political criticism in German Literature of the early Federal Republik Germany

• Main Authors: Cheng, Hui-Fen, 鄭惠芬
• Other Authors: Prof. Dr. Norbert Polzer
• Format: Others
• Published: 2003
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/23878630969891778115

碩士 === 輔仁大學 === 德國語文學系 === 91 === Institute: The Graduate School of German Language and Literature Thesis: Political Criticism in Literature in the Early Federal Republic of Germany Advisor: Prof. Dr. Norbert Polzer Written by: Cheng, Hui-Fen Abstract This thesis aims to observe the social criticism in the German literary works in the early years after the capitulation of the Nazi regimes. In order to avoid any misleading conclusion which might be caused by simplified and arbitrary speculation to the literay works, the thesis uses an interdisciplinary approach, trying to understand the political, social-economical, cultural-institutional circumstances in this period, so that the criticism in the cited works could be read in its social context, and that we as modern readers could understand the real feelings of the authors and its contemporaries as possible. This thesis is then constructed in six chapters. In the first chapter, goal and method of the thesis is introduced. Secondly, the thesis bases it observation on the “Besatzungspolitik” — the occupational politics of the military government of the western allied force. In this chapter we find a very important changed course from the Morgenthau-Plan to the Marshall-Plan, which leads the discussion on the reconstruction of Germany from democratization, de-nazification, decentralization and demilitarization to the integration of the western European countries. The shift of the occupational politics means that the Cold War between East and West became dominant to the international situation, which then affect deeply the fate of the Post-War Germany. After a close look on the interest conflicts of the occupational forces and the story of the arising East-West Conflict, the third chapter focuses on the political efforts of the German Intellectuals directly after the II. World War. From the activities and discussions of the political parties constituted by Germans, we see that the socialization is the main stream among German intellectual groups when talking about the reconstruction of the post-war Germany. From the political situation dominated by the confrontation of the allied forces and the discussion of the German Intellectuals, the thesis observes then in the fourth chapter the reconstruction of the cultural life in Germany, which was also under the control and affected by the occupational politics. Re-education is the key word to the cultural politics of the western occupational military governments, since the American side believed on the “collective crime argumentation”, i.e., the Germans as a whole were to be responsible for what the Nazi-military had done to the world. In the mean time the process of denazification played a very significant role in the execution of the cultural control in the occupational zones. As the East-West confrontation ascended, so urged the western allied forces for a fast reconstruction of the German society through economical helps. In order to make the western Germany a stable society to confront the expansion of the Sowjet Union, the process of denazification was put to an end abruptly; people ceased to talk about the question of crime and focused their attentions on the material improvement of their existence brought by the monetary reform. This provided also with a circumstance for the rehabilitation of the ex-Nazi supporters, who now tried to ignore and get away with what they had done in the Nazi-times and started very soon with their new life, while their racial Ideology remained untouched and unchanged in their deep Psyche. In the last part the thesis tries to interpret the literary activities and critical points of the German literary writings, which I take as a respond to the political and social situations in this period of time. More then ten authors are thus introduced in this thesis, for examples Wolfgang Borchert, Heinrich Böll, Hans Werner Richter, Alfred Andersch, Wolfgang Koeppens, etc.. Most of them are to be taken as representatives of the post-war literature, especially to be mentioned as writers of the “junge Geneation” in the early years after the II. World War.