GDR literature

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The term GDR literature summarizes all written works that were created in the Soviet occupation zone from 1945 and later in the GDR . The beginnings of GDR literature were accompanied by a series of anti-fascist works by literary emigrants who had returned home . Literature and culture in the GDR were essentially influenced and directed by decrees and official statements of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), so that one can speak of a centrally organized literary scene. The aim of literary politics was to describe social changes within the framework of “ socialist realism ” and to intervene in a self-changing manner.

The development of GDR literature can be grouped into four main phases: the advanced literature of the 1950s, the arrival literature of the 1960s, the relative liberalization of the 1970s and the emergence of an underground literature in the 1980s.

Book market, regulation and censorship

The fiction of the GDR also had the function of a "critical public" which the controlled press could not take over. There was officially no censorship, but the main administration for publishers and booksellers (HV) in the GDR Ministry of Culture regulated the book publishers, the Leipzig commission and wholesale book trade , the people's book trade , the libraries and the foreign book trade and thus determined the number of copies to be printed. The practice of printing approval procedures arose from political requirements and the situation of paper shortages . The publishers worked on the authors' manuscripts, the AGM issued numerous amendments which the editors then had to bring the authors closer to. The publishers often tried to publish authors critical of the regime, sometimes initially short texts in anthologies . Many publishers were run by former censors; Men like Gerhard Dahne had enough inside knowledge to get authors through the censorship in most cases.

External comparison features

West German research is debating whether the GDR literature should be recognized as independent or not. Especially in the 1950s, the conservative side of literary studies in the Federal Republic of Germany assumed that German literature would remain unbroken. At the beginning of the 1960s, individual literary peculiarities such as Peter Huchel were appropriated on the western side , but ignored u. a. Bertolt Brecht , Anna Seghers , or Arnold Zweig . It was not until the 1960s that the existence of an independent GDR literature with representatives such as Johannes Bobrowski , Christa Wolf , Günter de Bruyn , Peter Hacks , Wolf Biermann and Heiner Müller was noticed. It is therefore sensible to distinguish East German from West German literature, since the answer to the question about a separate language for GDR literature must be denied, but GDR literature has its own topic based on GDR reality, which so cannot be found in West German literature due to the different worlds of experience.

Overall, the differences between the literature that emerged in the GDR and that in the Federal Republic at the beginning of the division of Germany can be described as very large. Later they gradually decreased (convergence movement), until in the late 1980s a difference between West German and GDR literature was barely discernible.

The British historian and Germany expert Timothy Garton Ash characterized GDR literature in 1981 with the words that it "never, either individually or collectively, challenged its government in a comparable way ... as its Polish, Hungarian or Czech colleagues."

Dates and historical background

The four phases of GDR literature

The 1950s: advanced literature

The advanced literature dealt thematically with the construction of large industrial plants (especially chemical plants). In the stories, the workers are the heroes and the hero of the specific story is a particularly qualified and experienced (i.e. usually a little older) worker who helps, with difficulty, to set up the plant, i.e. who is characterized by a special performance in the work. Mostly representatives of "the old forces" also appear. These are saboteurs who prevent the economic success of socialism and are exposed or flee to the West. With the construction of the industrial plant finally successful and socialism "taking its course", the construction literature propagates an optimistic perspective. It is a didactic literature in the interest of construction, intended to encourage people to become involved in the cause of socialism. A classic representative here is z. B. Eduard Claudius with his work “People by our side”. The advanced literature wants and should show the achievements of socialism and the victory over fascism.

The 1960s: arrival literature

1961-1965

After the Berlin Wall was built in 1961, a special phase of liberal cultural and youth policy prevailed in the years that followed until 1965. In the youth communiqué of 1963, the SED leadership promised the youth more independence and a say. At the same time, critical musicians and intellectuals could again become effective in public. One of them was Wolf Biermann, who after a long time gave public concerts again. Beat music , which had been heavily opposed in the years before, was also publicly approved. In addition, the " New Economic System of Planning and Management " (NÖSPL) was introduced into the economy , which after the 1950s brought with it a decentralization and greater independence of the companies.

There was also a liberal phase in literature that was shaped by the “ Bitterfeld Way ”, which was initiated by the Bitterfeld Conference of 1959. This Bitterfeld way and the fact that the GDR border was completely closed and an arrangement with the conditions of the GDR became essential (there was no way out) formed the basis of the arrival literature , which was particularly evident from Brigitte Reimann's " Arrival in Everyday Life " from 1961 was coined. The most typical example is “ The Divided Sky ” (1963) by Christa Wolf. In literature, the main characters are now mostly younger, intellectual people who have to prove themselves both at work and in private. B. also with Christa Wolf “The divided heaven”. Another tendency emerges in this work, namely that female main characters are increasingly appearing.

See also: Circle of writing workers

1965-1971

Already before 1965, the restrictions in cultural policy increased again - the regime critic Robert Havemann was excluded from the university party leadership in 1963 and completely from the party and the Humboldt University in 1964 , and the freedoms that the NÖSPL was supposed to guarantee to companies only became hesitant granted. Finally, in 1965, a demonstration by supporters of beat music also ended with a mass arrest and corresponding legal proceedings. In November of that year the then Secretary of the National Defense Council , Erich Honecker , called for a “clean canvas” at the 11th plenum of the Central Committee and railed against harmful tendencies, skepticism and immorality. As a result, 12 DEFA films were banned, and Biermann, Stefan Heym and Havemann were again subjected to bans. Likewise, the literature, which was on the line of the Bitterfelder Weg, fell into disrepute and practically came to an end.

The 1970s: liberalization

The replacement of the head of state Walter Ulbricht in 1971 by Erich Honecker was an important turning point for GDR literature. In this context it is referred to as the “second generation”. Honecker decided on a liberalization program for all of art and literature. Initially, this meant that GDR writers were granted more freedom as long as the basis of socialism was guaranteed and present in the works. Important in this context is the term “subjective authenticity”, which was strongly influenced by Christa Wolf (e.g. Christa Wolf “ Thinking about Christa T. ”, 1968). In Christa Wolf's concept of “subjective authenticity”, socialism is no longer so much in the foreground, but rather the problems of the individual in socialist society.

However, the liberalization program ended in 1976 with the expulsion of Wolf Biermann and further expatriations and emigrations of approx. 100 GDR writers. B. Sarah Kirsch , Günter Kunert and Reiner Kunze , who moved to the Federal Republic.

The 1980s: Underground Literature

The literature was divided here. Some GDR writers continued to write as before. On the other hand, however, there was also a subversive tendency that can be described as "underground literature" or bohemian. In the East Berlin district of Prenzlauer Berg , a scene of young writers emerged who renounced the traditional method of publication by publishers. They published in small editions and gave many readings (some with music) in order to be able to distribute their works. They orientated themselves on post-structuralist tendencies from France and wanted to create a literature "which the Stasi does not understand". These GDR authors therefore used a deliberately irrational spelling to form an opposition to the SED and to protest against government restrictions. Among them were u. a. Stefan Döring , Egmont Hesse , Jan Faktor , Johannes Jansen , Uwe Kolbe , Andreas Koziol , Leonhard Lorek , Lothar Feix , Detlef Opitz , Frank-Wolf Matthies , Bert Papenfuß-Gorek , Gino Hahnemann , Cornelia Schleime , Peter Brasch , Michael Rom , Ulrich Goat . Sascha Anderson and Rainer Schedlinski , who were temporarily at the center of this scene as spiritus rectores , were exposed after the fall of the Wall as unofficial employees of the Ministry for State Security who had extensively spied on their own colleagues.

Technical terms

"Socialist Realism"

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

The basic message of the section is based on the Western doctrine of how socialist realism is to be understood. This doctrine has little in common with the conceptions of socialist realism as developed in the GDR over decades. It should therefore be proven whose conception of socialist realism is presented here.

The principles of socialist realism were essentially the same as those that were programmatically worked out and presented as early as 1934 at the first congress of the Soviet Writers' Union . Above all, it was emphasized that the primary function of literature lies in the ideological education of the masses and in political object lessons. To achieve this goal, an art theory was established, which has led to a rather rigid schematism. Therefore the term “socialist realism” does not correspond to the traditional concept of realism . Rather, it is an ideological literary theory based on the following primary principles: ideologically determined content of ideas, Marxist-Leninist partisanship , exemplary character , optimism , popular character , comprehensibility and a positive hero . Strict observance of these principles is intended to ensure that literature fulfills its function and task, namely not only to reflect the structure of the great social change in the sense of socialism-communism, but also to contribute to the realization of this society through its effect on the reader. Such a literary dictation limited the GDR authors' creative freedom and was often instrumentalized as a propaganda tool. This principle of “socialist realism” remained with a few exceptions, as the poets of the “ Sächsische Dichterschule ” or “ poetry wave” called, the valid literary theory until the end of the GDR, although even renowned authors in practice distanced themselves from it. Above all, Stephan Hermlin, Volker Braun and other young authors of the 2nd generation of poetry in the GDR used the enthusiasm of the population for literature, for example in the event series Lyrik - Jazz - Prosa , to differentiate themselves from the socialist realism of the 1st generation of poetry.

Reference text: Christa Wolf: The Divided Heaven (1963)

The novel The Divided Sky tells the life of the student Rita Seidel, who wakes up in “the last days of August 1961” after a physical and mental breakdown in the sanatorium. Your friend Manfred Herrfurth has not returned from a chemists' conference in West Berlin. Rita is ten years younger than Manfred and comes from a working class society and from a more rural milieu, Manfred, on the other hand, comes from the upper class. When a technical spinning machine that he had improved was rejected by economic bureaucrats, he fled alone to the Federal Republic. The narrative perspective is not chronological here, which must be regarded as rather untypical for the GDR literature of the time. Wolf uses many flashbacks in her narrative, such as: B. in the story of Manfred and Rita, d. that is, it uses the technique of analytical storytelling. The sanatorium forms the narrative frame, in which many unsorted flashbacks are also used. This creates a so-called psychology of remembering. Christa Wolf also uses many changes of perspective to get the reader to identify with the characters and to guide his or her sympathies. With the method of analytical storytelling, the ending is retold between Rita and Manfred.

Christa Wolf (1929–2011) was loyal to the GDR and socialism. She confessed to the GDR. Because of this, and because the text leaves no doubt about the fundamental attitude towards socialism, Christa Wolf is even able to use the assembly technique ( flashbacks ) and internal monologue that have been banned so far because they are not considered realistic .

Disposal and rescue

In connection with the political upheavals in the GDR and in the new federal states , books were separated from libraries, including copies fresh off the press in the Leipzig commission and wholesale book trade . The Protestant pastor Martin Weskott collected these books and gave them to interested parties in his community for a symbolic price. There were similar actions in the new federal states, where the actor Peter Sodann or the GDR bookstore in Weimar made such discarded GDR literature accessible to the public.

Important authors and selected works

literature

Monographs

  • Thomas Anz (Ed.): It's not about Christa Wolf. The literary dispute in a united Germany. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 1995, ISBN 3-596-12575-8 .
  • Heinz Arnold u. a. (Ed.): Literature in the GDR. Retrospectives. Text + criticism, München 1991, ISBN 3-88377-383-2 (= Sonderband text and criticism ).
  • Matthias Aumüller: Minimalist Poetics. To differentiate the structural system in the novel literature of the early GDR . mentis, Münster 2015 (Explicatio. Analytical Studies on Literary Studies), ISBN 978-3-89785-122-1 .
  • Simone Barck , Siegfried Lokatis : Censorship Games. Secret literary stories from the GDR. mdv, Halle 2008, ISBN 978-3-89812-539-0 .
  • Manfred Behn: GDR literature in the Federal Republic of Germany. The reception of epic GDR literature in the FRG 1961-1975 . Hain, Meisenheim a. Glan 1977 (= university publications literary studies volume 34).
  • Heinz Börner , Bernd Härtner: In the reading country. The history of the folk book trade. Das Neue Berlin , Berlin, 2012, ISBN 978-3-360-02134-2 .
  • Peter Böthig : Grammar of a Landscape. Literature from the GDR in the 80s . Lukas Verlag, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-931836-03-7 .
  • Wolfgang Emmerich : The other German literature. Essays on literature from the GDR. Opladen 1994, ISBN 3-531-12436-6 .
  • Wolfgang Emmerich: Small literary history of the GDR. New edition. Structure, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-7466-8052-2 .
  • Kindler's Literature History of the Present. Authors Works Topics Trends since 1945. The literature of the German Democratic Republic I. [Poetry] By Konrad Franke. With an introductory essay by Heinrich Vormweg . Updated edition. Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1980. ISBN 3-596-26463-4 (= Kindlers Literature History of the Present 3) Contents
  • Kindler's Literature History of the Present. Authors Works Topics Trends since 1945. The Literature of the German Democratic Republic II . [Prose / Drama] By Konrad Franke. With two introductory essays by Heinrich Vormweg. Updated edition. Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1980. ISBN 3-596-26464-2 (= Kindlers Literature History of the Present 4) Table of contents
  • Hans Jürgen Geerdts (Hrsg.): Literature of the GDR in single representations (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 416). Kröner, Stuttgart 1972, ISBN 3-520-41601-7 .
  • Ingeborg Gerlach: Workers' literature and literature of the working world in the GDR. Librarian, Kronberg / Ts. 1974.
  • Peter Goßens; Monika Schmitz-Emans : World literature in the GDR. Debates - Reception - Cultural Policy. Chr. A. Bachmann, Berlin 2015 (forum texte & projekte, 5.1), ISBN 978-3-941030-20-6 .
  • Bernhard Greiner : From allegory to idyll. The literature of the working world in the GDR. Quelle & Meyer, Heidelberg 1974, ISBN 3-494-02033-7 .
  • Robert Grünbaum : Beyond everyday life. The writers of the GDR and the revolution of 1989/90 (= extremism and democracy . Vol. 5). Nomos, Baden-Baden 2002, ISBN 3-7890-8141-8 .
  • Horst Haase (collective of authors): History of German literature. Literature of the German Democratic Republic. People and knowledge, Berlin 1976. (= History of German Literature from the Beginnings to the Present Volume 11).
  • Janine Ludwig, Mirjam Meuser (Ed.): Literature without a country? Writing strategies of a GDR literature in a united Germany. With a foreword by Frank Hörnigk. FWPF, Freiburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-939348-15-3 .
  • Mirjam Meuser, Janine Ludwig (Ed.): Literature without a country? Writing strategies of a GDR literature in a united Germany. Volume II. With a foreword by Jost Hermand. FWPF, Eschborn 2014, ISBN 978-3-939348-24-5 .
  • Hans-Jürgen Schmitt (Hrsg.): The literature of the GDR. Hanser, Munich 1983, ISBN 3-446-12786-0 (= Hanser's social history of German literature from the 16th century to the present. Founded by Rolf Grimminger, Volume 11).
  • Peter Zimmermann: Industrial literature in the GDR. From the work hero to the planner and leader. Metzler, Stuttgart 1984, ISBN 3-476-00561-5 .

Lexicons and bibliographies

  • Peter Weber, Maritta Rost: The literature of the German Democratic Republic since the Eighth Party Congress of the SED. A bibliographic information on the occasion of VII. Writer Congress (=  Bibliographischer information service Deutsche library . No. 18 ). Berlin 1973.
  • Günter Albrecht, Kurt Böttcher, Herbert Greiner-Mai, Paul Günter Krohn: writers of the GDR. Fiction and non-fiction authors, translators, editors, literary scholars, critics (=  Meyers Taschenlexikon ). 1st edition. Bibliographisches Institut Leipzig, Leipzig 1974.
  • Brigitte Böttcher (Ed.): Inventory. Literary profiles . Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle (Saale) 1976.
  • Michael Opitz, Michael Hofmann (ed.): Metzler-Lexikon DDR literature. Authors - Institutions - Debates . With the collaboration of Julian Kanning. JB Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2009, ISBN 978-3-476-02238-7 .

Essays

  • David Bathrick: Historical Consciousness as Self-Consciousness. The literature of the GDR. In: J. Hermand (ed.): New handbook of literary studies. Athenaion, Wiesbaden 1979, Volume 21, pp. 273-314.
  • Otto F. Best: The literature of the GDR. In: Ehrhard Bahr (Hrsg.): History of German literature. Francke, Tübingen 1998, Volume 3, pp. 499-549.

Magazines

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Siegfried Lokatis: The main administration of the reading country. In: From politics and contemporary history : Reading country GDR. Issue 11/2009, pp. 23–31, here p. 25.
  2. ^ Siegfried Lokatis, cited essay, here p. 27.
  3. ↑ Timothy Garton Ash: "And don't you want to be my brother ...". The GDR today. from the English by Yvonne Vesper-Badal. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1981, ISBN 3-499-33015-6 , p. 106.
  4. ↑ Peter Sodann Library
  5. ↑ buecherstube-taubach.de