ground between the necessary creative independence of the author and the theory of socialist realism as it was functioning at that time in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, paving the way for an East German literature that was to be more independent and original than what was to be found in the soviet bloc. Central to Luckacs' theories was the importance of the quest for individual identity, which he felt was not portrayed by socialist realism. He rejected the work of many authors, including Willi Bredel
Willi Bredel
Willi Bredel was a German writer and president of the Akademie der Künste. Born in Hamburg, he was a pioneer of socialist realist literature....
, James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
, Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka was a culturally influential German-language author of short stories and novels. Contemporary critics and academics, including Vladimir Nabokov, regard Kafka as one of the best writers of the 20th century...
, and Ernst Ottwalt for reasons pertaining to the development of characters. He was against the notion that a character can develop fully with only one major change in their lives without relation to the entire experience of the individual, usually the conversion to socialism in the socialist realist novels, which is what he, as a socialist, was most concerned with. Lukács took Goethe's work Wilhelm Meister's Lehrjahre
Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship
Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship is the second novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, published in 1795-96. While his first novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther, featured a hero driven to suicide by despair, the eponymous hero of this novel undergoes a journey of self-realization...
as the model that authors should attempt to emulate.
1945-1949
The literature of this period was largely anti-fascist. Previously, this literature was written by those exiles who had managed to escape Nazi GermanyNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, which then had to be naturalized after the war had ended. The typical biography for an exile author of this time included an active interest in the defense of the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
and democratic power against state authority, followed by exile during the time of National Socialism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
, and then return to the Soviet Occupation Zone to support through their literature the development of an antifascist-democratic reform.
1949-1961
This period saw literature and other art forms become an official part of government planning. Culture and art were to reflect the ideals and values of socialism and to function as a means of educating the masses, an idea known as socialist realismSocialist realism
Socialist realism is a style of realistic art which was developed in the Soviet Union and became a dominant style in other communist countries. Socialist realism is a teleologically-oriented style having its purpose the furtherance of the goals of socialism and communism...
. Special government divisions were set up, notably the Amts für Literatur und Verlagswesen (Office for Literature and Publishing) and the Staatlichen Kommission für Kunstangelegenheiten (State Arts Commission).
The literature produced during the 1950s is known as Aufbau. It is concerned with the establishment of industry and raises the ordinary worker to the status of hero.
1961-1971
The beginning of this period is marked by the construction of the Berlin WallBerlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
dividing East and West Berlin.
1971-1980
German RomanticismGerman Romanticism
For the general context, see Romanticism.In the philosophy, art, and culture of German-speaking countries, German Romanticism was the dominant movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. German Romanticism developed relatively late compared to its English counterpart, coinciding in its...
makes a comeback, both its writers and the cultural milieu. "The enthusiastic reception, republishing, and reworking of romantic authors by East German writers during the 1970s is in part motivated by the numerous parallels between the situations of the Germans in the Napoleonic era and in the GDR, both suffering under political and social suppression and the loss of autonomy, in particular the suppression of free speech." The expatriation of protest singer Wolf Biermann
Wolf Biermann
Karl Wolf Biermann is a German singer-songwriter and former East German dissident.-Early life:Biermann's father, who worked on the Hamburg docks, was a German Jew and a member of the German Resistance....
in 1976 profoundly affected many of the writers in this era.
1980-1990
One of the most important developments in GDR literature in the 1980s is known as the "Prenzlauer-Berg-Connection." This area in Berlin became home to a new generation of young people and their artistic underground. They expressed themselves through punk, illegal performance, multimedia experiments, and publishing unofficial magazines and literature. Prenzlauer Berg also attracted those who were officially cut off from East German culture. Many consider the literature produced in this period among the best of the entire GDR.1990s
The 1990s saw the reunification of East and West Germany and the abrupt demise of the dream of a German "socialist utopia." This placed authors in an unusual context. The world in which they had been writing was being dismantled. At the same time, that world was also being disregarded as irrelevant with a focus on the future in the new unified Germany.Prominent authors and their works
- Bruno ApitzBruno ApitzBruno Apitz was a German writer.Apitz was born in Leipzig as the twelfth child of a washer woman. He attended school until he was fourteen, then started training as a printer. During World War I he was a passionate supporter of German Communist Party leader Karl Liebknecht...
: Nackt unter WölfenNaked Among Wolves (novel)Naked Among Wolves is a novel by the East German author Bruno Apitz. The novel, first published in 1958, tells the story of prisoners in the Buchenwald concentration camp who risk their lives to hide a Jewish boy. It was translated into 25 languages and published in 28 countries...
(1958) - Kurt Barthel, "Kuba"
- Johannes R. BecherJohannes R. BecherJohannes Robert Becher was a German politician, novelist, and poet.-Early life:Johannes R. Becher was the son of Judge Heinrich Becher. In 1910 he tried to commit suicide with a friend; only Becher survived. From 1911 he studied medicine and philosophy in Munich and Jena...
- Jurek BeckerJurek BeckerJurek Becker was a Polish-born German writer, film-author and GDR dissident. His most famous novel is Jacob the Liar, which has been made into two films. He lived in Łódź during World War II for about two years and survived the Holocaust.-Childhood:Jurek Becker was born in 1937 and lived in the...
: Jakob der LügnerJacob the LiarJacob the Liar is a novel written by the East German author Jurek Becker published in 1969. The German original title is Jakob der Lügner...
(1969) - Johannes BobrowskiJohannes BobrowskiJohannes Bobrowski was a German lyric poet, narrative writer, adaptor and essayist.-Life:Bobrowski was born in Tilsit in East Prussia. In 1925, he moved first to Rastenburg, then in 1928 on to Königsberg, where he attended the humanist Gymnasium. One of his teachers was Ernst Wiechert. In 1937, he...
(poet) - Thomas BraschThomas BraschThomas Brasch was a German author, poet and film director.- Awards :1981 Bavarian Film Awards, Best Director- Publications :* „Sie geht, sie geht nicht“, Theaterstück, 1970...
- Volker BraunVolker BraunVolker Braun is a German writer. His works include Provokation für mich -- a collection of poems written between 1959 and 1964 and published in 1965, a play, Die Kipper , and Das ungezwungne Leben Kasts .-Life:Volker Braun, who worked in...
- Bertolt BrechtBertolt BrechtBertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
- Günter de BruynGünter de BruynGünter de Bruyn is a German author.-Life:Günter de Bruyn was born in Berlin and served as a Luftwaffenhelfer and soldier in World War II. After his release from his American arrest, he found a place as a farm worker in Hesse. After his return to Berlin, he would be trained as a "new teacher" in...
- Carlfriedrich Claus (visual poetVisual poetryVisual poetry is poetry or art in which the visual arrangement of text, images and symbols is important in conveying the intended effect of the work. It is sometimes referred to as concrete poetry, a term that predates visual poetry, and at one time was synonymous with it.Visual poetry was heavily...
) - Adolf EndlerAdolf EndlerAdolf Endler was a lyric poet, essayist and prose author who played a central role in subcultural activities that attacked and challenged an outdated model of socialist realism in the German Democratic Republic up until the collapse of communism in the early 1990s...
- Fritz Rudolf FriesFritz Rudolf Fries-Life:Fritz Rudolf Fries was born in Bilbao, Spain. His mother was a German of Spanish descent, and his father a German businessman who was shot during the Second World War by Italian partisans. In 1942 the family moved to Leipzig, a city which was heavily bombarded at the end of the war...
- Peter HacksPeter HacksPeter Hacks was a German playwright, author, and essayist.Hacks was born in Breslau , Lower Silesia. Displaced by World War II, Hacks settled in Munich in 1947, where he made acquaintance with Thomas Mann and Bertolt Brecht...
- Stephan HermlinStephan HermlinStephan Hermlin , real name Rudolf Leder, was a German author. He wrote, among other things, stories, essays, translations, and lyric poetry and was one of the more well-known authors of former East Germany.- Life :...
- Stefan HeymStefan HeymHelmut Flieg was a German-Jewish writer, known by his pseudonym Stefan Heym. He lived in the United States between 1935 and 1952, before moving back to the part of his native Germany which was, from 1949–1990, German Democratic Republic...
- Peter HuchelPeter HuchelPeter Huchel , born Hellmut Huchel, was a German poet.-Life:Huchel was born in Lichterfelde near Berlin. From 1923 to 1926 Huchel studied literature and philosophy in Berlin, Freiburg and Vienna. Between 1927 and 1930 he travelled to France, Romania, Hungary and Turkey...
(poet) - Karl-Heinz Jacobs
- Uwe JohnsonUwe JohnsonUwe Johnson was a German writer, editor, and scholar.- Life :Johnson was born in Kammin in Pomerania . His father was a Swedish-descent peasant from Mecklenburg and his mother was from Pommern...
: Mutmassungen über Jakob (1959) - Hermann KantHermann KantHermann Kant is a German writer born in Hamburg noted for his writings during the time of East Germany. He won the Heinrich Mann Prize in 1967.-References:...
: Die Aula (1965) - Rainer Kirsch
- Sarah KirschSarah KirschSarah Kirsch is a German poet.She was born Ingrid Bernstein in Limlingerode, Prussian Saxony. She changed her first name to Sarah in order to protest against her father's anti-semitism. She studied biology in Halle and literature at the Johannes R. Becher Institute for Literature in Leipzig. In...
- Günter KunertGünter KunertGünter Kunert is a German writer who left the German Democratic Republic to live in the Federal Republic of Germany ....
- Reiner KunzeReiner KunzeReiner Kunze is a German writer and GDR dissident. He studied media and journalism at the University of Leipzig. In 1968, he left the GDR state party SED following the communist Warsaw Pact countries invasion of Czechoslovakia in response to the Prague Spring. He had to publish his work under...
- Erich LoestErich LoestErich Loest German writer who was born in Mittweida, Saxony. He also writes under following pseudonyms Hans Walldorf, Bernd Diksen and Waldemar Naß.- Works :* Jungen, die übrig blieben, Leipzig 1950...
- Heiner MüllerHeiner MüllerHeiner Müller was a German dramatist, poet, writer, essayist and theatre director. Described as "the theatre's greatest living poet" since Samuel Beckett, Müller is arguably the most important German dramatist of the 20th century after Bertolt Brecht...
- Gert Neumann: Die Schuld der Worte (1979)
- Erik Neutsch
- Dieter NollDieter NollDieter Noll was a German writer. His best known work is the two volume novel Die Abenteuer des Werner Holt from the early 1960s which had sold over two million copies by his death.-Life:...
- Ulrich PlenzdorfUlrich PlenzdorfUlrich Plenzdorf was a German author and dramatist.-Life:Born in Berlin, Plenzdorf studied Philosophy in Leipzig, but graduated with a degree in film...
: Die neuen Leiden des jungen Werther (1972/73) - Klaus Schlesinger
- Anna SeghersAnna SeghersAnna Seghers was a German writer famous for depicting the moral experience of the Second World War.- Life :...
- Erwin StrittmatterErwin StrittmatterErwin Strittmatter was a German writer. Strittmatter was one of the most famous writers in the GDR....
- Christa WolfChrista WolfChrista Wolf was a German literary critic, novelist, and essayist. She is one of the best-known writers to have emerged from the former East Germany.-Biography:...
: Der geteilte HimmelDivided HeavenDivided Heaven is a German novel written by Christa Wolf in 1963. The author describes society and problems in the German Democratic Republic in the '60s. The book won the Heinrich Mann Prize, and has been translated into many different languages.- History :Rita and Manfred are an East German...
(1963), Nachdenken über Christa T.The Quest for Christa T.The Quest for Christa T. is a 1968 novel by German writer Christa Wolf that follows two childhood friends from the second World War into the 1960s in East Germany. Stylistically it demonstrates a subjectivist experimentation in prose characteristic of GDR literature of the 1960s....
(1968), KassandraCassandra (novel)Cassandra was written by East German author Christa Wolf in 1984. It has since been translated into a number of languages...
(1983) - Arnold ZweigArnold ZweigArnold Zweig was a German writer and anti-war activist.He is best known for his World War I tetralogy.-Life and work:Zweig was born in Glogau, Silesia son of a Jewish saddler...