Ambivalent Literary Farewells to the German Democratic Republic

What is Lost
1. Auflage 2021
ISBN: 978-3-11-072408-0
Verlag: De Gruyter

Buch, Englisch, Band 30, 199 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 230 mm, Gewicht: 434 g

Reihe: Interdisciplinary German Cultural Studies

This study reverses the question implicit in title of Christa Wolf’s now-canonical 1990 novella Was bleibt (What remains), looking instead at what was lost during the process of German reunification. It argues that, in their work during and after the Wende, most literary authors from both East and West Germany responded ambivalently to the reunification. Many felt, on the one hand, a keen sense of loss as the GDR dissolved and an expanded Federal Republic summarily absorbed former Eastern Germany. They mourned the ideals of democratic socialism, tolerance, and internationalism that the GDR had held dear, as well as the country’s rich cultural life. On the other hand, however, they recognized that the GDR was a fundamentally corrupt surveillance state whose industry weighed heavily on the environment while failing to buoy the country’s economy. By looking at works by some of the most important authors from either side of the border, this study shows that those who unequivocally embraced the reunification were clearly in the minority.

Zielgruppe

Scholars interested in German history, literary criticism, politi

Autoren/Hrsg.

Pizer, John David

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literarische Stoffe, Motive und Themen
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Deutsche Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Deutsche Literatur

Über Autor(innen)

John Pizer, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.