Thomas Rothschild, ed.: Wolf Biermann

GDR Bulletin
Volume 3
Issue 1 February
Article 10
1977
Thomas Rothschild, ed.: Wolf Biermann,
Liedermacher und Sozialist
Leslie Adelson
Washington University
Tineke Ritmeester
Washington University
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Recommended Citation
Adelson, Leslie and Ritmeester, Tineke (1977) "Thomas Rothschild, ed.: Wolf Biermann, Liedermacher und Sozialist," GDR Bulletin:
Vol. 3: Iss. 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.4148/gdrb.v3i1.377
This Review is brought to you for free and open access by New Prairie Press. It has been accepted for inclusion in GDR Bulletin by an authorized
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-10Adelson and Ritmeester: Thomas Rothschild, ed.: Wolf Biermann, Liedermacher und Sozialist
a l s o seems t o have had i t s c o u n t e r p a r t i n
GDR SEMINARS AT THE NEU YüRK MLA 1 9 7 6
the r e a l m o f a e s t h e t i c s . I n the seminar on
l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m the papers by S a r a Lennox
— GDR P r o s e F i c t i o n : C r i t i c a l Approaches
(on Robert Weimann) and P e t e r Hohendahl (on
and Model A n a l y s e s
the renewed d i s c u s s i o n about L u k a c s ) d e a l t
w i t h phenomena which broaden the framework
— GDR L i t e r a r y C r i t i c i s m and A e s t h e t i c s
o f t h a t which i s n o r m a l l y u n d e r s t o o d under
M a r x i s t a e s t h e t i c s i n the GDR. A g a i n , e v i The papers p r e s e n t e d a t t h e s e seminars
d e n t l y a p o s i t i o n o f r e l a t i v e s e c u r i t y conr e f l e c t e d the m a t u r i t y which s c h o l a r s h i p on
c e r n i n g t h e i r b a s i c s t a n d p o i n t allowed these
the GDR has a t t a i n e d i n the p a s t few y e a r s .
t h e o r e t i c i a n s i n the GDR t o d i s c u s s t o p i c s
Instead of posing standard questions concerwhich f o r some time were c o n s i d e r e d "taboo".
n i n g the degree o f a f f i n i t y between an a u t h o r ' s
Jeimann's ( l i m i t e d ) i n c o r p o r a t i o n o f s t r u c work and the o f f i c i a l c u l t u r a l - p o l i t i c a l l i n e ,
t u r a l i s t and "rezeptionsästhetische" t h e o r i e s
more d i f f e r e n t i a t e d c r i t i c a l models were
i n t o a M a r x i s t framework c o u l d s e r v e as p a r a proposed and f r u i t f u l l y used. J u e r g e n Hoegl's
d i g m a t i c . J o a n G l i c k ' s c o n t r i b u t i o n was an
a n a l y s i s o f U l r i c h P l e n z d o r f ' s D i e neuen
e x c e p t i o n , b u t i t p r o v i d e d u s e f u l background
L e i d e n des jungen W. , f o r example, employed
i n f o r m a t i o n on the e f f e c t s o f the 9 t h P a r t y
a s e m i o t i c / s t r u c t u r a l i s t framework which
Congress on c u l t u r a l p o l i c y .
enabled him t o i n v e s t i g a t e t h e e x t e n t t o
As p o i n t e d o u t i n the d i s c u s s i o n , however,
which the i n t e n t i o n o f the n o v e l was r e f l e c t e d
t h e r e - e v a l u a t i o n o f Lukacs' r o l e i n t h e
i n and s u p p o r t e d by i t s l i n g u i s t i c and metadevelopment o f GDR l i t e r a r y t h e o r y i g n o r e d —
p h o r i c s t r u c t u r e s . The b r o a d e r c o n t e x t o f
as i n the 5 0 ' s — h i s e a r l y work, i n which
p r e - l i t e r a r y premises ( i n f l u e n c e o f p r e v i o u s
the t h e o r y o f r e i f i c a t i o n and a c r i t i q u e o f
a u t h o r s , works, e t c . ) and p o s t - l i t e r a r y
b u r e a u c r a t i z a t i o n are presented, since p a r t i e f f e c t s ( r e c e p t i o n ) s u g g e s t e d by the model
c u l a r l y the l a t t e r i s n o t n e c e s s a r i l y bound
was u n f o r t u n a t e l y o m i t t e d due t o the time
t o b o u r g e o i s s o c i e t i e s and c o u l d be a p p l i e d
r e s t r i c t i o n s w h i c h p l a g u e d the p r o s e seminar
t o the GDR as w e l l . As the r e c e n t o u s t i n g o f
t o such an e x t e n t t h a t the p a r t i c i p a n t s were
C h r i s t a Wolf, Günter de Bruyn and o t h e r s from
rushed and the d i s c u s s i o n by the audience
the board o f the w r i t e r s ' c o n g r e s s would i n d i was c u t s h o r t .
c a t e , the base o f s o c i a l i s m which has been
R i c h a r d Z i p s e r ' s c o n t r i b u t i o n on the s e l f a t t a i n e d i s not y e t s e c u r e enough t o w i t h s t a n d
p e r c e p t i o n o f contemporary w r i t e r s i n the GDR,
c o n s t r u c t i v e c r i t i c i s m from w i t h i n .
based on i n t e r v i e w s w h i c h he c o n d u c t e d , emphas i z e d the broad spectrum o f i n t e r e s t s and
P h i l Brewster
concerns i n r e c e n t l i t e r a t u r e t h e r e . H i s
Washington U n i v e r s i t y
f i n d i n g s , which w i l l e v e n t u a l l y be p u b l i s h e d
********
i n a l a r g e r study, should provide extremely
useful material f o r future research i n this
a r e a . By c o n c e n t r a t i n g on V o l k e r Braun's
" U n v o l l e n d e t e G e s c h i c h t e " ( c o n s i d e r e d by a
Wolf Biermann, Liedermacher und S p z j a l i s t m a j o r i t y o f the r e s p o n d e n t s t o be exemplary
H r s g . von Thomas R o t h s c h i l d . Reinbek b e i Hamo f r e c e n t t r e n d s ) , Z i p s e r was a b l e t o mediate
b u r g : Rowohlt Taschenbuch V e r l a g GmbH, 1 0 7 6 .
between the e m p i r i c a l d a t a and t h e i r a p p l i 253 S e i t e n . M i t Beiträgen von E v e l j n Anderc a t i o n . The unspoken "message" o f t h i s paper
g a s s e n , E r n s t B l o c h , Rudi Dutschke, W a l t e r
i s t h a t , as the a u t h o r s ' s e l f - u n d e r s t a n d i n g
E c c l i , J u e r g e n Fuchs, J e a n - P i e r r e Hammer, Roi n the GDR becomes more d i f f e r e n t i a t e d , t h e
b e r t Havemann, Hansguenter Heyme, Hans-Klaus
c r i t i c a l a p p a r a t u s d e s i g n e d t o i n t e r p r e t them
J u n g h e i n r i c h , Demosthenes K o u r t o w i k , Domenico
w i l l have t o keep p a c e , u u l f Koepke's paper
H a r c o l i n i , W a l t e r Mossmann, R o l f Schwendter,
on the s h i f t i n the f u n c t i o n o f memory a s
S i l v i a Volckmann und e i n e r B i b l i o g r a p h i e von
n a r r a t i v e d e v i c e , which showed t h a t new " f o r P e t e r Neuer.
mal" methods were developed t o c o r r e s p o n d
w i t h the c h a n g i n g c o n t e n t i n GDR n o v e l s ,
r e i n f o r c e d t h i s i m p r e s s i o n o f the seminar as a I n l i g h t o f t h e November, 1*376, e x p a t r i a t i o n o f
whole.
Wolf Biermann (see GDR B u l l e t i n , D e c , 1^76: "Der
One f r e q u e n t l y e n c o u n t e r s the i d e a i n t h e
i n t e r v i e w m a t e r i a l t h a t due t o the more o r
l e s s f i r m l y e s t a b l i s h e d framework o f a
s o c i a l i s t s o c i e t y i n the GDR the a u t h o r s
c o u l d t u r n t o more s p e c i f i c problems; t h i s
Published by New Prairie Press, 1977
F a l l Wolf B i e r m a n n " ) , t h e p u b l i c a t i o n i n the same
month o f t h i s paper-back volume ( e d i t o r i a l deadl i n e : A p r i l , 1 9 7 6 ) c o u l d not have been more opportune. T h i s c o l l e c t i o n o f a r t i c l e s , i n c l u d i n g two
c o n t r i b u t i o n s from the GDR as w e l l as o t h e r s from
1
-11GDR Bulletin, Vol. 3 [1977], Iss. 1, Art. 10
^reece, F r a n c e , and I t a l y , d e a l s w i t h the s p e c trum o f Biermann's p o l i t i c a l and a r t i s t i c a c t i v i t i e s and/or the c e n s o r s h i p t h e r e o f . The a r t i c l e s ,
L n t e r s p e r s e d w i t h poems and songs by Biermann,
represent v a r i o u s approaches to t h i s c o n t r o v e r s i a l f i g u r e . D e s p i t e i t s q u a l i t a t i v e unevenness
t h i s c o l l e c t i o n commands our a t t e n t i o n as a r e Bounding e x p r e s s i o n o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l s o l i d a r i t y
with Wolf Biermann a g a i n s t f o r c e s o f b u r e a u c r a t i c
iogmatism and the e x c l u s i o n o f c e r t a i n u n d e n i a b l e
9pheres o f human a c t i v i t y from the c o n c e r n s o f a
30ciety s t r i v i n g towards a b e t t e r s o c i a l i s m . I t
Ls important to note t h a t a l l o f the c o n t r i b u t ors c o n s i d e r themselves committed s o c i a l i s t s , r e gardless o f the c o u n t r y f r o m which they a r e
w r i t i n g . T h e i r essays c o n s t i t u t e a j o i n t p r o t e s t
i g a i n s t B e r u f s v e r b o t e i n whatever form and wher5ver they may be enacted.
P r e c i s e l y because o f
;he b r o a d e r i m p l i c a t i o n s and the p r e s s i n g t o p i c a l i t y of the case Wolf Biermann, and not the
Least because o f the c o m p l e t e , v e r y f i n e b i b l i o graphy by P e t e r Keuer, we s t r o n g l y recommend t h i s
)ook to r e a d e r s o f the GDR B u l l e t i n .
L e s l i e Adelson
Tineke Ritmeester
Washington U n i v e r s i t y
********
L i s a Kahn (Texas S o u t h e r n U n i v e r s i t y ) w i l l
p r e s e n t a paper "From Time Immemorial t o the
GDR" i n the s e c t i o n "East-West E x p r e s s " a t the
5 t h Annual Conference on T w e n t i e t h Century
L i t e r a t u r e a t the U n i v e r s i t y o f L o u i s v i l l e , Ky.,
F e b r u a r y 2 4 - 2 5 , 1 9 7 7 . The paper w i l l d e a l w i t h
Günter K u n e r t ' s s i x Orpheus poems from h i s
p o e t r y c o l l e c t i o n "Warnung v o r S p i e g e l n " .
********
"The S t r u c t u r e o f H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n i n the GDR"
i s the t i t l e o f a w o r k i n g paper by G e o f f r e y J .
G i l e s , R e s e a r c h A s s o c i a t e , who i s a f f i l i a t e d
w i t h the I n s t i t u t i o n f o r S o c i a l and P o l i c y
Studies, Yale U n i v e r s i t y , 1732 Yale S t a t i o n ,
New Haven, Conn. 0 6 5 2 0 . I t i s p a r t o f t h i s
i n s t i t u t i o n ' s Program o f Comparative and H i s t o r i c a l S t u d i e s of H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n .
********
The pamphlet " E d u c a t i o n i n a S o c i a l i s t Country The GDR's E d u c a t i o n P o l i c y " was p u b l i s h e d by the
PANORAMA DDR - A u s l a n d s p r e s s e a g e n t u r ,
Redaktion
"Aus e r s t e r Hand", GDR - 1 0 5 4 B e r l i n , Wilhelm
P i e c k S t r a s s e 4 9 , as p a r t o f the s e r i e s " F i r s t
Hand I n f o r m a t i o n " . - G e n e r a l i n f o r m a t i o n on
the GDR can be found i n "GDR 7 6 - F a c t s and
F i g u r e s " p u b l i s h e d by the same i n s t i t u t i o n .
********
MOTES !M BMEF
Ihe c o l l e c t i v e from A n t i o c h C o l l e g e , O h i o , t h a t
tvent t o F r a n c e , I t a l y , Y u g o s l a v i a , and the GDR
(see September ' 7 6 i s s u e o f GDRB f o r d e t a i l s
of t r i p ) has produced a s l i d e show ( 2 1/2 h r s . )
tvhich they have been showing a t v a r i o u s c o l l e g e s .
General T o p i c : S o c i a l i s m i n these c o u n t r i e s ,
about 5 0 minutes on the GDR. F o r f u r t h e r i n f o r =
n a t i o n c o n t a c t P r o f . Ludo A b i c h t , Dept. o f
F o r e i g n Languages, A n t i o c h C o l l e g e , Y e l l o w
S p r i n g s , Ohio 4 5 3 8 7 .
"Die DDR s t e l l t s i c h v o r " i s the t i t l e c f a
s m a l l handbook p u b l i s h e d by V e r l a g Z e i t im B i l d ,
DDR - 8 0 1 Dresden, J u l i a n - G r i m a u - A l l e e .
********
The e x c e l l e n t f i l m based on J u r e k B e c k e r ' s
n o v e l "Jakob der Lügner" w i l l be r e l e a s e d i n the
U.S. a t the end o f J a n u a r y , 1 9 7 7 , and w i l l be
shown i n commercial movie t h e a t e r s .
********
****** **
Copies of M a t e r i a l Brecht:
Kontradiktionen
1 9 6 8 - 1 9 7 6 ( i n German; $ 3 . 7 5 )
and
Brecht/Thomas
B r a s c h C i t y s c a p e ( 3 7 contemporary poems i n
E n g l i s h t r a n s l a t i o n intended f o r dramatic
r e a d i n g ; $ . 6 0 r e g u l a r , $ . 3 5 s t u d e n t ) as w e l l
as o t h e r m a t e r i a l s from the 4 t h Congress o f the
I n t e r n a t i o n a l B r e c h t S o c i e t y can be o b t a i n e d
by w r i t i n g B e t t y Nance Weber, Dept. o f Germanic
Languages, U. o f Texas a t A u s t i n , A u s t i n , Texas
7 8 7 1 2 . Not a v a i l a b l e t h r o u g h book d i s t r i b u t o r s .
http://newprairiepress.org/gdr/vol3/iss1/10
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DOI: 10.4148/gdrb.v3i1.377
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