Language:
German
Year of publication:
2010
Titel der Quelle:
Jahrbuch des Simon-Dubnow-Instituts
Angaben zur Quelle:
9 (2010) 57-84
Keywords:
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Influence
;
Jewish literature History and criticism
Abstract:
Emphasizes the marginality of the Holocaust in East German literature during the DDR's 40 years of existence. Although the theme did arouse some interest around 1970, none of the renowned East German authors - with the exception of Juri Becker - made an essential contribution to international Holocaust literature. Explores the reasons for the silence regarding the Holocaust, the main one being that under communism, antisemitism and the Holocaust remained marginal to the master narrative of class struggle, resistance, and redemption. Draws parallels between authors of 1950s-60s East Germany and the West German authors of "Gruppe 47", who also for a long time avoided ascribing the Holocaust the status of a break in civilization. In the East German discourse regarding the camps, Buchenwald served as the incarnation of the evils of World War II, not Auschwitz. Notes the importance of the Buchenwald memorial, built in 1958, and Bruno Apitz's novel "Nackt unter Wölfen" (1958) and the film based on it. The publication of Becker's "Joseph der Lügner" (1969) and Fred Wanders's "Der siebente Brunnen" (1971) mark a hesitant break with the silence regarding the Holocaust. Increased awareness of the Holocaust in literary texts did not, however, lead to more lively discourse on the subject.
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